Sports management

The popularity of sport as a key aspect of Australian culture, coupled with the increasing commercialisation and professionalism of all types of sporting activities, ensures that there is a wide range of opportunities and strong demand for graduates in this area.  Growing concern about chronic disease and obesity has also increased attention on providing more opportunities for physical and sporting activities in the community.

With a degree in Sport Management you have the opportunity to combine a number of interests: sports, business, event management and entertainment. As with other careers in management, skills in sport management are important in assisting organisations involved in sporting operations to achieve their goals. Sport management is about managing successful organisations, developing successful events, teams and businesses in sport. 

Sports managers may handle the financial, legal or operational aspects of a sporting organisation, create marketing strategies for special events, supervise athletes in a school setting, or help athletes negotiate contracts or sponsorship and endorsement details. Other responsibilities may involve public relations, media relations, sporting goods sales, facility management (e.g. fitness clubs, sports stadiums, recreation centres), coordination/management of sports programs, fundraising, policy development and negotiating sports broadcasting rights contracts. 

In many of these roles, sport management professionals often work irregular hours, including nights and weekends, and may do a significant amount of travelling.