A Study to Examine the Nature and Scope of School Athletic Administrator Positions in the State of Virginia (Report‪)‬

Over 200 colleges and universities now offer professional preparation programs in sport management at the undergraduate and/or graduate levels (Comfort, 2008). Parks, Quarterman and Thibault (2007) point out that several career paths exist for sport management students. These career paths include positions with college athletic departments, sport event management firms, sport facility management organizations, professional sport teams, recreational sport programs, sport marketing agencies, etc. As sport management graduates continue to enter the workforce in greater numbers during a period of economic recession, some experts predict that jobs will become more difficult to find. Sport management graduates may have to consider relocating or working for lower wages than expected. Another option may be to explore alternative, but closely related, career paths and options.