How To Become A Sports Director: What It Is and Career Path

What is a sports director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Coaches are not the only ones responsible for driving a team towards success. Behind the scenes, there are sports directors who are quietly managing everything that goes on in the athletic program, including budget preparation, hiring, scheduling, and facility management.

Sports directors work closely with coaches and other sports officials to ensure the optimum performance of their team. At high school or college levels, sports directors collaborate with school administrators to ensure that each student on the team is academically eligible for the sport they are playing. In professional sports, on the other hand, sports directors may also serve as a representative for the team in media events on top of their other administrative responsibilities.

A sports director can earn an average of $44,369 per year. To enter this role, one must have a bachelor's degree in education, physical education, or something similar. College-level positions may offer higher compensation, but most colleges typically require master's degrees in education administration, business, or sports management. A teaching certificate and experience in coaching and administration may also be required.

ScoreSports DirectorUS Average

Salary

4.8

Avg. Salary $61,211

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.0

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 6.41%

Black or African American 7.97%

Hispanic or Latino 14.64%

Unknown 5.60%

White 65.22%

Gender

female 16.20%

male 83.80%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

8.0

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.2

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.4

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a sports director

Explore sports director education requirements

Most common sports director degrees

Bachelor's

79.2 %

Master's

7.9 %

Associate

7.9 %

Start to develop specific sports director skills

Skills	Percentages
Soccer	10.01%
CPR	7.99%
Softball	6.20%
Volleyball	6.03%
Sports Stories	5.48%

Complete relevant sports director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New sports directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a sports director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real sports director resumes.

Research sports director duties and responsibilities

Manage five beats as reporter for ABC affiliate, including medical correspondent.
Manage all programs, staff, and facilities within the sports and teen department to meet customer needs.
Lead presentations and discussions on topics such as leadership, teamwork, and dedication for club sports teams.
Manage adult basketball and volleyball programs.

Get sports director experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a sports director. The most common roles before becoming a sports director include internship, sports anchor team lead and sales associate.

Prepare your sports director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your sports director resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a sports director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable sports director resume templates

Build a professional sports director resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your sports director resume.