Slam Dunk! 7 College Basketball Jobs Perfect for Fans

For those who love basketball, it’s good to know that digital college basketball jobs are being increasingly added to teams. Plus, the sports industry is expected to hit $83.1 billion by 2023, so the field is booming. If you’re not an athlete but have a strong desire to work in college basketball, here are seven exciting jobs that may just be perfect for you.

Top College Basketball Jobs for Non-Athletes

1 – Statistician

College basketball jobs in this category include academic basketball statistician and recorder roles. Whichever career you pursue, these jobs in sports involve looking for patterns in NCAA basketball data. If you take the academic path, you could find trends that might be important to understanding basketball intellectually. A statistical recorder notes statistical information live during games while in attendance, uses play-by-play to audit statistics, inputs computer data, helps to resolve disputes, keeps score, and organizes final statistics for NCAA records.

2 – Video coordinator

These college basketball jobs are sometimes under their title and sometimes part of the assistant director of basketball operations position. Typically this person will travel with the team. A manager will generally operate the camera while the coordinator uses video editing software during the games. Video provides a massive amount of valuable information to teams, so these sports jobs remain critical to success. Media projects include obtaining and loading competitor films, creating motivational highlight reels, managing post-game cut-up, and analyzing films for scouts.

3 – Coach

If you can get hired directly to Division I through a connection, you just need a bachelor’s degree for these college basketball jobs. However, you need more greatly focused (a major in a related field) and higher education levels (master’s degrees becoming more essential) at the NAIA and NCAA Divisions II and Division III levels. If you have a full-time coaching position at those levels, it is typical to have to teach as well. For that reason, education degrees can be important, and physical education is an especially focused route. Plus, you will ideally have a passion for wanting to work in sports and also to teach.

4 – Athletic trainer

In collaboration with doctors, an athletic trainer helps to heal and prevent medical issues. Major tasks include first aid, injury evaluation, and establishment of rehabilitation programs. The ideal academic course for those wanting to get into this field is a bachelor’s degree in athletic training, followed by a master’s degree in the same; however, a bachelor’s can sometimes be enough. To get initial experience for entry-level basketball jobs of this type, you must complete clinical field training. You also will need CPR certification, and in most states, you will need a general athletic training license or certification.

5 – Scout

To become a scout for an NCAA team, you will typically want to have a bachelor’s degree — whether in sports management, marketing, kinesiology, or exercise science. It also helps to have experience coaching or playing basketball to get these college basketball jobs. That experience can be essential in allowing you to determine how skilled a certain athlete is. Communication skills are also extraordinarily important. You may need a certification if you want to coach, and you will sometimes need it regardless.

6 – Broadcaster/analyst

You could work as a basketball play-by-play announcer or analyst, whether for a specific school or sports media outlet. Along with calling the games, your role in these sports jobs is also to conduct interviews and report news. According to entry-level availability numbers from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, you will likely need to start with a smaller station if you want to get into radio or TV. It is important to have the right mindset and emotional makeup for these jobs in college basketball since deadlines are often tight.

7 – Referee

Just as athletes progress through the various levels of the sport, referees must do the same. A referee starts out working in high school or junior high games. Another way to get experience for these jobs in sports is through AAU. The people you need to notice are those tasked to coordinate college officials and assignors. You first get the NCAA Division III assignor’s attention before being tapped by assignors at the Division II and Division I levels. A subscription to Referee magazine can better integrate you with the field. To help with networking for these basketball jobs, you can join the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO).

Land College Basketball Jobs through Networking

Networking can be critical to landing any role in the competitive sports industry – particularly true of the higher-profile positions. Do you want to land a college basketball job? Join our premier network for sports industry professionals.