When people dream of a job in athletics they imagine catching a Super Bowl winning touchdown from Tom Brady or shooting the buzzer-beating three-pointer to dethrone King James.

For students in the Sport Management program at Wichita State they have a different idea of a job in athletics.

“There is a wide range of jobs someone can get with a degree in sport management,” sport management department chair Clay Stoldt said. “We have graduates working in pro sports, college athletics, community parks and recreation, campus recreation and sporting goods.”

A degree in sport management would be ideal for an individual who enjoys sports and being around athletics. A sport management degree from WSU will provide students with a quality curriculum including courses in sport marketing, sport law, sport governance and sport facility management.

Given the amount of interest in working in athletics, the field has become highly competitive. An advantage of the sport management program at WSU is that it recently became COSMA accredited. Wichita State is one of nine schools in the country to receive The Commission on Sport Management Accreditation.

The accreditation helps to solidify WSU as one of the premier sport management programs in the country. The accreditation could even help in landing an internship or job in the highly competitive market.

“Sports have always been highly competitive,” Stoldt said. “We had a graduate last year who got a job at Disney Sports. The job she applied for had over 1,000 applicants.”

A job posting with a degree in sport management averages more than 150 applications. After a recent analysis of the WSU sport management alumni directory the university currently has 70 percent of its sport management graduates working in sports.

“Seventy percent in a highly competitive field isn’t bad at all,” Stoldt said.

Even with the benefits and perks of a job working in sports there are a few drawbacks for students to consider. A major one is that you get a job with a professional sports team, but you don’t actually get to watch the games.

“The one thing that might be the biggest surprise to students is that just because you’re working in this field doesn’t mean that you necessary get to see the games. Lot of the times you are working behind the scenes so that other people can see the game,” Stoldt said. “It’s still an exciting and enjoyable field to be working within a sports organization.”

For more information on a degree in sport management visit the program in room 109 in the Heskett Center, or call (316) 978-5445.