What Do Student Athletes Major In?

There are now more athlete students in global universities than ever before. Athletes make up a large population in universities in America and Europe. This is mainly due to the increased number of scholarships that are offered to these athletes, as well as an increase in technological advancements that make it much easier for athletes to compete for these and stay fit these days. In this article we will know about, What Do Student Athletes Major In? 

What Do Student Athletes Major In?

The contents of this article will aim at giving you an answer to what are the main subjects that student-athletes major in. A lot of these athletes choose to study business and arts of humanities type of courses because these courses will allow them to express their skills better and make a living out of their sport when they retire.

What Do Student Athletes Major In? 

The following section will dive deeper into the specific courses that athletes prefer to study and name a few famous athletes that majored in this course. 

  • Business Management – this has got to be one of the most popular courses for athletes in colleges as it prepares them to manage their own business or training facility when they choose to retire from their profession. A management course can set you up as an athlete to build a successful empire like the likes of Jordan’s or Tony Hawk Inc. 
  • Finance – This is also another popular course for athletes as it would produce graduates that are ready to take on any financial responsibility for their career. This is especially important for athletes that make huge sums of money during their career and would like to manage and invest adequately.
  • Sports Science – As this major is directly related to sports, athletes choose this as their option to study at college because it helps them understand their body better and make the most out of what the limits are on the human body. A career in sports science could range from anything from being a team medic or even running my own sports laboratory that builds performance-enhancing medication for athletes. 
  • Sociology/ social sciences – This is a degree that has recently grown in popularity amongst a lot of young and incoming athletes. The reason is that a social science or sociology course can educate the athlete on how they can better manage their public appearance, as well as provide support for charitable organizations within sport and help in improving the world around them. 
  • Media/mass communication – This is another degree that has grown tremendously over the recent couple of decades. The rise in media such as sports shows or even news channel broadcasting has been very popular among athletes when they retire from their professional careers. Currently, you can see examples of this when you watch the Premier League today, where you have retired footballers analyzing the weekend games. This is also apparent in the NBA shows where they have Shaquille O’Neal as one of the hosts. 
  • Arts and sciences – As athletes see sports as a form of self-expression, completing a degree in any arts and sciences, major can help the athlete expressively prepare for their profession. For example, athletes that study arts and sciences may choose to develop an agency that creates pictures and videos of professional athletes. Additionally, this major may even gravitate the athlete to write articles in newspapers or magazines about famous athletes. 

What Are The Popular Majors For Athletes In Different Kinds Of Sports? 

As all kinds of sports have different ways about how you can play and excel in them, they all assist in developing the brains of the athletes in a certain way that can help them in achieving greatness in that sport. For example, a golf professional will have developed his or her skills towards achieving precision for his/her golfing techniques, whereas an NFL player would rather develop his skills towards being more powerful than other NFL players. 

The following are the different kinds of degrees that athletes in different types of sports like to major in:

  • College football – athletes in this sport prefer to major in subjects such as business and social studies. This is because college football has a lot to do with the mindset of your opponent, so if you can read that better, it gives the athlete a stronger chance of winning against their opponent. 
  • Baseball – these professionals prefer studying majors in management and political science. The baseball leagues generate tremendous revenues for the professional MLB teams, so it comes as no surprise that these athletes would like to run their baseball team when the right time arrives. 
  • Basketball – athletes in the NBA choose to study psychology and interdisciplinary studies during their time in college. The reason being basketball is a mental game and requires a lot of self-discipline and determination as the sport can get aggressive at times. These majors could help the athlete in controlling their temper and analyzing their opponent much better. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, student-athletes will choose to study a course depending on the type of sport that they play. Additionally, courses such as media and arts have grown in popularity in recent decades due to the rise in technology and media consumption. Athletes these days are also studying management courses so that they can build a career out of their sport once they retire. 

The following section of this article will contain any FAQs that you may have regarding student-athletes and their majors. 

FAQs:
  • How does a sports athlete compare to an ordinary college student?

As college athletes have their brains wired differently compared to other students, athletic students differ from other students by being more balanced with their college and sports lives. Additionally, athletes have a stronger work ethic related to their goals and are highly motivated individuals.

  • How should sports be discussed on my resume? 

If you’re a professional athlete, you should build your resume around your primary sporting achievements and awards. This would then lead to you talking about how your chosen degree is helping you in achieving your goals of continuing in your sport once you have retired.