Days when the schools and colleges were confined to academic studies only are long over. A great variety of sports are offered these days at both school and college levels. It would be therefore very convenient for these academies to have an athletic director providing with adequate guidance and leadership to the institution and its students.
Responsibilities of the Athletic Director
Major responsibility of the athletic director is to provide guidance as well as direction for the sports programs in the schools and colleges. Other responsibilities include –
Preparation of a budget; Making allocation for different aspects of the sports programs; Working with coaches to determine the scheduling of games as well as practices; Work with conferences and leagues on the scheduling and various other issues; Organizing post season games schedules; Taking decisions within a program to allocate times for field, court, or the weight rooms; Providing guidance to the coaches; Hiring of coaches is one of the key responsibilities of the athletic director; Making travel trips and plans and coordinate the officials as well as umpires at games and budget for payments; and Preparing reports on the status of the teaming highlighting its success and shortcomings and also mediating disputes between athletes and coaches. Coordinating With Administrators
Usually the athletic director will coordinate with other school administrators to assure that the student athletes are eligible for any particular event in a given sport. In colleges also they carry out identical responsibilities working with the compliance officer ensuring that the program conforms to the requirements and guidelines lay down by NCAA or any such association organizing the events.
Building up the Career
Career building process in case of athletic director starts at the middle and high school levels and as coaches or teachers. Though there are instances of some coaches and teachers retaining their former job while performing the duties of athletic director but normally it is a full time job. Educational qualifications and training for the job are –
A bachelor’s degree in physical education or related fields; Master’s degree in sports administration; or Old Dominion University specified courses for sports management programs. Average income of athletic director at high school level is around $50,000 per annum while more proficient people can earn up to $80,000 per annum.
Building up a career of athletic director can become easier with the exhaustive and educative information offered at the state university website. A comprehensive university directory, the site also contains a complete list of all top elementary and secondary schools in the country.