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Athletic director education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become an athletic director. Athletic directors usually study kinesiology, health education, or business. 69% of athletic directors hold a bachelor's degree, and 20% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 5,395 real athletic director resumes to see exactly what athletic director education sections show.
The most common colleges for athletic directors are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.
There are also many online athletic director courses to help get the education required to be an athletic director.
There are certain athletic director certifications that you should consider. These athletic director certifications include First Aid, CPR and AED Instructor and Certified Personal Trainer.
What education do you need to become an athletic director?
What degree do you need to be an athletic director?
- Bachelor's, 69%
- Master's, 20%
- Associate, 6%
- High School Diploma, 3%
- Other Degrees, 2%
What should I major in to become an athletic director?
- Kinesiology, 16%
- Health Education, 16%
- Business, 12%
- Education, 11%
- Other Majors, 45%
Most common colleges for athletic directors
| Athletic director common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Phoenix | 10.42% |
| Liberty University | 7.55% |
| Michigan State University | 6.51% |
| Ohio University | 6.25% |
| University of North Carolina at Greensboro | 5.21% |
Best majors for athletic directors
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kinesiology | 16.3% |
| 2 | Health Education | 16.2% |
| 3 | Business | 12.1% |
| 4 | Education | 10.6% |
| 5 | Elementary Education | 5.9% |
Best colleges for athletic directors
The best colleges for athletic directors are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia University in the City of New York.
An 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 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 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 Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
6. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$50,420
Enrollment
7,582
7. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
8. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Private
In-state tuition
$14,760
Enrollment
31,451
9. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Enrollment
31,503
10. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$15,094
Enrollment
32,974
20 best online courses for athletic directors
Advertising disclosure
1. 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...
2. 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...
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. 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...
6. 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...
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. Become a Professional Football (Soccer) Coach
The Complete Guide on how to become a Professional Football (Soccer) Coach...
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. Introductory Sport Psychology
Developing sport psychology skills that you can use when you train, compete or coach...
12. Internationally Accredited Diploma in Sports Nutrition
Learn About The Fundamentals Of Sport Nutrition Science And How To Fuel Your Athlete Client...
13. Football: More than a Game
Explore the world of football (soccer), the money, the rivalries, the trends, the past, the present, the men’s game, the women's game and the real issues. Whether you love it, hate it or try to ignore it – join us as we go behind the scenes to examine why football is more than just a game. From street soccer to multi-million dollar transfers, from the men’s game to the women’s, from the global to the local, from the beaches of Brazil to the fight against poverty this online course looks beyond...
14. Sports Marketing
Today, there is demand for people skilled in Sports Marketing. Organizations want your expertise to strength and grow customer bases and teams want to enlarge their fan base, attract new sponsors to their sport, build strong programs with existing sponsors, and run their fan conventions and other events. In addition, a wide range of companies recognize the value sports relationships have in positioning and building their brands. In this Sports Marketing MOOC, you will learn: — Ticket pricing...
15. Ashiatsu or Shiatsu Barefoot Sports Massage Therapy
Let your feet do the work for you!...
16. Sports Management: The Essentials Course
A Comprehensive Overview at How the Sports Industry Operates and the Challenges Facing the Modern Sports Industry Today...
17. National Academy of Sports Medicine Nutrition Essentials
NASM's Nutrition Coaching Essentials enables you to provide evidence-based guidance to those seeking to improve body composition, athletic performance, and health. By successfully completing this program, you will have the knowledge and abilities to leverage nutrition education to increase your client's success, reduce turnover, and maximize adherence. Held to the highest standard of research-based theory and practice, the Nutrition Essentials program teaches you how to provide nutritional...
18. Sports Massage: The Technique Masterclass
Learn the most effective sports massage techniques for the entire body (2 CEUs)...
19. Sports Massage: Positional Release Certificate Course
Learn Sports Massage Positional Release Techniques to produce profound pain relief and improve bodily function (2 CEUs)...
20. Sports Massage: Muscle Energy Technique Certificate Course
Grow your practice by learning sports massage the power of muscle energy techniques (2 CEUs)...
Top 10 most affordable universities for athletic directors
The most affordable schools for 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 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 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. California State University - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,749
Cost of attendance
14,823
5. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
6. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
7. Lehman College of the City University of New York
Bronx, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,210
Cost of attendance
14,359
8. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York
Brooklyn, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,240
Cost of attendance
13,991
9. Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$4,831
Cost of attendance
19,559
10. California State University - Northridge
Northridge, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,893
Cost of attendance
18,870
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for athletic directors
The hardest universities for athletic directors to get into are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia University in the City of New York.
Some great schools for 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 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. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
Admissions rate
5%
SAT average
1,520
7. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
8. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
9. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
10. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
Admissions rate
23%
SAT average
1,398
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for athletic directors
The easiest schools for 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 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 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. Ottawa University
Ottawa, KS • Private
Admissions rate
78%
SAT average
1,024
7. University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,044
8. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
994
9. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
10. Saint Joseph's College of Maine
Standish, ME • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,069
Average athletic director salary by education level
| Athletic director education level | Athletic director salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $87,858 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $69,635 |
| Doctorate Degree | $103,516 |
Athletic director education FAQs
Have more questions? See all answers to common executive management questions.
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025