I’m the only person I know who’s had the great fortune to do what I enjoy (educate) in the arena I love (sports) at every level from middle school through the pros. Recently, I was asked to share my thoughts on the pros and cons of working in collegiate and professional sports on the Females in Athletic Business Podcast (wispsports.com). I hope my experiences will help you sort out your career path. Let me know your thoughts.
Next Blog: Where are the Athlete Education and Development Resources?
2 Responses
Dr. Hilliard,
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this podcast. It’s so eye opening to hear how many roles and responsibilities an individual will take on while working in college athletics. Often, I think people will take that as negative because their role might not be as specialized as it would be in professional sports. However, you mentioned how it brings so much opportunity to learn from handling so many responsibilities. You also said it calls for a lot of flexibility. It seems like college athletics may be the gateway to preparing for working in a professional sports setting, especially in player development.
As a former Division I athlete and coach’s kid, I appreciate your positive outlook on college athletics. Your honest words regarding professional sports opened my eyes to how business focused that industry is compared to the college level. You mentioned how you traveled much more with the NBA rather at the college level; 60% of your time with the NBA you spent traveling. That wasn’t surprising to me, but I can only imagine how rigorous that would be for someone. Another part of this podcast you discussed culture and understanding it’s importance. I appreciated your advice to look up mission statements of athletic departments prior to taking a job in order to see if it correlates to your own values and beliefs. Thanks for this blog!
Kristin Judson
Ohio University Sports Administration ’19
Thanks for your comments Kristin. Glad you found the podcast helpful. Love the way you’re going about researching your career interests. Keep in touch if I can help you further.