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Assistant athletic director education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become an assistant athletic director. Assistant athletic directors usually study kinesiology, business, or health education. 68% of assistant athletic directors hold a bachelor's degree, and 24% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 2,343 real assistant athletic director resumes to see exactly what assistant athletic director education sections show.
The most common colleges for assistant athletic directors are the Ball State University and the Ball State University.
There are also many online assistant athletic director courses to help get the education required to be an assistant athletic director.
There are certain assistant athletic director certifications that you should consider. These assistant athletic director certifications include Athletic Trainer Certification (ATC) and Certified Personal Trainer.
What education do you need to become an assistant athletic director?
What degree do you need to be an assistant athletic director?
- Bachelor's, 68%
- Master's, 24%
- Associate, 5%
- High School Diploma, 2%
- Other Degrees, 1%
What should I major in to become an assistant athletic director?
- Kinesiology, 23%
- Business, 13%
- Health Education, 10%
- Education, 9%
- Other Majors, 45%
Most common colleges for assistant athletic directors
| Assistant athletic director common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Ball State University | 7.73% |
| Pennsylvania State University | 7.27% |
| Temple University | 6.82% |
| Indiana State University | 5.91% |
| Bowling Green State University | 5.45% |
Best majors for assistant athletic directors
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kinesiology | 23.3% |
| 2 | Business | 13.0% |
| 3 | Health Education | 9.9% |
| 4 | Education | 8.6% |
| 5 | Educational Leadership | 7.5% |
Best colleges for assistant athletic directors
The best colleges for assistant athletic directors are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia University in the City of New York.
An assistant athletic director with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for assistant athletic directors. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become assistant athletic directors.
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
3. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$8,987
Enrollment
18,946
4. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$59,430
Enrollment
8,216
5. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$15,094
Enrollment
32,974
6. SUNY at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$10,099
Enrollment
21,404
7. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
8. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,488
Enrollment
30,018
9. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
10. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Private
In-state tuition
$14,760
Enrollment
31,451
20 best online courses for assistant athletic directors
Advertising disclosure
1. The Science of Training Young Athletes
Seventy percent of kids drop out of sports before their high school graduation. Only 15% leave because they feel they are not good enough. Almost 70% leave because they were not having fun, or due to problems with the coach. Injuries cause 30% to give up sports. This course is packed full of practical sports science information that provide youth coaches and parents with the practical pediatric sports science insights to successfully retain young athletes and develop their sport potential while...
2. Sports Turf Management: Best Practices
The Sports Turf Management: Best Practices course will cover the construction, management, and challenges in maintaining athletic fields intended for football, soccer, and baseball. You will learn the fundamental management practices for maintaining athletic fields, such as fertilization, irrigation, mowing, and pest control. An overview of athletic field construction, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of native soil versus modified soil fields, will be provided. Lastly, you will...
3. Sport Psychology for Athletes
Master the fundamentals of sport psychology to improve performance and gain a mental edge...
4. Sports Nutrition for Athletes and Fitness Enthusiasts
Learn all about sports nutrition with 7 hours of online video content and start training SMARTER instead of HARDER...
5. Introduction to Machine Learning in Sports Analytics
In this course students will explore supervised machine learning techniques using the python scikit learn (sklearn) toolkit and real-world athletic data to understand both machine learning algorithms and how to predict athletic outcomes. Building on the previous courses in the specialization, students will apply methods such as support vector machines (SVM), decision trees, random forest, linear and logistic regression, and ensembles of learners to examine data from professional sports leagues...
6. Data Analytics in Sports Law and Management
Athletes, lawyers and team executive experts provide insight in how law and regulations intersect with data analytics and sports management techniques for best practices in the sports industry. Several courses provide the basis for how data analytics function within player evaluation, team performance, and roster management. The specialization introduces various regulatory, managerial and legal frameworks that includes athlete representation, facilities, and event management and conclude with...
7. Applied Sport Psychology and Leadership in Sport Certificate
Enhance your knowledge of sport psychology from an athlete or coach perspective with this comprehensive applied course...
8. Internationally Accredited Diploma in Sports Nutrition
Learn About The Fundamentals Of Sport Nutrition Science And How To Fuel Your Athlete Client...
9. Sports Performance Analytics
Sports analytics has emerged as a field of research with increasing popularity propelled, in part, by the real-world success illustrated by the best-selling book and motion picture, Moneyball. Analysis of team and player performance data has continued to revolutionize the sports industry on the field, court, and ice as well as in living rooms among fantasy sports players and online sports gambling.\n\nDrawing from real data sets in Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball...
10. Activism in Sports and Culture
Sports have become an ever-present reflection of American culture, and an important symbol of the divisions and alliances in our society. Sports and political change walk hand in hand in America. The way that athletes and institutions deal with questions of race, economic hardship, nationalism, and political ties have become central to the way that we understand ourselves and our society. And yet, there are those who would prefer their sports free of controversy and opinion. Dedicated athletes,...
11. Operational Risks Management ORM
Operational Risks Management ORM Case Studies for Risk Management, Compliance, Audit, IS Security, Banking Professionals...
12. Becoming an Executive Personal Assistant
Learn how to be an effective personal assistant, and find out how to develop the skills for the role...
13. Sales Operations/Management
Sales jobs span nearly every industry, from agribusiness and pharmaceuticals, to telecommunications and property management. And essential to sales is the management of the sales force. This course provides the knowledge and know how required for careers in sales management. Students are exposed to all facets of sales management, including organizing, selecting, training, motivating, supervising and compensating the sales force, territory management and administration and sales and expense...
14. Enhance Student Learning through Kahoot
By the end of this project, you will have created a Kahoot collection that will engage your students during virtual learning or as a more engaging way to encourage practice and review at home or in the classroom. Teaching is constantly evolving. As we learn more about our students, we uncover new ways to ensure that they are not just learning - they are thriving. When we can connect our tech-savvy students to tech-connected learning, our students are more likely to enjoy learning. We can also...
15. Sports Management: The Essentials Course
A Comprehensive Overview at How the Sports Industry Operates and the Challenges Facing the Modern Sports Industry Today...
16. Introductory Sport Psychology
Developing sport psychology skills that you can use when you train, compete or coach...
17. Operations Management in small businesses: key techniques
A toolkit for making small business operations effective and efficient...
18. The Operations Management Training Program
Learn how to design, plan, direct, and improve all the activities that transform resources into goods or services...
19. MBA: Supply Chain and Operation management
Tactics, Tools, and Techniques required to become a Supply chain and operation manager...
20. Operations Management: Facilities Planning and Management
Operations Management Training Program (Course 8 of 8)...
Top 10 most affordable universities for assistant athletic directors
The most affordable schools for assistant athletic directors are Baruch College of the City University of New York, california state university - long beach, and california state university - bakersfield.
If the best universities for assistant athletic directors are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for assistant athletic directors.
1. Baruch College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,262
Cost of attendance
14,046
2. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
3. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
4. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York
Brooklyn, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,240
Cost of attendance
13,991
5. USF Sarasota-Manatee
Sarasota, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,587
Cost of attendance
13,043
6. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
7. California State University - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,749
Cost of attendance
14,823
8. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,306
Cost of attendance
16,091
9. Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$4,831
Cost of attendance
19,559
10. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for assistant athletic directors
The hardest universities for assistant athletic directors to get into are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia University in the City of New York.
Some great schools for assistant athletic directors are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for assistant athletic directors based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
3. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,512
4. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
5. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
6. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
7. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
Admissions rate
23%
SAT average
1,398
8. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
9. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
10. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
Admissions rate
5%
SAT average
1,520
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for assistant athletic directors
The easiest schools for assistant athletic directors to get into are Barry University, mount saint mary's university, and gwynedd mercy university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an assistant athletic director without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for assistant athletic directors.
1. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
2. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
3. Gwynedd Mercy University
Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private
Admissions rate
92%
SAT average
1,031
4. Felician University
Lodi, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
81%
SAT average
999
5. Holy Names University
Oakland, CA • Private
Admissions rate
70%
SAT average
849
6. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
7. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
994
8. Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bartlesville, OK • Private
Admissions rate
68%
SAT average
964
9. The University of Texas Permian Basin
Odessa, TX • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,046
10. Wayland Baptist University
Plainview, TX • Private
Admissions rate
98%
SAT average
1,003
Average assistant athletic director salary by education level
| Assistant athletic director education level | Assistant athletic director salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $95,806 |
| High School Diploma or Less | $65,106 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $88,057 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $78,916 |
Assistant athletic director education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025