Athletic Directors

Students should obtain as much experience in the field as possible by participating in summer internships and part-time jobs. New graduates can get experience by working as coaches, assistant athletic directors, physical education instructors, or in other related positions.

To be successful in this career, you need to have a love and knowledge of sports. Since athletic directors must juggle many different tasks at once, you need to be organized and able to delegate tasks. Developing strong people skills will help you work effectively with people from all types of backgrounds. You must be dedicated to academic excellence and have a high degree of integrity, as well as have strong management and leadership skills. Athletic directors are under constant pressure to create winning, financially sound programs. For this reason, you must be emotionally steady, a good judge of coaching ability, and expert at business and financial management.