Sports Communication

Types of Degrees Sports Communication Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many sports communication graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	539
Basic Certificate	97
Master’s Degree	47
Graduate Certificate	40
Associate Degree	6

What Sports Communication Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, sports communication majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Sports Communication Majors

Sports Communication majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Skills for Sports Communication Majors

A major in sports communication prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Sports Communication Majors

Sports Communication majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Sports Communication Major?

People with a sports communication degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes	4.7%	$66,040

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Sports Communication?

This major attracts more men than women. About 77% of the graduates in this field are male.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of sports communication majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	9
Black or African American	43
Hispanic or Latino	57
White	382
International Students	12
Other Races/Ethnicities	36

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Sports Communication, too. About 2.2% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Sports Communication Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Sports Communication majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $55,530 to $78,090 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Sports Communication

Some careers associated with sports communication require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for sports communication careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	2.3%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	4.6%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	0.2%
Some College Courses	9.6%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	3.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	56.6%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	0.7%
Master’s Degree	17.1%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.2%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	1.5%
Doctoral Degree	2.8%
Post-Doctoral Training	1.8%

Online Sports Communication Programs

In 2020-2021, 79 schools offered a sports communication program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	1	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	3	0
Bachelor’s Degree	3	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	7	1
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Sports Communication Worth It?

The median salary for a sports communication grad is $68,440 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 72% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $570,800 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Sports Communication

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to sports communication.

Major	Number of Grads
Public Relations	5,216
Advertising	4,918
Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication	4,203
General Organizational Communication	2,013
Other Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication	1,553
Communication Management and Strategic Communications	1,397
Health Communication	410
International & Intercultural Communication	256
Technical & Scientific Communication	217
Political Communication	187

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Bill Koplitz under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.