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Leadership, Teamwork, Adaptability – Careers for Veterans in Sports

If you’re like most Americans, you probably follow at least one professional sports team. According to one published report, 2 out of 3 do.

Beyond the fact that you may enjoy sports, you’ve spent much time devoted to fitness, stamina, and nutrition during your military service (whether you liked it or not).

With this in mind, you may be interested in pursuing a career that combines your enthusiasm for sports with the skills and experience you gained while serving. But it doesn’t stop there for those with many qualities that may make a career in sports not only an exciting and rewarding one, but also a good fit for veterans. Let’s look at a few of these qualities.

• Leadership – whether you were leading a brigade or serving as part of a unit, military work requires operating in a high-stress environment
• Adaptability – the success of whatever the mission may be often requires split-second decision-making to adjust to changing environments and circumstances
• Team Building – a basic tenet of the military is the ability to work as a team
• Strategic Thinking – planning and adjusting are key to mission execution
• Discipline and Work Ethic – your time in the military required you to adhere to particular standards.
• Mental Toughness and Resilience – beginning in the earliest stages of your military career, you were consistently challenged to succeed individually and as part of a team
• Accountability—the success of your unit and the mission depend on every member doing their part.
• Communication skills—All of the above require the ability to maintain constant and consistent communication to advise and assess circumstances and strategy

Careers in Sports

If you’re interested in pursuing a career in the sports industry, several options can leverage the skills and experience you gained during your military service. For this article, we focus on schools offering degree plans related to the field. Let’s explore a few of them.

Sports Administration and Operations: Military service requires a strong capacity to organize people, equipment, and logistics. These qualities are beneficial in administrative roles in sports, including those of athletic director, events specialist, and compliance officer. For these roles, you will likely need a degree in business, public administration, or sports management.

This is where your GI Bill or other education benefit can set you up for success. It’s also a degree plan that can optimize your military experience and skills to reduce the time and benefits needed to get that degree. Here are some options to consider:

Ohio University (OU) – OU’s main campus offers Tuition Assistance (TA), Credit for Prior Learning (CPL), accepts the GI Bill, and is a Yellow Ribbon school. This means that if you’re pursuing a graduate program in sports management at OU, funding may be available to bridge the gap between your benefit maximum and the cost of the advanced degree.

The university also features a Veterans and Military Center, and its sports management program is one of the oldest in the nation. Additionally, OU offers undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. degrees. The university has a Sports Management Association that provides professional development opportunities, and it is a member of the Sports Marketing Association.

Temple University—Temple is also a Yellow Ribbon school with a robust support network that includes its own Military and Veteran Service Center (MVSC). In addition to its veteran-specific services and events, Temple funds scholarships for those with limited means or benefits.

Their School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management offers a B.S. in Sports and Entertainment Management, which prepares you for employment in professional, intercollegiate, interscholastic, recreational, nonprofit, armed forces, and industrial sports settings. You can also attain an M.S. in Sports Business to refine your skills in analytics, sales, and venue management.

Athletic Trainers/Strength and Conditioning Coaches

Your time in the military involved plenty of fitness training and, more than likely, some basic medical knowledge. Both can be good prerequisites for athletic training and performance coaching. These roles typically require a bachelor’s degree or, in some cases, a graduate degree in a related field, such as Athletic Training, Exercise Science, or Kinesiology.

For some positions, the degree may be waived if you have a certain amount of relevant experience and also have the necessary credentials, which, depending on the position, may include CPR, Board of Certification (BOC) as a Certified Athletic Trainer, and certifications in Strength and Training, Tactical Strength and Conditioning. Let’s see where you might be able to gain a degree in athletic training and strong veteran support.

The University of Michigan – Ann Arbor offers a Yellow Ribbon program, TA. Their Point of Contact (POC) support model within its Veteran and Military Services Program ensures that you have access to the programming or services you need when you need them. Military learners can also connect with trained peer advisors who can help them navigate on- and off-campus assets.

The School of Kinesiology has extensive programming for both undergraduate and graduate-level studies, leading to a career in athletic training. The Applied Exercise Science (AES) major engages students through coursework, lab work, and direct interaction with the school’s athletes and sports programs. Additionally, the school offers small cohort classes for waitlisted students to begin after a one-semester gap, allowing them to graduate, in many cases, at the same time as students who start at the typical Fall semester.

Springfield College offers a Yellow Ribbon Program, Tuition Assistance in some cases, and Credit for Prior Learning (CPL). If you’re considering applying, be sure to send your JST to them. They also have a Military and Veterans Services Center, where you can get assistance with benefits and resources, socialize with fellow veterans, and participate in events designed explicitly for you.

Springfield offers a 2-year M.S. in Strength and Conditioning, the first program accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Strength and Conditioning Education (CASCE). Students learn in a dedicated facility that houses the equipment used in the field, allowing them to gain firsthand experience with its use. The curriculum includes nutrition, sports psychology, exercise pulmonology, and stress management. If you prefer not to complete a thesis, you can still take the entire curriculum and earn an M.Ed. instead.

Sports Broadcasting and Communications

This is an excellent option if you enjoy sports and are interested in working in media and communications. And if you work in Public Affairs, you may be eligible to transfer some of that experience into credits.

Robert Morris University—At Robert Morris, you may be eligible to receive Credit for Prior Learning (CPL), participate in their unlimited Yellow Ribbon program, and utilize Tuition Assistance. The school has a 7,500-square-foot dedicated building that houses computer labs, lounge space, a kitchenette, and even a private gym.

If you’re not eligible for the full GI Bill, don’t worry; their RMU Military Service Award ensures that your tuition and fees are covered at the 100% rate, and they have previously offered a 25% discount for their master’s option. Check with the university to see what options are currently offered.

If you’re interested in pursuing a career in broadcasting, Robert Morris offers a B.A. in News and Sport Broadcasting. The program boasts a strong placement rate and includes coursework in leadership,

The program combines writing, editing, and media technology. It offers hands-on experience at the Academic Media Center, radio station, and Colonial Sports Network, as well as instruction from faculty who have worked in the industry. It also offers a one-semester immersive internship through The Washington Center.

Emerson College – Emerson is also a Yellow Ribbon school that may take CPL and TA. Although it doesn’t have a dedicated center, it does offer assistance from a veteran intern who can direct you to campus resources or those in the community.

They have an award-winning student-led news channel where you can hone your skills in all facets of the industry. Additionally, they have a dedicated sports channel, allowing you to build your skills as a broadcaster. If you already hold a B.A., you can also enroll in a fully online program and learn at your own pace, with the ability to complete an MA in as little as a year.

Sports Psychology

Whether you know it or not, your time in the military has helped you gain exceptional mental fortitude and resilience. If you want to continue serving, this is a great way to do so. Here are a few schools with sports psychology programming and support for military learners.

• East Carolina University (ECU) – ECU is a Yellow Ribbon school and takes CPL and TA. They have a Veterans Center to support you as you pursue your degree(s) in sports. The center is open five days a week. It is available to military learners, family members, active-duty personnel, and community members as a place to gather, study, and interact with peers. A virtual option is also available to explore academic workshops, peer advising, and social events. ECU has a veteran’s group, “The Pirate Experience,” to stay up-to-date on activities, events, and benefits. There is a separate orientation, tutoring, and a first-year seminar to get you started on the right foot.

Sports studies at ECU include choices for both undergraduate and graduate degrees. The program provides a B.S. in Sports Studies, which prepares students for the industry from managerial, sociological, and scientific perspectives. Additionally, a B.S. in Athletic Training provides the foundational knowledge necessary for a career in athletic training. The program also offers an M.S. in Recreational Therapy and Sports Management and a focus on Kinesiology with an emphasis on Exercise and Psychology.

• University of Nevada – Las Vegas (UNLV) – UNLV has a demonstrated commitment to veterans, including being a Yellow Ribbon school and accepting CPL and TA in some cases. They have a Military and Veterans Services Center (MVSC, where you can receive assistance with benefits, academic advisement, and transition support and guidance from those who had previously served. In addition, they also have a Veterans Integration to Academic Leadership (VITAL) program, which provides mental health assistance, and a VetSuccess on Campus (VSOC) program, where other ancillary support is available.

UNLV offers both undergraduate and graduate degree plans, including a B.S. in Kinesiology and an M.Ed. On-campus and virtual options are available, preparing you to pursue subjects such as student-athlete development, sport analytics, and, not surprisingly, sports betting. Additionally, the university has a few unique offerings, including a B.S. in PGA Golf Management, which is recognized by the Professional Golfers’ Association and combines hospitality coursework with 16 months of internships.

Non-Profits Supporting Veterans Pursue Employment in Sports

Soldiers to Sidelines (S2S)

If you’re interested in a coaching role, whether in your local community, at a high school, college, or university, or even for the NFL, S2S may be a great place to start. This nonprofit aims to prepare you for a career in coaching through a series of virtual courses that provide an introduction to the field.

Their certification program teaches you the basics of pursuing coaching opportunities in football, soccer, adaptive sports, basketball, endurance, and lacrosse.

Once you earn your certificate, you gain access to networking opportunities, clinics, workshops, and coaching webinars to help you acquire additional skills and establish connections with peers and professionals in the field. All programming is free to veterans, servicemembers, spouses, and Gold Star families.

Merging Veterans and Players (MVP)

MVP is another nonprofit that focuses on veterans. However, its mission also includes addressing the challenges faced by professional athletes as they transition from sports to the civilian world and their communities.

The concept behind it is that veterans and athletes share many of the same challenges as they move beyond the military or their sport, and by connecting them, they can forge mutually beneficial relationships in finding their next mission, identity, and purpose. MVP utilizes peer-to-peer support with a team mentality that enables camaraderie and sharing, fitness sessions to promote well-being and mental health, and community building in five major metropolitan areas.