4 answers
Rubi
Student
Santa Ana, California
1
Question
Asked
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How do I find the correct career path in sports management?
I want to pursue a career in sports/events but I'm not sure what job would be the perfect fit for me. How did you explore the different types of jobs and find the one?
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4 answers
Marty Meyer
General Manager
92
Answers
Los Angeles, California
Updated
Marty’s Answer
Learn everything you can about your sport(s) of choice-then volunteer at your local arena to get a sense of the behind the scenes activities. There are jobs on Linked In for sports management, though not many.
You can get sports news from Sports Video Group - they have a great editorial department and cover all varieties of sports. sportsvideo.org.
As someone who has worked events, such as concerts and live TV, and and all kinds of sports, including Olympics, they are equally engaging and challenging. The "live" element to them makes them exciting.
Have fun! Marty
You can get sports news from Sports Video Group - they have a great editorial department and cover all varieties of sports. sportsvideo.org.
As someone who has worked events, such as concerts and live TV, and and all kinds of sports, including Olympics, they are equally engaging and challenging. The "live" element to them makes them exciting.
Have fun! Marty
Mary Ann Faue
Communications, Training, and People Development
71
Answers
Hayward, California
Updated
Mary Ann’s Answer
Hi Rubi,
I'm going to guess that you are going to go to college to pursue a degree that will help you to move toward your goal of sports/event management. When I read your question, my first thought was to get an on campus job with the football team, basketball team, or other sports team. Regardless of what the job is, even if it's filling the water bottles and having them available on the sidelines, it gets you in the environment where you get to meet people who do the thing you want to do. It gives you first hand experience and you will be surprised how much the coaches and staff will help to connect you to the right people. Once you get in that environment, try to connect with the Operations team. That's where the "management" part of things tends to happen.
A friend of mine was the Director of Football Operations for a major University. Part of his job was arranging travel for the team (hotels, meals, airfare, etc), events for the team to give back (charity events), and a few other things that had the team interacting with the community. However, his favorite event to arrange was a clinic to teach women (and others new to football) the rules and strategy of football. It was an all day thing on the field where people could try on the equipment, learn to throw a football, learn the rules, the penalties, etc. The idea was to expose more people to the sport he loves.
So, again, I go back to try to find an entry level job that gets you face to face contact with the folks working in sports. From there, you can navigate your way to people who specialize in the area where you want to work.
I'm going to guess that you are going to go to college to pursue a degree that will help you to move toward your goal of sports/event management. When I read your question, my first thought was to get an on campus job with the football team, basketball team, or other sports team. Regardless of what the job is, even if it's filling the water bottles and having them available on the sidelines, it gets you in the environment where you get to meet people who do the thing you want to do. It gives you first hand experience and you will be surprised how much the coaches and staff will help to connect you to the right people. Once you get in that environment, try to connect with the Operations team. That's where the "management" part of things tends to happen.
A friend of mine was the Director of Football Operations for a major University. Part of his job was arranging travel for the team (hotels, meals, airfare, etc), events for the team to give back (charity events), and a few other things that had the team interacting with the community. However, his favorite event to arrange was a clinic to teach women (and others new to football) the rules and strategy of football. It was an all day thing on the field where people could try on the equipment, learn to throw a football, learn the rules, the penalties, etc. The idea was to expose more people to the sport he loves.
So, again, I go back to try to find an entry level job that gets you face to face contact with the folks working in sports. From there, you can navigate your way to people who specialize in the area where you want to work.
Milla Pañella
Artistic Director
25
Answers
São Paulo, Brazil
Updated
Milla’s Answer
Hello Rubi,
That’s a great question, and it’s very normal to feel unsure at the beginning.
From my experience working with events and international projects, I didn’t find the “perfect job” right away — I discovered it by trying different roles and understanding what I enjoyed most over time.
Sports management and event management are very broad fields. You can work with logistics, production, marketing, operations, athlete relations, or even large stadium events.
A good way to explore is to start with small experiences:
Volunteer at sports events or local competitions;
Look for internships in event or sports organizations;
Talk to people who already work in the industry;
Try different roles to see what fits you best.
Also, think about what you enjoy most:
Do you like organizing? Working with people? Being behind the scenes? Leading teams?
Follow what motivates you, but also build skills and stay consistent — that’s what turns interest into real opportunities.
Over time, your path becomes clearer through experience, not just planning.
What helped me the most over my 28 years of experience was going through different areas — I started as an assistant working with budgets and production, then moved into logistics, controlling, and today I work as an artistic director.
Because of that, my advice is to experience as many areas as possible within your field. This helps you understand the full process and become strong in every detail.
Also, learning other languages will give you a huge advantage, especially in international environments like sports and events.
Warm greetings from Brazil 🇧🇷
That’s a great question, and it’s very normal to feel unsure at the beginning.
From my experience working with events and international projects, I didn’t find the “perfect job” right away — I discovered it by trying different roles and understanding what I enjoyed most over time.
Sports management and event management are very broad fields. You can work with logistics, production, marketing, operations, athlete relations, or even large stadium events.
A good way to explore is to start with small experiences:
Volunteer at sports events or local competitions;
Look for internships in event or sports organizations;
Talk to people who already work in the industry;
Try different roles to see what fits you best.
Also, think about what you enjoy most:
Do you like organizing? Working with people? Being behind the scenes? Leading teams?
Follow what motivates you, but also build skills and stay consistent — that’s what turns interest into real opportunities.
Over time, your path becomes clearer through experience, not just planning.
What helped me the most over my 28 years of experience was going through different areas — I started as an assistant working with budgets and production, then moved into logistics, controlling, and today I work as an artistic director.
Because of that, my advice is to experience as many areas as possible within your field. This helps you understand the full process and become strong in every detail.
Also, learning other languages will give you a huge advantage, especially in international environments like sports and events.
Warm greetings from Brazil 🇧🇷
Peter Leonard
Financial Services
14
Answers
Fountain Valley, California
Updated
Peter’s Answer
Rubi
The others who have much greater experience in this field, suggest setting up LinkedIn account (if you don't have one), search sports management or other keywords and connect with people.
Also noticed there are internships available.
If you've already done this, apologies and best of luck.
Regards
PL
The others who have much greater experience in this field, suggest setting up LinkedIn account (if you don't have one), search sports management or other keywords and connect with people.
Also noticed there are internships available.
If you've already done this, apologies and best of luck.
Regards
PL