Really, really good read here.

https://athleticdirectoru.com/articles/d1-administrative-... /

100%

I learned the hard way after a tough couple years in the MLB. When you can field hundreds (maybe thousands) of applicants for a single sales role, you'll never be able to earn back what you put in. Teams know they have all the leverage because they can choose from a massive pool of replacements at any point.

I completely agree on the burnout. I graduated with the BS in Sports Management from Ohio. I was fortunate enough to intern within OU's Athletic Department and then received a full-time position with the Fort Wayne Wizards (now Tin Caps) in Minor League Baseball. The amount of hours, the impossible sales territory, and the extremely low pay and commission made it impossible to continue as my wife and I started our family. I moved on to working for the American Cancer Society as a representative working with the Big10 for Coaches vs. Cancer.

To be honest in order to continue working with my degree I work as an AD for a homeschool organization that provides sports and other events like homecoming, prom, and graduation for homeschoolers. But, that also has it's burnout as I run a program that sponsors 28 teams through all sports minus American Football, but we play flag football.

I promise I am not trying to wage war against the sports admin career folks here, but this is supply and demand at play. If you were to artificially increase pay and benefits and/or lower the demands of the job, it would only greatly increase supply of eager applicants in a field that already has way too much. And personally, I don't think having 5x the amount of graduates in a field than workable full-time jobs is a bad thing for society.

And this may seem like a total 180 in the discussion, but related in my mind...I am very bullish on sports in general. It is hard to imagine live sports being a bigger piece of our society than it has already grown to, but in the post-AI world I think the public will only more strongly crave sports for it's authentic human effort, unpredictability and emotion that can not be faked or automated.

Eager youth will flock to the appeal of that even more, all the while the AI will only reduce their need.

I've had this conversation multiple times with a highly successful and now retired OU sports ad grad from the 80s. Many people get into the business because they want to be "in the show." Those are the folks who are most likely to burn out. Those who get into because they love the business, have unique skills, and are willing to put in the time, are the ones who make it to the corner suite. The nature of the beast is lots of nights and the fact that you are in a support role for "the stars" - the performers and players who the fans have come to see.

Same here, and same here. For me, my interest in college football is solely for socialization at this point. Living in the Columbus area, I welcome the opportunity for OSU games to find less crowds in any place that isn't a spot for watching games. The fact that this weekend is the opener of college football totally escaped me until someone said something to me while discussing Labor Day weekend plans. And honestly, I'm okay with all of that for football because I've never been a die-hard college football guy. What I'm struggling with a little is college hoops. I love mid-major college hoops, or used to. I'm saddened by the fact that the NCAA's mismanagement of NIL has made it really hard to have the opportunity to watch kids come to a school as a 17-18 year old, and leave as a (hopefully) grown adult that is a better player and human. That was one of my favorite parts of college hoops. Add in the stupidity of conference realignment eliminating some traditional rivalries, and the current culture of the NCAA isn't as enjoyable as it once was for me.

Before anyone gets too upset - I fully support student athlete compensation and the freedom to have endorsements, etc. I just don't like the way it has been managed, handled, etc.