8 Tips for Working in College Athletics - Part 1
The sports and entertainment industry has so many sectors in it. But one of its most unique and most followed is college athletics. Comprised of the NCAA’s Division I, II, or III levels, junior colleges, as well as NAIA programs, there are thousands of college athletic departments throughout the country, creating thousands of career opportunities for the sports industry.
Athletic departments often have similar roles as professional sports organizations, like Human Resources, Event Management, Communications, Facility Operations, and more. But there is a bevy of jobs that are specific to college sports; Athletic Directors, Compliance Officers, and of course, Name, Image, and Likeness Coordinators.
Curious about these unique college sports roles? Let’s dive in with key insights from those who have worked in college sports roles throughout their careers.
1/ Start early if you can!
Toks Sokoya, Sports Event Marketing Manager for Red Bull, has a load of experiences to share from working in sports and entertainment. Before joining Red Bull, he spent almost eight years with the Tennessee Titans. But prior to his stint in the NFL, Sokoya worked for Vanderbilt University’s athletic department.
He noted how college sports offer a different experience than working with a professional team or league. Athletic administration staff can be ubiquitous in terms of handling roles throughout a department, similar to small businesses and start-up companies. Having spent time working in the Commodores’ athletic department, Sokoya said it’s best to get a jump on the college level while you’re still on campus.
“I think if you’re going to work in college athletics, I would definitely do that while you’re in college,” Sokoya said. “Start your freshman year, because by the time you’re done, you have four years of experience, and you’re above a lot of other folks that might be working in post-grad or grad school. I think college will hopefully give you knowledge on on how to work with a number of different sports. I’ve learned a lot from a game presentation perspective. So how a game is run where the breaks are, depending on the sport. So that was honestly super helpful.”
2/ Make sure You’re Passionate About College Sports
Brittany Green is currently a Senior Manager of Partnership Solutions at Oak View Group. Following her time as a student-athlete at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, she’s held several roles in college athletics. Her first was with Learfield Sports working with UMass as a Program Sales intern and as a Property Assistant, as well as a Graduate Assistant to Dr. Bill Sutton in the Vinik Sport & Entertainment Management Program at the University of South Florida. Working in college athletics can be just as much (if not more) demanding as professional sports, so Green advises those considering that sector to make sure their hearts are in it.
“I think that there definitely has to be a passion when it comes to collegiate sports,” Green said. “And I know what it takes, and for me, I was in track and field, not a super revenue-generating sport in comparison to things like basketball and football. So I know what it takes, like sponsorship is an incredibly key role to be able to sustain sports in that way. … I think to work in collegiate sports, you need to have a heart for student-athletes, a heart for people. Not that you get away with that at the professional level by any means, but really the long hours and the amount of dedication across the breadth of sports that you have an opportunity to work with, really comes down to being a super people-oriented, passion-oriented person.”
3/ Understanding Compliance
Danielle Davison is fresh into her tenure as Assistant Athletic Director of Compliance & NIL Education with the University of Michigan. She brings experience to her role from working in the athletic departments at Clemson University, Georgia State University, and the University of Georgia while she attended school there.
Since leaving the University of Georgia in 2016, Davison has had roles that are based in compliance. For those of you out there thinking, “What is compliance?” Davison discussed just what it all entails.
“Compliance is made up of so many different areas. One area is recruiting. One area is planning practice seasons, which includes what we call CARA logs — the countable athletically related activities — which is competitions, practices, strength and conditioning [sessions], film review, all of those things,” Davison said. “We’re monitoring what student-athletes can do on a weekly and daily basis. There’s also eligibility, which is making sure that they’re meeting progress towards degree because they are students first. There’s certain benchmarks to remain eligible that we have to certify and say, “yes”, our student athletes are progressing towards actually actual degree completion. There’s also financial aid components. … Then there’s initial eligibility standards, when we’re looking at recruits and whether or not they can actually be admitted to the institution.”
In her role at Clemson, and now with Michigan, Davison has also been involved in compliance education. That education is not just for the student-athletes; Davison also assists coaches, donors, and others on campus with NCAA rules and regulations.
4/ NCAA rules are law
Davison’s accomplishments also include receiving a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Georgia’s School of Law. Earning a law degree is not something that all people working in college athletics must do, but Davison believes it has helped her understand NCAA rules on a higher level.
“I credit my law degree, to my success in compliance. Law school is tough … but at the end of the day, it really taught me how to read and comprehend,” Davison said. “ … But like really understanding and critical reading, I think I really had to learn and develop in law school, which, obviously, we deal with a lot of NCAA legislation. So being able to read a bylaw, pick it up quickly and interpret it has enabled me to be more successful faster than had I not gone to law school.”
Davison added that four of the Wolverines’ compliance staff members have gone to law school and have even dabbled into serving as attorneys.
5/ Adapt with the Times
The world of college athletics has changed significantly. First, it was with the expansion of the transfer portal and relaxing of transfer rules, and now it’s been the Name, Image, and Likeness legislation that was instituted prior to the 2021–22 school year.
Davis has worked with NIL matters in her last two roles, and although it’s continually evolving, she is enthused by the fact that student-athletes can recoup some of the value they provide to their schools.
“I’m a big proponent of NIL which is why I obviously took this position is to continue to support the student-athletes in this space and helping them navigate it, so I’m excited to see it,” Davison said. “I wish there was more consistency across the board. I’m sure anyone you ask in this space and [in a] similar role as me will say the same thing. … But how do we get to a more balanced and equitable space?”
6/ School Size Matters
Davison has the unique perspective of working for major Power 5 programs like Michigan, Clemson, and Georgia. But she got her first full-time opportunity in the industry at Georgia State, which is a mid-major program that competes in the Sun Belt Conference. Similar to working in an internship, for a nonprofit, a startup company, or any organization with a small staff, being in the Panthers’ athletic department allowed her to take on more responsibilities than the ones of being a Compliance Coordinator.
“Everyone got to dabble in a lot of different things. Which is the best type of foundation that anyone can get when they’re trying to establish themselves in their career,” Davison said. “Yeah, it’s nice to have Michigan on my resume. Yeah, it was nice to have Clemson. But in terms of starting, I got to do more at Georgia State than someone that would have probably started out of Michigan, in terms of areas of coverage. … I actually think a lot of the values that I have still come from Georgia State and the fact that we didn’t have a lot of resources, so I’m very resourceful [now] in how I do things.”
7/ Be a Good Partner (on and off Campus)
Davison stressed how athletic departments are a hub for many communities connected to campus. Not only do students and faculty have a vested interest in the athletic department, but alumni and fans do as well. You must remember they want to be involved with your department, so you must take advantage of those natural connections.
“I always want to make sure athletics is being a good campus partner. Because at the end of the day, the students and the alumni from the university really support athletics,” Davison said. “It’s a whole full-circle moment because once we have their buy-in, we can continue to find and create really good student-athlete experiences.”
8/ Don’t Believe the Compliance Myths!
One misconception about compliance is that it’s all about policing the student-athlete population. As much as compliance staffs can be the bearer of bad news when it comes to eligibility, academic suspensions, and things along those lines, their roles are far greater than that.
“Compliance sometimes gets [a] bad rap. Some would say that we’re like the police or we’re the feds and we’re coming in to bust people. We try to take a very proactive approach, we try to build relationships with our coaches and student-athletes so that they know that compliance can be a resource rather than a roadblock. You’ve got to really work hard just to be a relational person, you can’t be successful in this industry by just knowing the rules. It’s not good if no one comes to you to ask them.”
What did we learn?
The world of college athletics can be one of the most rewarding if you find the right role. Aligning your passions for sports, business, and being involved with an evolving sector, can make for exciting career opportunities.
Want to learn more about roles in college sports? TeamWork Online has an entire community for jobs in college athletics.
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