A degree in sports can take you in many different directions.
Bruce Braham, Senior Lecturer at BU, hosted a talk for current sports students with talks from alumni on their experiences since entering the sports industry and听professional world.
The Sports degree听students were joined by Ben Tuck, Lucy Owen and James Lee - all BU students or alumni, to learn about their journey into the sports industry.
Ben Tuck 听who is currently studying BSc (Hons) Sports Psychology and Coaching Sciences听at BU听has already started stepping his way into the industry through motor racing.
Ben has worked extremely hard to break into this competitive sport. Starting out with no links within the industry proved to be a real challenge that he willingly took on, saying that this only made him more determined to succeed.
Ben had to gain his own sponsors by contacting agencies to have 听made and sending them to companies in the hope that they will want to sponsor him. Ben has since been contacted by many teams about his 2019 racing plans and is currently in negotiations to finalise his racing for this season;听he will most likely be competing again with BMW.
In order to do so, he has created his own brand from scratch inclusive of logo/branding and social media, with the ultimate goal of听competing听in endurance motorsport racing, races that cover a large distance in one single听event, testing the endurance of the drivers.
Also speaking was Lucy Owen, a BU Sports Management graduate. Lucy always had an interest in sport and aspired to follow a business and management path within the industry.
Following her placement year as a听Research Assistant at Sports Marketing Surveys (now Nielsen) - where she was able to build听her professional network of contacts -听Lucy's first graduate role was working for a small PR agency doing digital marketing for Sky Sports.听
After working in this role for just over a year, an colleague from her placement year recommended her for a role at a sports marketing agency, where she has since progressed to Senior Account Manager working on a global Formula 1 sponsorship account.
She has since been able to听travel around the world, managing brand projects including CSR campaigns and title sponsorship activations.
Lucy's journey shows the range of roles available in sports and the importance of networking with her advice to simply 'be nice鈥� to everyone you connect with, as it鈥檒l pay dividends in the long run.
The final speaker of the day was James Lee. James studied BA (Hons) Event Management, at BU and was also involved with a range of extracurricular activities - including听running the BU boat club.听听
alumni James LeeJames followed his sporting aspirations and passion for rowing听in his placement year, working on the rowing programme. at British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS), working on the rowing programme.
This helped听him secure听a graduate role in the GB Rowing Team Office, where he worked for over 3 years before returning to BU study MSc Sport Management at BU听to further his knowledge in the sports industry.
James said: 鈥淒on鈥檛 be afraid to put your career on hold to go back and study - you won鈥檛 regret it!鈥�
After graduating from his postgraduate degree he used what he had learnt while writing his thesis to help him get a role with Cambridge University working as the Coordinator for the Women鈥檚 Rowing Team. In this role, James had the opportunity to work with athletes and the Oxbridge annual Boat Race - and听witnessing听the team go from sinking in 2016 to being crowned champions in the following 2 years.听
He is now responsible for supporting all of the sports clubs at Cambridge University. As part of the Sports Club Team at Cambridge, James contributes to the development of effective support structures for sports clubs to promote good practice and advance standards, health and safety, finance administration, facilities, opportunities and service for students.
If you鈥檙e interested in a career in the sport industry, why not choose BU? Take a look at our undergraduate听补苍诲 postgraduate听sports courses. We also have number of 翱辫别苍听顿补测蝉听you can come along to and听speak with staff and students about the course and your opportunities.听
