The main theme of the article is to determine whether sports make money for universities. Over the past few years, most universities have invested a lot of their resources in the sporting department. However, the main concern is how such universities will be able to recover such investments. In fact, sport is one of the areas that has triggered new rivalry among universities in the United States. Based on the report from the article, the best way that a firm can make a profit is by having a sports finance manager (Bergmann, 1991). In that case, the sports manager will have a balance between the amount they spend on investing in that sector and the amount of retrains they are likely to obtain.
In the article, the author has provided detailed information on how most Universities invest in the sports industry, which tends to have a negative impact on their financial aspects. First, in the event that such universities are investing in the sporting sector and it does not make any return, it will mean that they will be using their limited resources to focus on a sector that is not productive. However, it is also important to note that universities must invest in the sporting sector as part of their educational curriculum (Bergmann, 1991). The government has been very strict in ensuring that universities also invest in the extra-curriculum activities of the students, which include sports. According to the article, most of the universities that have employed a professional sporting manager tend to transform that industry into money making machine for the school. However, for such aspects to be achieved, the sports manager must possess certain skills.
Analytical thinking is one of the skills the author has indicated that tend to help sporting managers achieve their jobs of turning university sports into a proper business. These skills entail understanding the financial aspects of a business through developing decisions that will help to achieve a certain profit objective. In the sports industry at the University, the skills of analytical thinking will also ensure that the sports manager works closely with the school administration in trying to create a good business environment through the school’s sporting sector (Bergmann, 1991). For a fact, this is one of the reasons that some universities tend to profit from sports while others are only doing so because it is a requirement from the government to promote sports in the universities. Accounting skills are another aspect that the author has recommended for the sports manager. The financial aspect is a very technical measure, especially in the university sporting sector, as it will require the manager to dig deeper to find a certain way of making the school profit from that industry. The only way such measures can be achieved is when the person possesses accounting skills. It will also include the sports manager working closely with the finance department of the school to minimize the amount of funds allocated to the sporting industry if it is not making as many profits as expected.
Strategic planning is one of the major concepts of sports financial management. The concepts are very vital in the sense that it helps sports manager to plan strategically on how they can be able to make profits from sports. Unlike many other industries, the sporting industry requires people with a certain knowledge of strategic planning to make it more profitable, as it is about nurturing peoples’ talents (Bergmann, 1991). Organizing is another concept of sports financial management, and it focuses on how to utilize such talents in a way that will achieve a certain objective. In any case, these financial concepts are different from others in the sense that they focus more on achieving a targeted objective.
Reflection paper
In my project, I interviewed one of the sporting managers in a High school near my home. One of the findings from the interview sports management is a crucial element in the school setting. In the past, I used to assume that it was a waste of resources for High school management to employ a person who is trained in the field of sports management as such work can be done by any teacher. However, based on that interview, I discovered that sports managers must posse certain skills which can only be obtained through training. One of the skills that I learned that every sports manager should possess is communication skills. Through that, I learned that sports managers must be able to communicate effectively with both the team members and the management (Leeds, Von Allmen & Matheson, 2018). In fact, in most cases, the sports manager acts as the intermediate between the school management and the team. Another skill that I learned relating to sports management is leadership skills. Such people are mandated to be responsible for the students when they are playing games. As such, they need to be able to learn how to manage these students in a proper manner.
Also, I learned about some of the challenges that sports managers tend to experience, which is something that I never knew that it existed. What is more, I realized that such people must learn how to address these many challenges for them to be successful. For example, one of the challenges that most sports manager experience is a lack of adequate support from the school administration. In addition, he pointed out that most schools fail to understand that sports are similar and important like any other subject. Through such knowledge, it has helped me to take more interest in sports management.
References
Bergmann, B. R. (1991). Do sports really make money for the University? Academe, 77(1), 28-30.
Leeds, M. A., Von Allmen, P., & Matheson, V. A. (2018). The economics of sports. Routledge.
write