Recreational Sport Management
The Recreational Sports Management program in the Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Studies focuses on enhancing the quality of people's lives by helping them participate in challenging physical activities and by bringing professional management skills to state-of-the-art sport facilities and programs around the world.
For more information about Recreation Sports please visit the Recreational Sports Management Website.
Careers
Career opportunities for entry level positions exist in literally thousands of profit and non-profit institutions in the United States and around the world. Recreational sports programs serve millions of participants of all ages. In some settings, the demand for qualified recreational sports specialists far exceeds the supply, which results in great potential for recreational sports career-oriented individuals.
Amateur Athletics with the AAU and state games across the country provide positions involving sport facilities, programming and operations.
Business/industrial sports provide opportunities for a sport programmer in employee recreational sports. There are over 150,000 job opportunities available in approximately 50,000 corporations and industries which spend more than $3 billion a year on recreation for their employees.
The collegiate setting in recreational sports offers career opportunities in informal sports, instructional sports, intramural sports, club sports and fitness programming on college and university campuses across the country.
Commercial sports offers thousands of positions in such settings as theme parks, health/fitness spas, racquet clubs, and hotels.
Military recreation supports 250,000 full-time employees with 10,000,000 users at 900 locations within the United States and 350 overseas locations. Positions such as sport programmers and sport directors in intramural, extramural, informal and club sports are available on all types of military bases--Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine.
Municipal parks and recreation departments offer approximately 3,000 positions in sports programming as many of their recreational offerings are sports related.
Resort/tourism settings provide specialized opportunities in sports to include facility management, programming and operation.
YMCA's/YWCA's - At the 2,200 Y's in the United States there are approximately 4,000 recreational sport related job opportunities in positions such as sports coordinators and program directors.
Special Opportunities
Through class practica, projects, internship opportunities, and field experiences, the department helps you apply what you learn when-and-where you learn it. Indiana University and the local community offer the following recreation opportunities and living laboratories that will give you firsthand experience:
- The Student Recreational Sports Center offers Olympic size swimming and diving pools, an elevated indoor jogging track, three multipurpose gyms, and racquetball and squash courts. The extensive strength and conditioning rooms are staffed with consultants who orient students to the equipment and provide fitness tips and guidance.
- Bloomington Sports Plex: This commercial multi-use indoor fitness and sports complex offers a variety of sports programs and fitness activities.
- The Monroe County YMCA: This popular facility offers youth, family, and adult sports, and aquatics, fitness and various health and wellness programs for residents in the Bloomington community.
Degree Requirements
Bachelor of Science in Recreation
Major in Recreational Sport Management
124 credit hours with a minimum 2.0 GPA required for graduation
Admissions
A student seeking admission to the Recreational Sport Management major within the Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Studies is required to complete the online application and submit it to the department office in HPER 133. The application may also be pick-up in HPER 133.
Contact
Coordinator: Dr. Craig Ross
E-Mail: cross@indiana.edu
