Career Opportunities in Basketball

The sport of basketball provides a variety of career options for those interested in working in the field of athletics, whether as a college athletic director, assistant coach, or in sales and marketing. There are opportunities for employment in youth, college or professional basketball in varying capacities. Sports programs require qualified personnel to fill positions ranging from administration and general management or communications to facility operations and security, to sales and marketing for the NCAA. Regardless of a prospective employee’s area of interest, there seems to be something for everyone in basketball.

One interesting employment vacancy is in Player/Basketball Operations within the National Basketball Association. The Philadelphia 76ers are currently seeking a Basketball Analyst with a focus on statistical/modeling (“Current Available Jobs”, n.d.). The responsibilities for this job include advanced modeling and analysis of data, including forecasting plays, player actions, team behavior and season outcomes (“Current Available Jobs”, n.d.). This information will be communicated back to the basketball operations staff in presentations and reports, so excellent communication and computer skills are required (“Current Available Jobs”, n.d). Based on this information, the analyst will also make recommendations to the basketball operations department regarding future player/team activity (“Current Available Jobs”, n.d.). The ability to work well in a team environment is also important, as the analysis is expected to frequently collaborate with other employees (“Current Available Jobs”, n.d.). According to the job listing, qualified candidates do not need prior experience working with a basketball team but do need to have experience with conducting statistical analysis using statistical software. They are looking for someone with “strong” experience working with “data mining, experimental design, linear regression, logistic regression, non-linear regression, k-means clustering, decision trees, and other advanced techniques” (“Current Available Jobs”, n.d.). Overall, this seems like an excellent opportunity for someone with a combined business and sports management background, who is looking for more stability than the traditional coaching positions historically provide. However, this employee would still be involved in helping guide the team to a winning season, which should also prove rewarding.

Another viable (and arguably the more popular) option in basketball is coaching, even if it is in a Division II program. Northeastern State University is currently seeking a Head Men’s Basketball Coach for its team (“Head Men’s”, 2014). The successful hire will be responsible for the organization and supervision of every area of the men’s basketball program, including the creation of what is described as a “comprehensive and visionary plan for the program” (“Head Men’s”, 2014). In addition to those responsibilities, the Head Coach is also responsible for the recruitment of new players, retention of existing ones, and the supervision of the academic performance of all the men’s basketball student-athletes (“Head Men’s”, 2014). The Head Coach will also have oversight responsibilities regarding strength and conditioning and team community involvement (“Head Men’s”, 2014). Lastly, the coach will be responsible for a significant amount of fundraising for the athletics program, including attending community and alumni speaking engagements (“Head Men’s”, 2014). Like most universities, the qualified candidate is required to have at least a bachelor’s degree, with preference given to candidates with a master’s degree (“Head Men’s”, 2014). The qualified candidate will also have seven years of full-time coaching experience, with five of those years within an NCAA Division I or II program (preferably as a head coach or “on-the-floor” assistant coach) (“Head Men’s”, 2014). Other qualifications include the ability to relate with student-athletes, the ability to work well with other athletics department staff, and the proven ability to win games (“Head Men’s”, 2014). This is an exciting opportunity for anyone looking to get involved in coaching, providing that person with a solid starting point within an established program. However, college athletics is somewhat volatile, and coaches are often only valued based on their last season’s performance. While the opportunity is certainly intriguing, I may wish to consider a career with a little more stability and longevity.

References

Current Available Jobs in Player/Basketball Operations. (n.d.). The Official NBA Team Jobs Board. Retrieved from http://nbateamjobs.teamworkonline.com/teamwork/jobs/jobs.cfm/ Player-Basketball-Operations?supcat=170

Head Men’s Basketball Coach/Instructor. (2014, February 28). NCAA Market. Retrieved March 5, 2014, from http://ncaamarket.ncaa.org/jobs/6042264/head-men-s-basketball-coach-instructor