Ben Buchanan and Bobby Dhaliwal are working on this project while earning degrees in sports management from Ohio State University.Credit: Provided by Bobby Dhaliwal and Ben Buchanan
It may come as no surprise that the most popular major among the 62 scholar-athletes on the 2023 football team.
The 17 athletes, including Heisman finalist Marvin Harrison Jr., not only have first-hand experience of the sports industry, but also study it.
This major through the College of Education and Human Ecology attracts both scholar-athletes and students who are ready to take their love of sports to the next level, perhaps as a general manager or athletic director. Ben Buchanan, who has been a lecturer in the department since 2019, said that despite the diverse career paths of graduates, there are three lessons he hopes students carry with them.
“For me, at the end of the day, are you a critical thinker? Are you a leader? Do you work well on a team?” Buchanan said. “Sports is almost the ultimate meritocracy, right? You get what you deserve, but it's the only thing in life where if you work hard, good things often come out.”
Buchanan was a football student-athlete from 2008 to 2012 and majored in strategic communications. A few years later, Buchanan graduated with a master's degree in sports management before returning to the teaching field and earning a doctorate in sports management in 2018.
Bobby Dhaliwal is a graduate faculty member at The Ohio State University and is currently pursuing his Ph.D. The field of sports management similarly states that students need to incorporate the intrinsic motivation and experiential learning learned in the curriculum into their professional work.
“Over the past year, students who have been able to connect the concepts they learned in their courses will be better able to apply them and become more effective professionals when given the opportunity to play a specific role. I learned that I can get out of the classroom,” Dhaliwal said.
As graduation approaches and students look for jobs, Buchanan said it's best to start with a small role, such as selling tickets, and work your way up.
“It's clear that if they want to go into athletic director, it's not going to happen right away,” Buchanan said. “You might work there [an] When it comes to event facilities, you can start with different areas and gradually work your way up. Look at the different areas within the department to achieve that, your dream job. ”
Big dreams often mean a lot of effort and perhaps some rejection. Dhaliwal's biggest advice to graduates is to not get discouraged in the process of finding a job, as “not trying is failing.” Building a large network of sports industry professionals is also important.
“We really have to keep trying when it comes to applications.” [sport] position in the industry,” Dhaliwal said. “There are a lot of people who feel like they are a little more qualified, but there are also people who have a bigger network. Taking action will definitely work in your favor.”
Dhaliwal said that in his experience, many students pursue marketing roles right out of college, such as ticket sales or event management, which involve planning, setup, and teardown.
“A lot of these people don't get as much recognition, but they definitely play a very important role in the industry,” Dhaliwal said.
At Buchanan, many of our students pursue a career in marketing, but more recently we have seen an increase in students looking to enter the world of name, image and likeness brand partnerships as well as sports-related social media. I am.
When it came to choosing a career in sports, Dhaliwal said he was interested because of his high school basketball background and fans. For students who are passionate about sport but are not sure what career they want to pursue, a sports industry curriculum will help them become as valuable as possible to sporting organizations in the future, he said. Stated.
