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Sports anchor education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a sports anchor. Sports anchors usually study journalism, communication, or audiovisual communications technologies. 91% of sports anchors hold a bachelor's degree, and 5% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 1,159 real sports anchor resumes to see exactly what sports anchor education sections show.

The most common colleges for sports anchors are the University of Florida and the University of Florida.

There are also many online sports anchor courses to help get the education required to be a sports anchor.

What education do you need to become a sports anchor?

What degree do you need to be a sports anchor?

The most common degree for sports anchors is bachelor's degree, with 91% of sports anchors earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 5% and associate degree degree at 2%.
  • Bachelor's, 91%
  • Associate, 5%
  • Master's, 2%
  • High School Diploma, 1%
  • Other Degrees, 1%

What should I major in to become a sports anchor?

You should major in journalism to become a sports anchor. 34% of sports anchors major in journalism. Other common majors for a sports anchor include communication and audiovisual communications technologies.

Most common colleges for sports anchors

Sports anchors often get their degrees at University of Florida, Syracuse University, and Washington State University. Here are the most common colleges for sports anchors in the US based on their resumes.
Sports anchor common collegePercentages
University of Florida10.13%
Syracuse University8.86%
Washington State University6.33%
Ohio University5.70%
Illinois State University5.06%

Best majors for sports anchors

RankMajorPercentages
1Journalism34.1%
2Communication31.6%
3Audiovisual Communications Technologies3.5%
4Digital Media3.3%
5Agricultural Public Services3.2%

Best colleges for sports anchors

The best colleges for sports anchors are Northwestern University, Harvard University, and Northeastern University.

A sports anchor with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for sports anchors. 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 sports anchors.

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,832

Enrollment

4,550

2. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

3. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

4. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$59,430

Enrollment

8,216

5. University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$14,184

Enrollment

30,845

6. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

7. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$9,816

Enrollment

21,047

8. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

9. Emory University

Atlanta, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,306

Enrollment

6,975

10. University of Texas at Austin

Austin, TX • Private

In-state tuition

$10,610

Enrollment

40,329

20 best online courses for sports anchors

Advertising disclosure

1. Sports Marketing

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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...

2. Sports Performance Analytics

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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...

3. Introductory Sport Psychology

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4.5
(325)

Developing sport psychology skills that you can use when you train, compete or coach...

4. Applied Sport Psychology and Leadership in Sport Certificate

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4.4
(304)

Enhance your knowledge of sport psychology from an athlete or coach perspective with this comprehensive applied course...

5. Activism in Sports and Culture

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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,...

6. Prediction Models with Sports Data

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In this course the learner will be shown how to generate forecasts of game results in professional sports using Python. The main emphasis of the course is on teaching the method of logistic regression as a way of modeling game results, using data on team expenditures. The learner is taken through the process of modeling past results, and then using the model to forecast the outcome games not yet played. The course will show the learner how to evaluate the reliability of a model using data on...

7. Sport Psychology for Athletes

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4.7
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Master the fundamentals of sport psychology to improve performance and gain a mental edge...

8. Sports Management: The Essentials Course

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A Comprehensive Overview at How the Sports Industry Operates and the Challenges Facing the Modern Sports Industry Today...

9. Data Analytics in Sports Law and Management

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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...

10. Sports Turf Management: Best Practices

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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...

11. Sports Massage: The Technique Masterclass

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4.8
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Learn the most effective sports massage techniques for the entire body (2 CEUs)...

12. Internationally Accredited Diploma in Sports Nutrition

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4.5
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Learn About The Fundamentals Of Sport Nutrition Science And How To Fuel Your Athlete Client...

13. Introduction to Machine Learning in Sports Analytics

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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...

14. Build Sports Management System using JavaFX

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By the end of this project, you will create a Sport Club Management System using JavaFX. This project will give you a great push towards mastering one of the most used programming languages in the world which is Java. In this project, you will be able to identify and apply many functions and features in JavaFX using SceneBuilder, which is a third-party application used to create a JavaFX GUI easily. You will also learn how to create controller classes in Eclipse that consist of methods that...

15. Sports Nutrition for Athletes and Fitness Enthusiasts

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Learn all about sports nutrition with 7 hours of online video content and start training SMARTER instead of HARDER...

16. Ashiatsu or Shiatsu Barefoot Sports Massage Therapy

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Let your feet do the work for you!...

17. Sports Massage: Muscle Energy Technique Certificate Course

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Grow your practice by learning sports massage the power of muscle energy techniques (2 CEUs)...

18. Sports Massage: Positional Release Certificate Course

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Learn Sports Massage Positional Release Techniques to produce profound pain relief and improve bodily function (2 CEUs)...

19. Sports & Action Photography For Beginners

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4.7
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A foundational course for beginner and novice level photographers who want to learn how to photograph dynamic subjects...

20. Become a Professional Football (Soccer) Coach

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4.7
(350)

The Complete Guide on how to become a Professional Football (Soccer) Coach...

Top 10 most affordable universities for sports anchors

The most affordable schools for sports anchors are Baruch College of the City University of New York, university of florida, and brooklyn college of the city university of new york.

If the best universities for sports anchors 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 sports anchors.

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. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

3. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

4. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

5. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

6. USF St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,821

Cost of attendance

19,849

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. Lehman College of the City University of New York

Bronx, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,210

Cost of attendance

14,359

10. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for sports anchors

The hardest universities for sports anchors to get into are Northwestern University, Harvard University, and Northeastern University.

Some great schools for sports anchors 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 sports anchors 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. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

5%

SAT average

1,520

3. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

4. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

5. University of Tulsa

Tulsa, OK • Private

Admissions rate

41%

SAT average

1,321

6. Southern Methodist University

Dallas, TX • Private

Admissions rate

51%

SAT average

1,395

7. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,512

8. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

7%

SAT average

1,545

9. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

10. Emory University

Atlanta, GA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,449

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for sports anchors

The easiest schools for sports anchors to get into are University of the Incarnate Word, notre dame de namur university, and rochester university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a sports anchor 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 sports anchors.

1. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

2. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

3. Rochester University

Rochester Hills, MI • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,002

4. Grand View University

Des Moines, IA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,060

5. Centenary University

Hackettstown, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

67%

SAT average

987

6. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

7. Nyack College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

999

8. Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

1,003

9. Curry College

Milton, MA • Private

Admissions rate

93%

SAT average

1,026

10. San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA • Private

Admissions rate

72%

SAT average

1,054

Average sports anchor salary by education level

According to our data, sports anchors with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $101,790 annually. Sports anchors with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $98,609.
Sports anchor education levelSports anchor salary
Master's Degree$101,790
Bachelor's Degree$98,609

Sports anchor education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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