Sports Administrator Career Guide at ACPE

If you’re graduating high school and have always had a passion for sports, or you’re already in the sports industry and looking to branch out into another area, you might want to consider a role as a Sports Administrator.

What is a Sport Administrator?

When people think of sports, their mind often goes to their favourite athletes. It’s easy to overlook the unsung heroes behind the scenes who handle all aspects from the team’s marketing to administrative duties, managing finances for events and providing support to staff.

If you’re passionate about sports and see yourself in the admin side of the sporting sector, this could be just the right fit for you.

The responsibilities of a Sports Administrator

A Sports Administrator’s standard day could differ from the next. One day could be spent behind a computer performing admin tasks, while the next day, you could be at the local sports club planning an upcoming event with staff. It’s a fast-paced role with many tasks to complete, including:

• Program coordination and management

As a Sports Administrator, you’ll be adept at organising and managing various sporting events and programs, ensuring every sporting activity is executed smoothly. You’ll create a schedule for events, take charge of promotional material, answer phone calls, buy sports materials and promote sports clubs and facilities.

• Maintaining compliance and regulations

It’s the responsibility of Sports Administrators to be well-versed in sports governance, ensuring all sports activities align with the guidelines set by relevant sporting bodies and authorities.

• Providing athlete support

As a Sports Administrator, you’re not only responsible for ensuring sporting events run smoothly, but you play an important part in ensuring athletes receive their essential services, including mentoring and counselling to ensure they excel both on and off the field.

• Managing the upkeep of sporting facilities

Maintaining state-of-the-art facilities is a must to ensure athletes have the necessary standards required for optimal performance when training or competing.

• Budgeting and resource allocation

For any sports program, managing financial resources is essential. Through budgeting and resource allocation, you will ensure sufficient funds are allocated to sporting events and activities.

Essential skills of a Sports Administrator

Sports Administrators require both technical and soft skills to complete their day-to-day tasks, including:

• Communication skills — You may need to liaise with customers to resolve issues and answer questions or fellow staff to ensure everything is up to par.

• Experienced with using computer software — From creating spreadsheets, schedules and other documents, being proficient in Word and Excel is highly desirable when hiring candidates.

• Organisational skills — With this fast-paced role, you must demonstrate the ability to organise events while managing competing tasks.
• Leadership — Particularly if you want to climb the career ladder and progress into a higher-level role, you should make decisions and lead initiatives at work to stand out from the crowd.

How to become a Sports Administrator

To get a job as a Sports Administrator, you must earn a relevant qualification. Earning a degree will give you the advanced knowledge required to succeed in this role, offer networking opportunities and demonstrate to employers that you’re qualified.

A Sports Business degree will give you an understanding of the business side of sports, while a sports science degree will enable you to interact with industry professionals and learn more about health and fitness.

At ACPE, we offer a Bachelor of Sports Coaching (Strength and Conditioning) to enable you to foster the coaching, administrative and professional skills required for a fulfilling career in sports. It’s the ideal mix of theory and practical components that will teach you how to manage the sports sector’s political, legislative and administrative areas. You will also gain supporting certifications with your degree.

Enrol at ACPE and get one step closer to your career as a Sports Administrator

If you’re passionate about sports but don’t see yourself pursuing a career as an athlete, the choices don’t end there. A career as a Sports Administrator will give you the opportunity to organise sports events and provide you with unrivalled experience to help you advance your career. By enrolling in a course or degree at ACPE, you can learn from industry professionals and gain the necessary skills to pursue a career as a Sports Administrator. Explore our careers guide for other options, such as a Sport Development Officer.

While you’re here, check your eligibility to apply for a scholarship or contact our team for any other questions — they’ll be happy to help.