Upcoming Webinar: Understanding Sports Management as a Career Path

Students say it all the time. “I want to work in sports.”
And counselors are often left thinking… What does that actually mean?

On Wednesday, February 18 at 9am PT / 12pm ET, the IECA Advising the College-Bound Student-Athlete Affinity Group is hosting a webinar designed to bring real clarity to one of the most common and most misunderstood career interests among student-athletes: sports management and sports business.

This conversation brings together three professionals who see the industry from very different angles. Ryan Burke works on the private side of sports and oversees thousands of employees at Bay Club, hiring and developing people who build long-term careers in the industry. Joe Slater spent years working inside college athletics and brings a firsthand perspective on what day-to-day life in college sports actually looks like. Stephen Master bridges the academic and professional worlds, having worked with major sports organizations while also teaching sports management and running experiential summer programs for students.

Together, they’ll dig into what sports business is and what it definitely is not. The panel will explore the kinds of roles students often overlook, the skills that actually matter when breaking into the industry, how academic programs and internships can either help or hurt, and the real trade-offs that come with working in sports. Most importantly, the discussion is designed to help counselors ask better questions and guide students toward paths that fit their interests, strengths, and long-term goals.

If you are a member of IECA and you work with student-athletes who dream of careers in sports and want to give families honest, practical guidance, this is a conversation worth joining. Check the IECA website for details.