Examining the Career Paths of Athletic Administrators in NCAA-Member Institutions

Abstract

Very little is known about the educational and experiential backgrounds of athletic administrators. The purpose of this study was to investigate these backgrounds in collegiate athletic departments. Results indicated significant differences across the three National Collegiate Athletic Association divisions and between males and females related to the educational and experiential backgrounds of athletic administrators, exclusive of athletic directors. Division I administrators were significantly more likely to have a doctorate, more years of experience working in intercollegiate athletics, and no coaching experience. Males were more likely to hold positions in facilities and media; females were more likely to work in academics and compliance. Overall, female administrators were significantly more likely than males to have a master's degree, prior experience working in intercollegiate athletics, and head coaching experience.

Career patterns of marketing managers in top European football clubs

“…The research into the career patterns of sports manager has been limited and fragmented, concerning mainly three categories of individuals: collegiate athletic administrators in the US, women and ethnic minorities, and sports management alumni. The results of these studies indicate three phenomena: (1) a trend towards professionalisation and more business-oriented backgrounds and pathways in collegiate sports organisations that once used to rely solely on athletic and coaching experience (Fitzgerald et al , 1994; Hardin et al , 2013; Lumpkin et al , 2015); (2) the underrepresentation of women and ethnic minorities in sports administration and their non-normative career patterns (Armstrong, 2015; Bower and Hums, 2013; M'mbaha and Chepyator-Thomson, 2019); (3) quite complex and heterogeneous initial pathways in the sports industry where there are challenges of getting a first job and working-up through the industry, with no clear dominance of either traditional or new career types (McNiff, 2013; Minten and Forsyth, 2014; Schwab et al , 2015). Most of these studies used qualitative methods and as such did not evaluate the magnitude of the phenomena.…”

Defining and Describing Mid‐Level Administrators in Intercollegiate Athletics

“…Division I programs are the largest in both of these categories and require considerable infrastructures to support teams and athletes, so we expected they would also employ the most mid‐level staff members. As the remainder of this chapter will illustrate, the distribution of mid‐level administrators varies quite a bit according to competitive Division, as do their backgrounds, job responsibilities, and careers (Lumpkin, Achen, & Hyland, 2015; Weaver & Chelladurai, 2002).…”

“…Research by Lumpkin et al. (2015) indicated that former high school or college coaches made up 47% of Division III mid‐level administrators, although they were only 19% of Division I and 36% of Division II.…”

“…Those in mid-level positions today have more professionalized backgrounds and training, but coaching experience is still relatively common in smaller programs. Research by Lumpkin et al (2015) indicated that former high school or college coaches made up 47% of Division III mid-level administrators, although they were only 19% of Division I and 36% of Division II.…”

“…In terms of formal credentials, Lumpkin et al. (2015) found that around one third of all administrators across all NCAA divisions held at least one degree in sport management. From an applied standpoint, Hoffman (2011) found that a background in college sports‐specific fundraising, marketing and promotions, sports information, budgeting and finance, ticketing, and/or media relations were better pipelines to mid‐ and executive‐level ranks compared to experience in athletics jobs with less of a business focus (e.g., athlete support, compliance).…”