Finding the Best College Major: The Athlete Edition

By Amelia Woolard

So, you’re heading to college, but despite your star athlete status, you’re forgoing the university team to pursue other subjects, interests, or activities. Maybe you didn’t get the athletic scholarship you were hoping to receive, or maybe you’re concerned about balancing out your full college course load, but either way, you probably don’t want to lose touch with your love of sports and a hobby that’s been part of your life since childhood.

If this sounds accurate, your friends here at uCribs have great news for you. Even if you’re not planning on playing your chosen sport in college, there are still plenty of majors and subsequent career fields that are worth pursuing for young athletes. The good news is that sports is a gigantic, multi-faceted industry with many moving parts. In fact, the actual playing of the game is only a proverbial grain of sand on a beach full of sports-related career opportunities. If you’re interested in a sports career but aren’t sure where to begin, read on as uCribs continues its series on Finding the Best College Major, and this time, we’re talking about you, athletes.

Marketing/Communications

Ever wondered what it takes to put on the Super Bowl year after year? Or plan those infamous multimillion-dollar ads? If you guessed lots and lots of marketing work, media coordination, and event planning, you’d be correct. And if you’ve got a creative spirit and an interest in innovative sales techniques, you could become one of those marketing pros who make it all happen.

Although most people think of sweaty football players when they think of professional sports, you may be surprised to learn that a marketing or advertising degree can open a lot of doors in the sporting world. Any major that falls under the communications umbrella provides a great starting point for a career in account management, event coordination, or public relations.

Account and event coordinators ensure that marketing strategy and event planning is effective on all fronts. These are the go-to people for essentially any major sporting event as well as the day-to-day operations of your favorite teams. Public relations assistants are an equally important part of any team’s well-rounded marketing department and typically handle the team’s public image while maintaining relationships with the press, sponsors, and any parent companies. If you think that this work sounds interesting and complex, and you’re up for a career where no two days are the same, you may be a great fit for a major in marketing or communications.

Journalism

You are aware for your love of reading the sports section of the paper or the entirety of ESPN.com on any given day. Now, see exactly what it takes to create media about all things sports by pursuing a journalism degree. If you’ve got rock solid writing skills and a love for the written or spoken word, a journalism major can earn you a season pass to a slew of cool careers, including jobs as a sports announcer, radio show host, sports writer, or television producer.

If you’d prefer to be a bit more visible, a career as a sports announcer or radio show host may be perfect for you. As an announcer or radio host, you’ll spend time nerding out with other sports fanatics and experts, discussing all the little details of the game such as plays, roster choices, standings, and more. Conducting interviews with players and coaches is par for the course, so you’ll want to have a likeable media persona to gain traction in this competitive field—anything for a good interview, right?

Not into the limelight? A journalism degree can help you land a job as a sports journalist, editor, or producer. Whether it’s a local game or the largest event of the season, sports journalists get paid to break down all the best and worst moments of the game itself and circulate it to the masses.

Sports television producers and publication editors are also all about procuring enticing content for viewers and readers, devoting their workdays to planning engaging TV programs or written news stories. They focus on which topics will be covered, the order in which they will appear on-screen or in the publication, and how much time or verbiage is devoted to each segment or write-up. And while it’s not an ultra-glamorous job in comparison to a sports player’s stardom, producers earn a respectable wage and get to spend every working hour devoted to their passion for the game. For a former athlete, what could be better than that?!

Health Science/Biology

No surprises here: sports medicine is a HUGE industry and offers a ton of career options. If you’d like nothing more than to help athletes stay in shape and better their performance, consider a major in health science, biology, or a related field. Pursuing this career track can lead to several career possibilities in the sports world, including physical therapy, training, nutrition, and medicine.

Love learning about the human body and its functions? You’re in luck. Since injuries can occur so easily in this high-demand, fast-paced world, and an athlete’s livelihood depends on the functionality and overall health of his or her body, sports-related physical therapy is crucial to this field. As a physical therapist, you’ll diagnose potential or preexisting issues, dole out treatment plans, and work with the athlete to overcome physical setbacks that could negatively impact his or her playing.

If you’d prefer a job that centers around preventative measures, trainers and nutritionists focus on athleticism and health to optimize the athlete’s skills. You’ll need to receive the proper licensing, but for many ex-athletes, pursuing this field can be very rewarding. (And how sweet will it be to tell someone else to get in the ice bath?)

If you’re not quite sure which specialized field of health science or biology you’d like to explore, consider doing them all! When you become a medical doctor who specializes in sports medicine, you’ll likely see athletes of all ages and backgrounds, from the smallest Little Leaguer to the mightiest of NFL quarterbacks. You’ll help them diagnose and treat sprains, fractures, and other conditions that directly affect the musculoskeletal system. Just be prepared to dedicate a few extra years to medical school. If you’re okay with this, you’ll likely enjoy a fruitful career working up close and personal with some of the top talent in your city.

Psychology

As a student athlete, you can likely recall instances when you missed that crucial, last-second shot and proceeded to mentally berate yourself for the rest of the afternoon. You may have told yourself that you suck at what you do, or that you’re simply not as innately talented or skilled as the other players on your team or the opposing team. Despite your knee-jerk reaction to blame yourself, we bet that all that negative self-talk did little to help the situation, did it? Maybe it even made your attitude and overall disposition worse.

Enter the sports psychologist, also known as the athlete’s safety net from himself. Sports psychology offers an interesting spin on this traditional medical pathway. Practitioners who work with athletes focus on improving patients’ mental health and agility, often identifying the ways in which the mind and body are connected. Depending on the specialized field, sports psychologists may also diagnose and treat mental health issues common to athletes, such as anxiety and depression, or teach them conditioning techniques that help with motivation, relaxation, and concentration.

As a sports psychologist, you’ll be a key player on the athlete’s mental front lines, helping to prevent any negative mental behaviors before they interfere with the game—because, after all, the brain is just as important as the body when it comes to sports. Though challenging, this occupation is rewarding and very stimulating to those interested in what makes the world’s best athletes tick.

However, very few colleges and universities offer programs dedicated specifically to sports psychology, so you may need to get a bit creative when fulfilling the educational requirements. Many students decide to double major in psychology and exercise science before obtaining a master’s degree in sports psychology. Regardless of the career path, a Doctor of Psychology is typically recommended for candidates who hope to be successful in this field.

Business Administration

Business administration is one of those magical degrees that can apply itself to a whole suite of career opportunities, particularly anything involving management. In the sports world, the holy grail of management jobs lends the employee total control of sports teams and the most accomplished players in the world: the highly-coveted general manager position.

Believe it or not, the general manager (GM) is one of the highest positions in the food chain of any athletic organization. Whether at the college or professional level, GMs must manage all the financial and business matters for the team such as budgeting and negotiations. Professional league GMs also handle rosters, often scouting college players to move up to the big leagues and shifting current players as needed. The GM will also be the primary media spokesperson for the team and will be expected to show face at every publicized event.

While being the general manager for a major sports team sounds luxurious, there’s also plenty of hard work involved with being the go-to guy or girl for the big-league players. Expect plenty of long hours, tough calls, and pressure to ensure stellar performance on the field. Additionally, the career is ultra-competitive, so you’ll need to put in plenty of years as an underling before getting promoted to your dream job. Fill those Gatorade coolers with a certain finesse, and you’ll be on your way to GM status in no time!

College is full of scary changes, and if you’ve decided to hang up your cleats and focus on more scholarly pursuits, it can be hard to imagine a future without an athletic affiliation. But with a little bit of planning and a lot of determination, you can turn your love for the game into a fulfilling and long-lasting career, starting with pursuing any of these all-star majors.

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