UCSD Director of Athletics Earl W. Edwards
What advice would you have for young people who are interested in a
career in intercollegiate athletic administration?
As a profession, the field of sport management/administration has truly exploded over the last decade. For anyone planning to enter this field, the first thing I would suggest is to seriously consider pursuing a graduate degree in that discipline. There are a large number of universities with those types of programs and a handful that offer MBAs in sport management.
Admission into many of the best programs is very competitive and anyone with that intent would be wise to gain experience by volunteering or getting an internship with their school's athletic department as an undergraduate. That will offer not only a good feel for the day-to-day realities of the profession but be beneficial when it comes time for graduate school applications.
A graduate school experience will open up doors at not only the collegiate but professional and corporate levels as well as opportunities in areas such as parks and recreation. Most graduate schools provide exposure to the entire spectrum of areas within an athletic program including marketing, development, business, compliance, public relations, licensing, athletic training and facility & game management.
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