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Sports reporter education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a sports reporter. Sports reporters usually study journalism, communication, or english. 87% of sports reporters hold a bachelor's degree, and 6% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 3,223 real sports reporter resumes to see exactly what sports reporter education sections show.
The most common colleges for sports reporters are the University of Florida and the University of Florida.
There are also many online sports reporter courses to help get the education required to be a sports reporter.
What education do you need to become a sports reporter?
What degree do you need to be a sports reporter?
- Bachelor's, 87%
- Associate, 6%
- Master's, 3%
- High School Diploma, 2%
- Other Degrees, 2%
What should I major in to become a sports reporter?
- Journalism, 40%
- Communication, 26%
- English, 5%
- Agricultural Public Services, 4%
- Other Majors, 25%
Most common colleges for sports reporters
| Sports reporter common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Florida | 7.95% |
| University of Arizona | 7.95% |
| Pennsylvania State University | 7.67% |
| University of Iowa | 7.40% |
| The University of Alabama | 6.85% |
Best majors for sports reporters
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Journalism | 39.6% |
| 2 | Communication | 26.3% |
| 3 | English | 4.7% |
| 4 | Agricultural Public Services | 4.2% |
| 5 | Journalism And Mass Communications | 3.2% |
Best colleges for sports reporters
The best colleges for sports reporters are Northwestern University, Harvard University, and California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo.
A sports reporter 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 reporters. 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 reporters.
1. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$9,816
Enrollment
21,047
2. University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI • Private
In-state tuition
$10,555
Enrollment
30,360
3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,832
Enrollment
4,550
4. North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$9,101
Enrollment
23,708
5. University of Georgia
Athens, GA • Private
In-state tuition
$11,830
Enrollment
29,474
6. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$15,094
Enrollment
32,974
7. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$50,420
Enrollment
7,582
8. Ohio State University
Columbus, OH • Private
In-state tuition
$10,726
Enrollment
45,769
9. Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$18,454
Enrollment
40,108
10. Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX • Private
In-state tuition
$9,080
Enrollment
30,795
20 best online courses for sports reporters
Advertising disclosure
1. 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...
2. 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...
3. Introductory Sport Psychology
Developing sport psychology skills that you can use when you train, compete or coach...
4. Sport Psychology for Athletes
Master the fundamentals of sport psychology to improve performance and gain a mental edge...
5. 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,...
6. 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...
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. 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...
9. 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...
10. 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...
11. Sports Management: The Essentials Course
A Comprehensive Overview at How the Sports Industry Operates and the Challenges Facing the Modern Sports Industry Today...
12. Sports Massage: The Technique Masterclass
Learn the most effective sports massage techniques for the entire body (2 CEUs)...
13. Prediction Models with Sports Data
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...
14. Build Sports Management System using JavaFX
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
Learn About The Fundamentals Of Sport Nutrition Science And How To Fuel Your Athlete Client...
16. Sports Massage: Positional Release Certificate Course
Learn Sports Massage Positional Release Techniques to produce profound pain relief and improve bodily function (2 CEUs)...
17. Ashiatsu or Shiatsu Barefoot Sports Massage Therapy
Let your feet do the work for you!...
18. Sports Massage: Muscle Energy Technique Certificate Course
Grow your practice by learning sports massage the power of muscle energy techniques (2 CEUs)...
19. Become a Professional Football (Soccer) Coach
The Complete Guide on how to become a Professional Football (Soccer) Coach...
20. Sports & Action Photography For Beginners
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 reporters
The most affordable schools for sports reporters 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 reporters 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 reporters.
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. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
5. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
6. California State University - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,749
Cost of attendance
14,823
7. USF St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,821
Cost of attendance
19,849
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. Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN • Private
In-state tuition
$9,992
Cost of attendance
22,430
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for sports reporters
The hardest universities for sports reporters to get into are Northwestern University, Harvard University, and California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo.
Some great schools for sports reporters 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 reporters 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. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA • Private
Admissions rate
30%
SAT average
1,339
4. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,466
5. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
6. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,512
7. University of Tulsa
Tulsa, OK • Private
Admissions rate
41%
SAT average
1,321
8. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA • Private
Admissions rate
7%
SAT average
1,545
9. Southern Methodist University
Dallas, TX • Private
Admissions rate
51%
SAT average
1,395
10. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for sports reporters
The easiest schools for sports reporters 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 reporter 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 reporters.
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. Curry College
Milton, MA • Private
Admissions rate
93%
SAT average
1,026
9. Wayland Baptist University
Plainview, TX • Private
Admissions rate
98%
SAT average
1,003
10. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
Average sports reporter salary by education level
| Sports reporter education level | Sports reporter salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $101,985 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $98,552 |
Sports reporter education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025