Key takeaways
- Instead of preparing students to become professional athletes, a sports major in college prepares them for different aspects of the sports industry, including business, administration, organization, and leadership.
- Popular sports majors include sports management, sports marketing, sports communication, sports administration, sports analytics, and kinesiology.
- Pairing a sports major with a relevant minor enhances career flexibility and employability
- You should choose a communications minor with a sports major if you are creative-minded and want to build careers in sports media.
- A business minor is ideal for sports majors interested in management, finance, operations, and leadership roles.
Quick comparison — business vs communications minor for sports major
Here is a side-by-side comparison of the two popular minors often paired with a sports major in college — business and communications. Let’s have a look!
| Business | Communications | |
| Primary focus | Business operations, finance, HRM, marketing, and strategic management | Message delivery, interpersonal communication, leadership, research, and storytelling |
| Coursework | Managerial accounting, financial management, small business management, business law and ethics, HR, and business analytics | Communication theories, public speaking, storytelling, mass communication, public relations, and digital media |
| Skills acquired | Financial management, leadership, budgeting, operations management, and event organization | Public speaking, presentation skills, team management, message design, campaign design, and negotiation |
| Best for | Leadership-oriented individuals with a keen interest in business management | Creative-minded people with a keen interest in networking opportunities, people management, and media-savvy |
What is a sports major in college?
Every university or college offers various majors from different disciplines, preparing students for a variety of career paths. Similarly, a sports major in college also prepares students for careers in the sports industry.
However, a sports major is not focused on careers as professional athletes. Instead, there are combinations of different disciplines that make students eligible for other front-line careers in sports such as sports journalism, sports broadcasting, sports management, and sports marketing.
So, instead of training students to become footballers or tennis players, typical sports majors in college train students for the social aspects of sports activities. Globally, the sports industry is a 400 billion US dollar industry, as reported by Statista in 2025. Therefore, carefully choosing a career path in this field will be rewarding and fruitful.
What are the most popular sports majors in college?
There are some popular or common sports majors offered by colleges in the US, some of them having the same curriculum but are often named differently. These include:
- Sports management
- Sports marketing
- Sports communication
- Sports administration
- Sports analytics
- Exercise science or kinesiology
What do students enrolled in sports majors study?
Students study common topics under the umbrella of sports majors in college, including:
- Sports management and administration
- Marketing, sponsorships, and branding in sports
- Sports law and ethics
- Event and facility management
- Sports media, broadcasting, and journalism
- Athlete development and performance
- Sports psychology and sociology
- Data analytics and statistics in sports
Top sports major jobs you can find
When you are considering which college major suits you the best, make sure to have a look at the job and salary outlook. For sports majors, here is a list of top job roles:
| Job title | Average salary |
| sports contract analyst | $75,883 per year |
| Facilities manager | $111,110 per year |
| Sports agents and related occupations | $132,810 per year |
| Sports marketing manager | $83,488.00 per year |
| Advertising and marketing managers general | $159,660 per year |
| sports event manager | $62,734 per year |
| athlete manager | $63,961 per year |
| Sports administration | $44,338 per year |
| sponsorship manager | $78,591 per year |
| sports analyst | $73,261 per year |
Note: Data is as of April 2026.
Who should choose a sports major in college?
A sports major in college is the best choice for someone who:
- Loves sports but doesn’t plan on being a professional athlete
- Has a keen interest in sports data and analytics
- Is interested in business, media, and management
- Enjoy teamwork, leadership, and fast-paced environments
- Want a career connected to athletics, events, or entertainment
Choosing a minor — business or communication
Let’s explore the differences between two very interesting minors.
Business minor
Business minor is ideal for students enrolled in non-business majors like sports. Moreover, a business minor gives you the chance to unlock business knowledge and acumen that are relevant across numerous industries and job roles. With a business minor, you focus on the specific aspect of sports, such as core business functions like finance, operations, and HR.
Learning outcomes
Students who complete a business minor typically learn how organizations operate and make decisions. Key learning outcomes include:
- Understanding core business functions such as finance, marketing, and management
- Developing analytical and critical thinking skills
- Developing advanced and applicable problem-solving skills
- Gaining financial literacy and budgeting knowledge for sports team management
- Learning strategic planning and decision-making
- Understanding market dynamics and consumer behavior for effective sports marketing and PR activities
Focus areas
Since the business minor is focused on the operational side of sports, it focuses at an organizational and strategic level, including core focus areas such as:
- Finance and accounting basics
- Management and leadership principles
- Entrepreneurship and innovation
- Business fundamentals
- Marketing strategies
- Organizational management
Coursework
Business coursework gives sports majors the operational, financial, and leadership skills needed to succeed behind the scenes in different kinds of sports, such as college athletics and international sporting events. So, from learning how to analyze and manage costs to making intelligent financial decisions, the coursework in business minors is integral.
- Managerial accounting
- Introduction to financial management
- Small business management
- Business law and ethics
- Organizational development
- Human resource management
- Talent management
- Business analytics
- Entrepreneurship
- Risk management
- International business
Benefits
With a minor in business, you can benefit in ways like:
- Opportunity to build practical, transferable skills applicable across industries
- Strengthen leadership and management capabilities
- Enhance employability in corporate, startup, and nonprofit roles
Communications minor
On the other hand, there is also the option to choose a communications minor with your sports major in college. The communications minor is not as common or as popular a choice amongst students as compared to the business minor.
This is because many people do not yet realise the importance and significance of the kind of training and skills you get in a communications curriculum. For a sports major student planning to take career paths like sports broadcasting, a communications minor is the best choice.
Learning outcomes
According to Stanford University, a minor in communication provides students a broad understanding of communication theories, allowing them to bring their concepts into practice across different stages of their careers. With thorough coursework and curriculum, the typical learning outcomes of a communications minor include:
- Effective verbal, nonverbal, and written communication
- Strong foundation for public speaking skills
- Effective use of digital presentations and multimedia for speaking in front of groups of people
- Unique storytelling techniques that help sports broadcasters and managers connect with tier audiences
- Mature conflict resolution that comes in handy during team management and rough patches
- Impactful message designing to ensure a result-driven communication strategy
Focus areas
Communication is an important transferable and interpersonal skill that is often considered irreplaceable in many settings. From leading corporate teams to sports teams to handling press media to working as an athlete manager, communication sits at the heart of it all.
Therefore, studying a communications minor can help you navigate all kinds of interpersonal challenges that may surface during your entire professional journey. To prepare you for a successful career, the core areas of focus within a communications minor are:
- Interpersonal and organisational communication
- Public relations and media messaging
- Digital and social media communication
- Journalism and storytelling
- Persuasion and audience engagement
Coursework
Ultimately, whatever minor you choose should have a strong coursework that you will engage in. Comprehensive and through coursework helps students achieve the aforementioned learning outcomes. Across top US universities like Stanford and ASU, the most typical coursework included in the communications minor are:
- Media, culture, and society
- Research methodology
- Communication theories
- Communication processes and effects
- Media psychology
- Digital culture
- Storytelling
- Public speaking
- Public relations
- Digital media
- Mass communication
Benefits
Pairing a sports major with a communications minor has many benefits. These include:
- Builds strong soft skills valued by employers
- Improves confidence in presentations and professional interactions
- Prepares students for media, PR, marketing, and broadcasting roles
- Enhances teamwork, leadership, and negotiation skills
- Perfect for complementing a people-focused and team-focused sports career
What other minors pair well with a sports major in college?
You don’t have to limit your options with just two minors. For college students, tapping into the variety of choices and options is necessary for making informed decisions that ensure long-term satisfaction in academics. To help you in your college planning journey, we have a comparison table for other top minors you can choose to complement your sports major in college. Have a look!
Discover more: Top minors that go well with a major in sports management
| Marketing |
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| Psychology |
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| Public relations |
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| Journalism |
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Bottom line
In conclusion, a sports major is complete and whole on its own. However, pairing it up with a good choice of minor can truly enhance your range of skills and knowledge. So, choosing the right minor will be the only way to ensure that you become eligible for a lucrative variety of career paths, and can enjoy the opportunity to work in the sports industry without being an athlete or game player.
Overall, both communications and business minors are practical choices for sports majors. Each of them offer different value to your academic achievements and learning outcomes. So, choose a minor for your sports major depending upon your personal preferences, career goals, and feasibility.
Frequently asked questions
What jobs can I get with a sports major?
You can find sports major jobs in various work settings, such as media houses, press, digital media agencies, creative agencies, as well as sports-specific organizations such as international boards and sports team management. Some common jobs relevant for sports major are:
| Sports Agent | $49,833 a year |
| Event Coordinator | $50,890 a year |
| Sports Marketing Coordinator | $50,137 a year |
| Marketing Manager | $83,488 a year |
| Athletic Director | $74,257 a year |
| Sports Facilities Manager | $68,936 a year |
| Sports Lawyer | $100,626 a year |
| Contract Analyst | $75,883 a year |
Note: Data is as of April 2026.
Is sports management a good major?
Yes, sports management is a great major for students who want to be on the business and operations side of sports rather than being athletes. With this college major, you get trained to navigate a global industry that is worth billions.
Moreover, unlike other traditional college majors, a sports major does not restrict or limit you to a single career path. Instead, you can easily switch and flow through different types of jobs and work settings.
In addition to this, a sports major has a much more laser-focused curriculum, allowing you to remain on track and emphasize on everything that is important for your career in sports management. Therefore, it proves to be a good college major for most people. It also does not have science or mathematics, which makes it easier than other majors as well.
Is sports administration a good major?
Sports administration programs emphasize how sports organizations function, comply with regulations, and operate efficiently. So, students learn about how an athletic department is administered, whether in college sports or other forms. They also learn about policy making, governance, and compliance. In addition to this, this major is all about management-focused roles, so it is ideal for people who are natural leaders.
What to major in for sports medicine?
For sports medicine, you need to choose a major that helps build a strong foundation of physiology, anatomy, and physical management. For this reason, the best major for sports medicine are:
- Biology
- Kinesiology
- Athletic training
- Physio therapy