Faculty members Kit Kiefer and Elizabeth Taylor joined BizTalk with SCORE to introduce the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point’s new sport business program—the only program of its kind at an AACSB-accredited public university in the Upper Midwest—and explore the careers, strategy and economics behind the game.
So you want to work in sports?
If your idea of a career in sports begins and ends with working for a professional team, you’re seeing only part of the field.
That’s one of the things we learned when we talked with Kit Kiefer and Liz Taylor, faculty members in UW-Stevens Point’s Sentry School of Business and Economics.
They are part of the faculty team building the university’s newest major: Sport Business.
The name threw us, too. Sport Business. Singular. No S.
But that missing letter says something about the program. It starts with business skills, then applies them to sport.
Here are three ideas that stood out.
See the Whole Field
Kiefer’s own career shows what working in sports outside a team office can look like. He spent nearly 20 years in the trading card industry and also managed Delta Dental’s sponsorship relationship with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Taylor sees the same range across the industry. Youth leagues, college athletic departments, recreation programs, athlete representation and data services all need people who understand marketing, finance, fundraising and operations.
Some people build those opportunities themselves. Taylor recalled attending a sport industry conference and discovering that many of the people she met owned businesses. One helped athletes start foundations. Another created sponsored, one-on-one conversations between athletes and fans.
Kiefer has seen that entrepreneurial interest in his own classroom. One student started Faith Forward, a golf apparel company featuring Bible verses. Kiefer helped him shape the business plan, find suppliers and work through distribution.
Read the Game
How do you prepare students for an industry that seems to change from one class to the next?
Kiefer likes to start class with a little show-and-tell from the day’s sports news.
Shaquille O’Neal’s proposed Dunk Man League was his example during the conversation. For Kiefer, the announcement was only the starting point. Where would the money come from? Who would own the broadcast rights? How would players get paid? Would teams belong to cities or travel among popular venues?
Those are current questions, but Taylor does not believe keeping up means abandoning the fundamentals. Students are entering a field shaped by name, image and likeness, conference realignment, analytics and changing business models. They still need to understand finance, marketing, law and governance.
A balance sheet is still a balance sheet. The four Ps of marketing still matter.
Be Really Good at Something Else
Kiefer said the best advice he ever received from someone in sport business — advice he now shares with his students — was simple: If you wanna work for a sports team, be really good at something else. Be a really good accountant. Be a really good social media person. Then apply those skills to sports.
Taylor also emphasized the importance of finding the right fit. Ticket sales is often one of the easiest ways into professional sport because teams regularly need salespeople. It is also a grind, and it is not a fit for everyone. Taylor knew she did not want to spend her day cold-calling people about season tickets.
That is why she encourages students to gain exposure before choosing a path. Volunteering may reveal that a student loves fan engagement. Another may prefer the steadier schedule of finance. UW-Stevens Point’s required internship gives students another chance to test those interests before graduation.
No S. No BS. Just Sport Business.
If you want a no-BS look at career opportunities across the sport industry, listen to our full conversation with Kit and Liz.