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Missing links in sports management programs

O hio University’s Sports Administration Program, the first program of its kind, is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Today there are over 800 sports management programs around the world training tomorrow’s sports business leaders.

Sports business programs have become increasingly sophisticated, teaching courses from advanced analytics to zero-based budgeting. Having been an early program graduate (Ohio U., 1971) and current instructor (University of San Francisco and Stanford University), I wanted to identify missing pieces in sports management curriculums.

After talking to a number of colleagues associated with the country’s leading programs, there are several key areas requiring more depth of instruction.

Leadership training

The challenge for those teaching the management side of sports is to keep the games from being too much of a business and the business from becoming too much of a game. Creating a leadership path presents a challenging set of educational hurdles for both students and instructors. The feedback that I received showed gaps in key areas of creating tomorrow’s leaders in the world of sports.

There should be a greater focus on:

Becoming masters of crisis management.

Creating a strong ethical and moral road map for students.

Teamwork — it’s not you, it’s the team.

Becoming a lifelong learner.

Promoting diversity in the workplace.

Enhancing departmental integration across all key business units. Marketing, sales, sponsorship, community investment, media relations, venue operation, game presentation, broadcast and digital have to be synergistic and integrated.

Conflict resolution tools for the daily circumstances of making difficult management decisions. Understand that politics is a full contact sport.

Training students in methods to keep venues safe, including more work with law enforcement, anti-terrorism and security experts. In today’s world, crisis is the new normal.

Life-work balance. Sports can be addictive. Thinking that the logo is bigger than your name on the business card can be a problem that many don’t see coming. Keep your career close but your family closer.

Creativity and entrepreneurship

Ask any of the 122 sports franchises in the big four pro leagues and top 200 NCAA athletic departments how much they spend on research and development. How many of the sports management programs are using the massive power of advanced research programs on their own campuses to train young sports careerists? Not many.

Analytics and metrics are important in today’s sports world but cashing in on management creativity is critical. Improved writing and speaking skills can prove more critical in building a long-lasting career. Digital network connections aren’t as important as the living, breathing humans in front of your face and how you deal with them.

Sports is a business

Many incoming students are still attracted to the glitter and glitz of the sports business. As students try to move up the career ladder, they should be fully prepared for long hours and low pay at the start of their journey. Sacrifice and consistency of effort over time leads to success. Be humble, hungry and street-smart.

Many programs have created a focus on sales but there are still significant levels of advanced sales skill

sophistication and revenue generation necessary in creating the most well-rounded and sought after graduates. The fluid that flows through the veins of sports commerce is green. There will always be more opportunity in creating the green than spending it for sports organizations.

Whether you are visiting business organizations around the block or the other side of the world, understand their culture before you step onto their turf. It always amazes me how many aspiring sports careerists have no institutional knowledge of the person or institution they are talking to or trying to make a lasting impression upon.

The future

The Olympics, World Cup, increased global team ownerships and new digital media breakthroughs are shrinking the sports world. Students entering the business today should be fluent in at least one other language. If you are a U.S.-based sports manager with a sense of adventure, global sports business opportunities are immense. Many programs lack the ability to bring global sophistication to their students and that limits their upward mobility.

The ongoing challenge for the majority of sports management programs is creating a more sophisticated strategic road map for career advancement and sports business leadership.

Andy Dolich (andy.dolich@gmail.com) is managing director of the U.S. sports practice for Odgers Berndtson.

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