How to hire a sports director

How to hire a sports director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step sports director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a sports director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new sports director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a sports director do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a sports director, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A sports director's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, sports directors from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list shows salaries for various types of sports directors.

   Type of Sports Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Sports Director	Producers and directors create motion pictures, television shows, live theater, commercials, and other performing arts productions. They interpret a writer’s script to entertain or inform an audience.	$15-53
   Program Supervisor	A program supervisor is a professional who coordinates and monitors the scheduling and technical performance of company programs. Program supervisors aid in negotiating contracts and are responsible for any contractual changes... Show more	$17-25
   Director Of After School Program	A director of after school programs oversees and directs childcare centers in communities. They take the lead in setting goals and guidelines, conducting research and analyses to identify the students' interests and needs, developing programs that provide recreational activities and academic support, supervising the recruitment and training of employees, and monitoring the daily operations to ensure everything runs smoothly and efficiently... Show more	$14-38

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Soccer
   • CPR
   • Softball
   • Volleyball
   • Sports Stories
   • NCAA
   • Sports Coverage
   • Student Athletes
   • Local Sports
   • Sports Content
   • Social Media Sites
   • Program Development
   • Athletic Fields
   • Radio Station

   Check all skills

   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.
   • Edit video clips to ensure quality highlights.
   • Provide station engineering for new FM stations.

   More sports director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the sports director job description is a good way to get more applicants. A sports director salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a sports director in Mississippi may be lower than in New York, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level sports director. Additionally, a sports director with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average sports director salary

   $61,211yearly

   $29.43 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level sports director salary

   $33,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 19, 2026

   Average sports director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$106,605	$51
   2	California	$95,021	$46
   3	Massachusetts	$83,891	$40
   4	Washington	$77,488	$37
   5	Connecticut	$75,817	$36
   6	District of Columbia	$73,312	$35
   7	Maryland	$72,099	$35
   8	Oregon	$71,089	$34
   9	Nevada	$67,193	$32
   10	Pennsylvania	$63,782	$31
   11	Georgia	$58,175	$28
   12	Utah	$55,991	$27
   13	Minnesota	$55,967	$27
   14	Texas	$54,090	$26
   15	Virginia	$52,158	$25
   16	Illinois	$51,452	$25
   17	Alabama	$51,098	$25
   18	Tennessee	$49,853	$24
   19	Colorado	$49,344	$24
   20	Florida	$48,048	$23

   Average sports director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Univision Holdings, Inc.	$107,462	$51.66
   2	Saint Xavier University	$92,464	$44.45
   3	UMass Lowell	$90,178	$43.35	2
   4	Telemundo Group, Inc.	$89,986	$43.26
   5	Sinclair Broadcast Group	$85,149	$40.94	24
   6	Sportscare Institute	$75,495	$36.30
   7	Nexstar Media Group	$71,529	$34.39	8
   8	Wounded Warrior Project	$67,832	$32.61
   9	YMCA	$67,260	$32.34	30
   10	EAS Holdings LLC	$67,204	$32.31
   11	Sun Country Airlines	$67,204	$32.31
   12	University of Massachusetts Amherst	$65,146	$31.32	1
   13	Cape Ann Savings Bank	$62,338	$29.97
   14	Alpha Media USA	$61,168	$29.41	1
   15	Paramount	$60,115	$28.90	13
   16	Adidas North America Inc	$58,771	$28.26
   17	Carlisle School	$57,300	$27.55
   18	WellSpan Health	$54,639	$26.27	11
   19	Gray Television	$49,303	$23.70	7
   20	City of Rockville	$48,160	$23.15	2

4. Writing a sports director job description

   A job description for a sports director role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a sports director job description:

   Sports director job description example

   Starting at $35,600

   
   

   BENEFITS:

   Competitive benefit package including 85% paid medical, dental and vision. Fully paid short and long term disability, 1x's annual salary life insurance and 8% Association paid retirement (upon eligibility). Also includes paid sick time and generous vacation package. Complimentary membership and discounted rates for child care and programs.

   
   

   Qualifications:

   • Bachelor's degree in early childhood or elementary education, physical education, sports administration, recreation or a related field of study.
   • One to two years related experience preferred; for example, as an sports coordinator, coach or elementary, early childhood or physical education teacher.
   • Excellent public relations and coaching/teaching/leading skills in order to facilitate positive relationships with parents, staff, children, and outside agencies.
   • Have a concern for detail and accuracy and have the ability to delegate responsibility.
   • Must stay up to date on current local sports and programs/trends.
   • Energetic, motivated and well organized individual who has a passion for children and sports.

   Responsibilities:

   • Plan and facilitate all sports programming and schedules with a emphasis on preschool & youth clinics, kids programming and association developmental sports programming.
   • Identify, develop, implement, and promote high quality preschool, youth, teen, and adult sports programs to meet the needs of the community.
   • Develops strong volunteer participation through recruiting, training, supervising and evaluating volunteers for quality programs
   • Assist with association and branch events as needed
   • Communicate with participants, staff, and members in a professional and timely manner.
   • Supervise gym, staff and fields during class instruction (responsible for set up, take down and clean up).
   • This positions would require the individual to work a variety of evenings and weekends.
   • Complete all other jobs as assigned by Supervisor

   
   
   Job Posted by ApplicantPro
   

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find sports directors for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your sports director job on Zippia to find and recruit sports director candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit sports directors, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new sports director

   Once you've decided on a perfect sports director candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a sports director?