How to Become a General Manager of a Sports Team
High school sports fans can easily find a career in the sports industry, especially one behind the scenes, since it takes a lot of people to ensure that a sporting event goes smoothly. A degree in sport management can lead to many different and exciting careers, including those of general managers. A general manager, called a GM for short, doesn’t appear on the field at all, unless it’s to greet the team or evaluate the players. Instead, they play a huge role in making everything run smoothly for the team.
Interested in finding out how to become a general manager? Here’s how you can get started.
The Duties of a General Manager
While the head coach might be the person on the field choosing plays and motivating the players to do their jobs, the general manager does something similar off the field. They are in charge of all the people who work under them, from the specific department managers to those that manage everything from marketing to player relations.
In addition, a general manager is in charge of negotiating contracts for all of the coaches and players, as well as working with other teams in order to set up the seasonal game schedule. A GM also promotes the team, works with the marketing and advertising departments to set up campaigns, and even makes sure that everyone, from the top down, follows all the rules that the league has in place.
How to Become a GM?
In order to find yourself in the general manager’s office, with your name on the door, of course, you’ll need to go through a series of steps. It all starts with a degree in sport management. This degree program provides you with a solid foundation of information on everything that involves sports as a business. You’ll take courses on ethics, law, psychology, marketing and more.
While working through your degree program, you’ll need to get an internship. It’s important to find a sports franchise that’s offering students the chance to intern in their back office. You might find yourself spending a semester or summer working for one single department, or several of them. Either way, you’re getting plenty of hands-on experience and learn more about how the professional sports industry works.
Finally, you’ll need to network with other people in the field. Not only is this a good way to get a job once your finish college, but it also will help work your way up, since a general manager needs to know quite a few people in order to do the job successfully.
Study Sport Management at Dean College
Looking for a good sport management program? Dean College has one that’s comprehensive and covers all of the bases and then some. You’ll take courses in things like sports law and the psychology of sports, as well as finance, management and general business. With this degree and some experience in place, you’ll have no problem working your way up the ladder to that general management office. Ready to take the next step? Request more information, today.