8 great careers in the sports industry

Black Enterprise, Feb, 1995 by Bobby Clay

Lenny Wilkens has now won more games than any coach in the history of the National Basketball Association. Cito Gaston is coach of the reigning World Series champion Toronto Blue Jays and Nolan Richardson is coach of the reigning NCAA basketball champion Arkansas Razorbacks.

Even so, head coaching jobs for minorities are hard to come by, especially away from basketball. The NFL has had only two black head coaches in its 75-year history. Division I college football is just as tough a nut to crack, with only four blacks serving as head coach last season among the nation's 107 Division I-A programs. Major league baseball had six managerial openings last fall and failed to fill any of the vacancies with a minority applicant.

Basketball, on the other hand, continues to offer opportunities at all levels. There are now four black head coaches in the NBA, earning anywhere from $300,000 to $800,000 per year. The 1994-95 college basketball season began with approximately 50 black head coaches at the Division I level, including Cheryl Miller, who gave up a broadcasting career two years ago to lead the University of Southern California women's basketball team. The average salary for head coaches of women's Division I basketball is about $45,000. For men's basketball, it's $77,000.

The opportunities for minorities are even more abundant at the junior high and high school levels, where salaries for teacher-coaches range from $19,000 to $85,000.

The criteria, no matter the level, is the same for all coaches: Know the ins and outs of your sport, be a good communicator, a strong motivator and have thick skin. "It's a people kind of job. You have to be able to relate," says Miller, 31, a communications major (USC, 1986) and a part-time assistant coach at USC from 1986-1991. "I know coaches who can coach Pat Riley out of a game, but have the personality of a rock."

For further information, contact the Black Coaches Association at 515-271-3010; the High School Coaches Association at 800-262-2495; or the Women's Basketball Coaches Association at 404-279-8027.

MARKETING/PROMOTIONS

Job description: Market, promote and sell sporting events, programming and merchandise. Often markets the image of athletes.

The marketing and promotions departments at large corporations and independent marketing companies are sprouting up right and left, peddling everything from tickets and advertising to luxury suites and merchandise marketing. Marketing and promotions specialists need a solid business background. They must possess good written and oral communication skills and the gift of persuasion. Salaries range from $20,000 (entry level) to more than $100,000.

Larry Lundy earned a B.A. in psychology with a minor in business at Austin College in Sherman, Texas. He started out managing an event portfolio that included the Rolando Blackman 3-On-3 Weekend and a youth basketball program. He later initiated a deal with NBC to televise the annual Bayou Classic football game between Grambling and Southern universities, and generated over $1.5 million in network sales for the broadcast. He now manages account activity for the NFL, Drew Pearson Companies and marketing activities for active and retired pro athletes, including Blackman, Emmitt Smith, Tony Dorsett and Everson Walls.