Sports Management

Alexis Pattie

Mr.Alburger

English III

22 February 2018
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Alexis Pattie

Mr.Alburger

English III

22 February 2018

Sports Management

A big sports event, like the Super Bowl, makes for a great opportunity in sports

management. People start at the basics of this event and most people who have a career in sports

management do this in preparation for this huge event. Most people will look at the overview of

this event and see how they can make the most money with sponsors. People see a big rivalry

between these specific two teams, the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos. Sports

companies can use these rivalry ideas to help sell a product or person. An anonymous sports

management company wants to see how people will react to two different commercials, one with

Tom Brady and the other with Peyton Manning. In preparation for the event several different

individuals help to make sure it runs smoothly. A public relations representative helps to make

sure the sponsors follow the idea of using rivalry as a way to advertise. A broadcaster helps to

present this advertisement to the public. The two sponsors chosen, Coca Cola and Pepsi - a big

rivalry in the beverage industry. The sports management company decides to create a conference

before the big game where each player will give a speech on their chosen beverage. This will

create an exciting environment, maybe even intense but sports management creates and expands

this feel. Using a press conference as the way for marketing shows how marketing helps the team

build support while also selling a product. Ever changing, sports management creates many

different careers to choose from and with certain degrees people learn how to market and
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manage a sport, even a rivalry, efficiently.

Sports management splits into many different focus areas, like sports communications

and marketing which makes the career more appealing to work with. Marketing means to use a

collection of actions of an economic nature, a purpose where the marketer not only wants to

achieve an economic profit, but also to fulfill the needs of a social and psychological person

(Kabus). People notice marketing in their everyday lives, like at the supermarket or even driving

down the highway. Companies that use sponsoring in marketing communication must adjust to

the new consumer taste which contains an abundance of advertisements and promotions, and the

company must try not to force attention but draw it out instead (Kabus). In the introduction,

when the two sponsoring companies needed to create the speech for the athletes to say, all

concern sports communication.

Driving down the highway with billboards to the left and right all advertise our everyday

needs, some advertise the next big sporting event like a Panthers home game this Sunday.

Increase in a sponsors products sales as well as awareness of their brand and improvement in the

general image of the sponsor, each contribute to basic advantages that result from specific

sponsoring actions (Kabus). Looking back at the introduction, two rivalry players each sponsor a

different item, people see this and it either boosts the image of the liked product or if they do not

like the other player, they grow a distaste for the product with the rival. Creating the right setting

for an event or using the right tools to a person's advantage can create the perfect platform to

manage and market something. In the sense of whether people should buy coke or pepsi, people

see their team drinking a certain drink and then the person begins to buy that drink, sports

management sets that up and sports marketing uses it to their advantage.

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Not only does the sports industry creates many different jobs and come from a diverse

group of sports such as football and baseball but also from jobs in broadcasting the sport. A

sports show features one unusual quality, the co-creation of the show means the purchasers or the

fans, keep the show running (Kabus). The number of fans including their behavior and

encouragement, greatly influences the show quality for the media and sponsors besides

themselves (Kabus). Sports management includes content distribution for multimedia platforms,

advertising representation for sports properties, and presence marketing all contribute to making

the sports industry and media thrive (Kabus). In the introduction, the jobs presented seemed

endless. Thinking of the careers made just in one day can make a person's mind explode.

Watching a sporting event on television, people notice how when the show opens up, a

sponsor immediately appears and if they notice they see the sponsor paired with their favorite

sports team and associate there team with that specific sponsor. Several top television channels

such as The Fox Network, the Golf Channel, ESPN2, Prime Ticket all get involved in regional

sports programming, and people see nothing but tremendous growth and opportunity coming

from those deals (Clay). Even young students, newly introduced to sports management, can

already get the idea and sense of what sport management means and how the sports industry uses

it. A student from college got the opportunity of a lifetime to go South Florida and help prepare

for the bowl game (“Sports”). In the field of sports communication many jobs shine like

production, on-air, and marketing/social media jobs, all important jobs (Venturini). This

opportunity helped give the student a real taste of all the things the sports industry has to offer

while also helping give the student an experience they will never forget.

The variety of sports to choose from helps the industry grow and flourish. As described in
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the introduction, people can see how several jobs go into creating an event. The writer of the

speech, the broadcasters for the people to witness the event at home, the people who contact the

athletes, the people who contact the sponsors, each one helps to create a sport advertising event

like this. The idea of sports management goes far beyond just managing, but instead goes into

other categories such as communication, like giving a speech on an athletes preferred soft drink,

or marketing, selling a product such as coke or pepsi.

The sports management industry began many years ago and since then, the field

continues to change. The sports management field dates began to 1960 when Arnold Palmer

agreed with Mark McCormick and his firm, IMG or International Management Group, for

professional representation and since, it has blossomed into a multi-billion dollar market segment

(Miller). Some of the largest sports management companies consist of Fenway Sports Group in

Boston, Massachusetts, Front Row Marketing Services in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and IMG

located in New York, New York (Miller). Having many different companies to work with creates

room for more agreement, if a person does not like one company they can move to another one.

The ways people view the sports they love and cheer on continues to change everyday with how

they view those sports. People all around the world follow sports through radio, television,

newspapers, word of mouth, and face-to-face interaction, like attending a sport event (Ratten).

Using these sources to help bring sports worldwide makes for international sponsors, like Toyota

which helps integrate different countries into the United States or vice versa.

With many different careers and paths to choose from in sports management the industry

fills with opportunities especially since new sports teams form frequently and close to home. The

fields broadness makes numerous opportunities exist, making sports related positions found in
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numerous industries (Harmon). Careers in sports increase day by day and associations like the

Nation Football League expand the job base in Florida and North Carolina with newer teams in

Jacksonville and Charlotte (Clay). Jay Abraham, president of Phoenix-based Sports Careers

expressed those sentiments saying “Teams and broadcasting mean just the tip of the iceberg”

(Clay) Sports management jobs include athlete representation, event management, and

negotiating sponsorships but also includes much more (Miller, Kelli). Looking back to the

introduction, people can see how not just the athlete goes into producing an advertisement.

People have to make the script for the advertisement, and then people have to prepare the event

site, a lot goes into preparing an event in sports management.

The sports industry consists of several different jobs not only in the college or

professional leagues but also in the television bringing it nationwide and worldwide. College

athletic director usually comes from turning head coaches into athletic directors which

eliminated the job from minorities and from serious consideration but today, most college

presidents focus more on candidates with degrees in sports management or sports administration

(Clay). Salary for college athletic director ranges from $25,000 at lower level to $140,000 at

Division I level (Clay). Every sports team now employs a public relations or sports information

director and their job means to create publicity at professional, college, or high school programs

(Clay). The position does not mean they only work on game day, on non-game day they attend

practices and prepare advance material (Clay). People today may wonder what a public relations

worker may do, in the introduction the public relations person would help make sure the athletes

and the sponsors have comfort. They would also make sure everyone in the press conference

feels comfortable.
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Thinking of marketing may spark the idea of a sales representative, but a marketing

representative in sports not only sells a product but also sells the whole team and sport. A

marketing and promotions specialist needs a business background that proves knowledge, they

also must have good written and oral communication skills plus the gift of persuasion (Clay).

Salaries for a marketing and promotions specialist ranges from $20,000 at entry level to more

than $100,000 (Clay). Another career in sports has to do with speaking and communicating.

Communications or media includes work at newspapers and television and other media outlets,

and offer positions as sport video manager and manager for sports communications (Clay).

Marketing and public relations relate to communications and media but usually focuses on sales

and promotions with positions such as director of special events and promotion, director of

sports media, and tournament operations manager (Clay). Marketing has many different paths to

choose from as a person can see from the evidence above.

Sports communications gives way to broadcasters, where lifelong careers sprout and

provide helpful information nationwide to listeners on the radio (Venturini). Working in

NASCAR media means many people work as freelancers or independent contractors, it also

means many people do not answer to anyone but themselves (Venturini). Salary range in the

field of sports broadcasting ranges from $15,000 at entry level out of college to multi-million

dollar contracts on nation television (Venturini). Not only does a job in sports pertain to people

other than the athlete or the coaches, but it means that a person can find a job in sports and enjoy

doing what they love, like marketing a product or communicating to sponsors how they should

invest in a certain company based on the people working there and the friendly environment.

Rivalries make sports and marketing more interesting and it creates an increase in sales of
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many things, including the event itself along with products associated with that event. Seen

everywhere in sports, rivalries consist of contests featuring opposing team or athletes that share

controversial relationships and experience heightened stakes when they compete (Ream, Eddy).

In the introduction, the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots both have a huge rivalry

that continues to heighten the stakes when they compete. Rivalries provide excitement that create

fan interest even when the results on the field flip (Ambrose). The intense rivalries come not

only from competing teams and fans but also comes from competing conferences and regional

pride (Ambrose). An example of the rivalry between conferences consists of National Football

Conference and the American Football Conference in the National Football league and

competing conference Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference in college sports.

“For example, in team sports many rivalries have historical foundations where teams compete on

an annual basis, and in some cases (e.g., baseball, basketball, football, hockey, etc.) multiple

times per season (Kilduff, Elfenbein, & Shaw, 2010)” (Reams, Eddy). Fan interest creates the

demand for sporting events seen in live gate attendance and pay per view purchases as a direct

source of demand (Ream, Eddy). Rivalry in sports contribute significantly to increasing fan

interest, shown in terms of live gate attendance and television viewership (Reams, Eddy).

Rivalry in the introduction pertains to football rivalry and beverage rivalry. When a marketing

team combines these two rivalries, like pepsi and coke with Denver Broncos and New England

Patriots, people tend to get more involved and participate whether going to the game or buying

the product of choice.

From team sports like football to individual sports like tennis, people can see rivalry in

many forms with these sports. Rivalries not only arise from team sports but also from individual
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sports (Ambrose). An individual rivalry gives the viewer a more difficult narrative to follow that

features development of character and contrasting personalities (Ambrose). A popular individual

rivalry comes from boxing, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. This matchup had the

entire country buzzing and created a sports marketing explosion. In a study, five elements exist

in the conflict - frequency of competition, historical parity, defining moments, recent parity, and

star factors (Ambrose). A study found that conflict rivalry elements mostly influenced demand

for an individual sport league, and the conflict influenced rivalry more than bias (Reams, Eddy).

In the introduction, the single rivalry between the two biggest quarterbacks stood out to the

audience and its viewers making this a must watch conference.

Many schools offer education in the sports management field with specific focuses in

communications or marketing. A student may want to focus on an associates degree which

usually lasts two-years and covers the basics of the field of sports management and can offer

instruction in subjects like coaching, and management (Harmon). A student can also study

marketing and communications without a focus in sports, this may help the student when

beginning in the career. Some schools offer specialized sports management degrees in areas such

as sports communications and media or sports tourism and hospitality (Harmon). The field of

sports, while still growing, embraces several different employment opportunities and students

should pick what type of job they would like to do in sports management (Harmon). Some

universities and colleges offer sports management include University of West Florida, University

of Georgia, University of Alabama, Florida State University, Florida Atlantic University and

several more (Miller). UNC-Chapel Hill offers a double major in 3 years with a Bachelor Arts in

Communication studies with a concentration in Media Production (Venturini). “Having a degree

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in psychology has paid off way more with interviewing NASCAR drivers and personalities more

than anything” (Venturini). Sometimes taking a class that does not directly say “Sports” in the

name can still benefit the student. A benefit of majoring in these areas means the student has the

ability to reach out to their universities own sports team to offer to help with marketing or

communications. Doing just that can help the student become better prepared for working in the

real world.

Many things a student should do in order to succeed in the career of their choice include

making a plan for what classes they should take as well as opportunities. If wanting to pursue

this degree a student should have experience playing some sport and have various sports

knowledge, and experience in other sports related activities also helpful (Harmon). Some helpful

classes include Media Production courses (Venturini). A student should complete internships in

the areas of interest for them in order to add to their resume (Harmon). Getting familiar using an

internship in the subject can help give a student who wants to study this topic an experience they

would not receive by just attending classes and not taking the small opportunities.

Having so many different areas to study,a student wanting to study sports management needs to

know what they want before wasting time on pointless classes. Students interested in the public

relations aspect might focus on advertising, marketing and communication classes while

(Harmon). Knowing the type of career a person wants in the future can help the student choose

the correct classes in college that will best help them in the future. Many professional

associations provide several services for sports management professionals such as National

Association for Sport and Physical Education, Sports Management Worldwide, and North

American Society for Sport Management provide several services for sports management
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professionals (Harmon). The best way to enter the industry means getting as much experience as

a student can in college, internships help by providing hands on experience without college

credit or pay (Venturini). Having the experience puts a student far ahead of their graduating

peers, and opens plenty more doors for opportunities (Venturini). Students should take all the

small opportunities thrown their way because they will add up to that “big break” (Venturnin).

Knowing what a student wants while still in college can best benefit the student because the

student can help the college sports teams and also get internships early on in their college life.

Sports marketing does more than just sell products, they also sell the team or player with

the help of basic marketing skills. The nature of sports where each event seems unpredictable

makes sports marketing special, this makes the fan interest and demands on the part of sports

marketers (Rager). Sports marketing wants to establish relationships between fans and either

teams or corporations through campaigns that take advantage of the special connection fans have

with the team of their choice (Rager). Marketers, for a long time, have profited on the personality

of sport stars, especially in individual sports (Ambrose). Nike sponsored tennis star John

McEnroe partly because of his on-court achievements and partly based on his controversial

image (Ambrose). Marketing helps to make for a successful event if used correctly. If a person

has attended a football game or bought a specific drink, it most likely had a form of sports

marketing. In the introduction, the marketers used Coke and Pepsi to help sell the team but they

also used the team to help sell Coke and Pepsi.

Marketing and promotions departments have started up left and right at large corporations

and independent marketing companies, marketing everything from tickets to merchandise

marketing (Clay). Marketing with sports means using promotion of brands and products through
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sport, while they may not directly relate to the sport (Kabus). Companies treat sports players and

sports objects as a place to advertise, they also can use the sport as a background for the product

or a point of reference (Kabus). Several approaches contribute to sports marketing, the first treats

the sports objectively where marketing activities carry out by a company and other organizations

do not relate to the sport directly (Kabus). A marketing team for a radio broadcast does more

than just sell items, they also sell sponsorships, commercials, which help to the network running

full speed (Venturini). Selling sponsorships, and commercials all help to keep a radio thriving.

Marketing in sports continues to change and become increasingly more popular

throughout sports. Enterprises have switched their attention from how much and how to

manufacture to where a product meets the target market best (Kabus). Marketing defined means

a certain system of economic activity with an aim to correlate products with a constant reminder

to fulfill the needs of customers (Kabus). The internet created a new ear in sports marketing

because teams and companies have began to use social media tools to promote their products

(Rager). Sports marketing creates several jobs in different sports but the job also consists of

corporate sponsors. Advertisers employ stadiums, radio and television to coordinate a product

with a certain team, player, or coach (Rager). Corporate sponsors pay a tem or league to display

their logos and some companies choose to hire an athlete to endorse their product which creates

an everlasting connection between the product and the player for the fans (Rager). Sports

marketing focuses on three main types of product; the event itself, goods, and services (Rager).

Already if people think back to when and where they last watched or heard of a sport, most

remember a television channel or a radio channel. The sports world changes more and more

throughout the course of the year, when students and people working in the industry realize this
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change, it helps those just entering the field to better prepare themselves for the next thing in

store for them. Many sport organizations globalize through sponsorship and some seek sponsors

worldwide, not only in the United States (Rittan).

The big picture most sports management workers look at when producing an event comes

from the viewers and what they want. Sports management overall means many things, whether

that means sports marketing or sports communication all of which help to sell a sport idea,

person, team or product. The amount of things a person can do in sports management exceeds

expectations, and with a little education and hard work a job in sports management does not

seem out of reach.

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Works Cited

Ambrose, Scott C. and Nathan Schnitzlein. "What Makes for the Best Rivalries in Individual

Sports and How Can Marketers Capitalize on Them?." ​Sport Marketing Quarterly,​ vol.

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Clay, Bobby. "8 Great Careers in the Sports Industry." ​Black Enterprise,​ no. 7, 1995, p. 158.

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Harmon, Angela. "Sports Management." ​Salem Press Encyclopedia,​ 2015. EBSCO​host​,

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Venturini, Wendy. Personal Interview. 5 February 2018.