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Sports coordinator education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a sports coordinator. Sports coordinators usually study kinesiology, business, or health education. 73% of sports coordinators hold a bachelor's degree, and 10% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 2,336 real sports coordinator resumes to see exactly what sports coordinator education sections show.

The most common colleges for sports coordinators are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.

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

There are certain sports coordinator certifications that you should consider. These sports coordinator certifications include First Aid, CPR and AED Instructor and Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS).

What education do you need to become a sports coordinator?

What degree do you need to be a sports coordinator?

The most common degree for sports coordinators is bachelor's degree, with 73% of sports coordinators earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 10% and associate degree degree at 8%.
  • Bachelor's, 73%
  • Associate, 10%
  • Master's, 8%
  • High School Diploma, 6%
  • Other Degrees, 3%

What should I major in to become a sports coordinator?

You should major in kinesiology to become a sports coordinator. 29% of sports coordinators major in kinesiology. Other common majors for a sports coordinator include business and health education.

Most common colleges for sports coordinators

Sports coordinators often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, Arizona State University, and Florida State University. Here are the most common colleges for sports coordinators in the US based on their resumes.
Sports coordinator common collegePercentages
University of Phoenix7.01%
Arizona State University5.73%
Florida State University5.73%
Brigham Young University5.10%
The University of Tennessee - Knoxville5.10%

Best majors for sports coordinators

RankMajorPercentages
1Kinesiology29.5%
2Business13.9%
3Health Education7.1%
4Communication6.4%
5Psychology5.4%

Best colleges for sports coordinators

The best colleges for sports coordinators are Northwestern University, University of Southern California, and Stanford University.

A sports coordinator 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 coordinators. 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 coordinators.

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

2. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

3. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Enrollment

9,142

4. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

5. SUNY College at Cortland

Cortland, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,536

Enrollment

6,325

6. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

7. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Enrollment

9,394

8. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

9. University of Alaska Anchorage

Anchorage, AK • Private

In-state tuition

$8,580

Enrollment

10,482

10. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$15,094

Enrollment

32,974

20 best online courses for sports coordinators

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1. Sports Performance Analytics

coursera

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...

2. 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...

3. 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...

4. Introductory Sport Psychology

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4.5
(325)

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

5. Activism in Sports and Culture

coursera

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. 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...

7. Sport Psychology for Athletes

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4.7
(297)

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

8. Sports Management: The Essentials Course

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4.5
(447)

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. Prediction Models with Sports Data

coursera

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...

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. Sports Nutrition for Athletes and Fitness Enthusiasts

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4.5
(353)

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

13. Introduction to Machine Learning in Sports Analytics

coursera

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

coursera

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. 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...

16. Ashiatsu or Shiatsu Barefoot Sports Massage Therapy

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4.5
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Let your feet do the work for you!...

17. Sports Massage: Positional Release Certificate Course

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4.6
(355)

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

18. Sports Massage: Muscle Energy Technique Certificate Course

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4.7
(436)

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

19. 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...

20. Sports & Action Photography For Beginners

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4.7
(400)

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

Top 10 most affordable universities for sports coordinators

The most affordable schools for sports coordinators are SUNY Farmingdale, california state university - bakersfield, and brooklyn college of the city university of new york.

If the best universities for sports coordinators 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 coordinators.

1. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

2. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

3. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

4. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

5. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

6. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

7. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez

Mayaguez, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$4,094

Cost of attendance

14,302

8. Minot State University

Minot, ND • Private

In-state tuition

$7,064

Cost of attendance

15,576

9. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

10. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for sports coordinators

The hardest universities for sports coordinators to get into are Northwestern University, University of Southern California, and Stanford University.

Some great schools for sports coordinators 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 coordinators 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 Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

3. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

4. George Washington University, The

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

42%

SAT average

1,380

5. University of Tulsa

Tulsa, OK • Private

Admissions rate

41%

SAT average

1,321

6. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

7. Baylor University

Waco, TX • Private

Admissions rate

39%

SAT average

1,307

8. Syracuse University

Syracuse, NY • Private

Admissions rate

50%

SAT average

1,284

9. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

10. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

Admissions rate

40%

SAT average

1,376

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

The easiest schools for sports coordinators to get into are Oklahoma Wesleyan University, holy names university, and wayland baptist university.

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

1. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

2. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

3. Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

1,003

4. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

5. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

6. Life University

Marietta, GA • Private

Admissions rate

94%

SAT average

979

7. Presentation College

Aberdeen, SD • Private

Admissions rate

97%

SAT average

1,050

8. Manor College

Jenkintown, PA • Private

Admissions rate

94%

SAT average

898

9. Holy Family University

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

72%

SAT average

1,017

10. Saint Joseph's College of Maine

Standish, ME • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,069

Average sports coordinator salary by education level

Sports coordinators with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $54,310 annually. With a Bachelor's degree, sports coordinators earn a median annual income of $50,806 compared to $46,588 for sports coordinators with an Associate degree.
Sports coordinator education levelSports coordinator salary
Master's Degree$54,310
High School Diploma or Less$40,013
Bachelor's Degree$50,806
Some College/ Associate Degree$46,588

Sports coordinator 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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