Sports Then and Now

Many Americans are passionate about sports, and if you share this love of the sporting world, consider earning a degree in sports management. While plenty of people love watching and participating in sports, the sports management degree plan is relatively uncommon and many people are unaware of what sports managers really do. If you’re interested in learning more about earning a degree in sports management, it’s important to gain an understanding of the degree plan and career outlook.

What You’ll Do

If the title of sports manager sounds intriguing, it’s time to learn about what you can expect to do on a day-to-day basis in this type of position. As a sports manager, there are a wide variety of tasks that you can expect to be responsible for after you’ve completed your undergraduate degree. Depending upon where you work, you can expect to manage the roster of teammates on college or professional sports team, or you might take on a more clerical role and manage the office and marketing campaigns of a sports team.

Required Education

If you’d love to have a career in sports, it’s important to think about the education required to meet your goals. While the hiring standards are different between employers, most professional sports managers have a minimum education of an associate’s degree. If you’d like to boost your chances of landing your dream job, earn a sports management degree online from Adelphi.

What You’ll Gain From This Career

Before you officially decide to apply to start your sports management degree, you might be wondering what you’ll gain from a career in this field. For many sports fans, the number one reason to pursue this type of career is the ability to feel passionate about your work. If you’re able to work with a sports team, you’ll likely get to meet some of the players that you’ve always idolized and enjoyed watching. In addition to feeling passionate about your work, there are several other reasons to start taking classes to earn a degree in sports management. Read the rest of this entry →

Make no mistake about it … online gambling and bingo have become huge business. Billions of dollars in revenue is now being generated online, and it’s not just with basic apps that rely on advertising; it’s in direct wagers and betting from players. There’s a massive market for companies and merchants to tap into, as long as you hit the right market.

Knowing the Market

Anyone worth their weight understands how important it is to know the market. A football league isn’t going to be targeting a general audience who has no interest in this or other sports.

The online gambling world is massive and it draws in a wide range of people from all walks of life and from around the world and that can make it seem as though marketing to such a wide audience would be difficult, but think about this: they love games, they love competition, and they’re a captive audience. What’s not to love about that?

Sponsorship Deals

When you have a sports league, like football (soccer to those fans across the pond), you drive business by sponsorship deals. When you have the name of your league, team, or even a favorite player front and centre, it gets people thinking about that sporting event.

Nothing really goes together better than sports and online gaming and bingo. That’s because many of the people who love these online games also have a thrill for either watching and cheering on a favorite team or placing some well thought out wagers on an upcoming game.

Sky Bingo is one of those online gaming sites that draws in thousands of fans every day. These men and women are riveted to their computer screen, tablet, or even their smartphones while engaged in some heated bingo. They wait almost impatiently for the next number to be called, checking their cards, and waiting for that precious word ‘bingo’ to be highlighted on the screen.

But a person isn’t going to just be staring at the numbers … they’re going to be looking around that screen and that’s where these sponsorship/advertising opportunities are so powerful. Read the rest of this entry →

As a coach, it should be your top priority to keep your athletes safe. In fact, it may be a higher priority than trying to win the game. The good news is that there are many steps that you can take to keep your players safe while also putting them in the best position to succeed.

Take a Conservative Approach to the Game

It may be possible to keep injuries to a minimum by taking a conservative approach to the game. For instance, you may want to prevent younger pitchers from throwing pitches involving the use of their elbow. Football coaches may discourage quarterbacks from throwing passes to wide receivers in the middle of the field.

Make Players Wear Optional Safety Equipment

Athletes will do anything for a competitive edge even if it may put their physical health at risk. This means that they may wear smaller pads or even forego pads at all if it slows them down or otherwise hinders their ability to play the game properly. As a coach, you should only play those who wear all required and even optional equipment as well to make sure no one gets hurt. Read the rest of this entry →

We’ve all seen and laughed at the commercial where the guy is pretending to pay attention to his girlfriend when he’s actually sneaking a peek at his phone to catch the game. For better or worse, this is a reality these days, as there is almost no way for you to miss watching a sporting event. Technology has not only made missing the big game impossible, but it’s also completely altered the way in which we watch our favorite sporting events. From social media and high def TV to tablets and even drones, read on for more info on five tech items that are changing the way we watch sports. What’s the over/under you’re going to love this? We’ll take the over!

1. Social Media

Remember when we thought social media was just a phase? We’ll give you a minute to LOL. Not only is this not a passing fad but it’s also quickly picking up speed in its reach and in its mediums. As with nearly everything in modern day life, this form of media has had a direct effect on the way we watch sports. From watching live events online and interacting with the actual players on Twitter to video highlights on Facebook and following the Instagram feeds of our favorite athletes, social media has made us all even bigger superfans. Head of Sports Broadcast Partnerships at Twitter Andrew Barge has even dubbed Twitter “the world’s largest digital sports bar.” Not only does social media give us access to the actual events, but it also gives us a way to chat about our favorite games/matches for days (or even months!) after they’ve happened. Fast food chain Wendy’s recently upped the madness ante on March Madness by offering an online sports bracket. This is a sports fan’s dream and social media only adds to the hype.

2. Drones

While drones used in an official capacity for sporting events are fairly strictly regulated, there are people using commercial drones to capture incredible footage. They were used in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi to film skiing and snowboarding. According to this article on sUAS News, “Drones have also been used to film Formula One races, the X Games, the AMA Supercross Series, high school football practices, and extreme sports events such as surfing, snowboarding, and skateboarding.” The NFL primarily uses CableCam systems, which is actually the case in point in favor of drones, as these cable-suspended camera systems are limited in the areas they can cover. While the future of drones used in an official capacity for sports coverage is uncertain due to FAA and other regulations, many are pushing for drone use due its ability to catch otherwise impossible angles. Read the rest of this entry →

It is college basketball royalty when North Carolina (27-6) and Duke (25-8) meet in the semifinals of the 2017 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. The two will battle at 7 pm EST tonight at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY with a trip to the ACC Tournament Championship game on the line. It is round three for the duo this year as the two posted home victories over each

The ACC Tournament is one of the richest traditions in all of college sports.

other in their two regular season meetings this season. The two met less than a week ago with the Tarheels winning 90-83 at home on March 4 in the regular-season finale for both.

North Carolina is the top seed in the tournament for the second straight year and has played in the last two championship games. A fifth seed in 2015, the Tarheels lost 90-82 to third-seeded Notre Dame in the title game before beating second-seeded Virginia 61-57 in the 2016 championship game as the top seed. The Blue Devils have not reached the championship game since 2014 when they were the third seed and lost to top-seeded Virginia 72-63.

Duke and North Carolina have not met in the ACC Tournament since 2011 when the second-seeded Blue Devils won 75-58 over the top-seeded Tarheels in the title game. The long and storied history of these two ACC and national powers is well documented. Since 1997, one or the other has reached the tournament semifinals for a now 21 straight seasons during which both have been in the round 12 times. During that same time period, the two have met in two tournament semifinals and played in four title games.

Besides the 2011 title meeting, the other three championship game battles came in a four-year span between 1998 and 2001 when one or the other was the tournament’s top seed. Duke won two of the three title games, winning 96-73 as the top seed in 1999 and posting a 79-53 win in 2001 as the second seed. The other title game came in 1998 when North Carolina, the second seed, won 83-68 over the top-seeded Blue Devils.

This four-year stretch of ‘98-‘01 was a marquee time period for both schools as they boasted some of their great all-time players. Both schools were at the top of the ACC and competed – as they always have and continue to do – at such a high level. Recalling each school’s history during this time is like reading a hall-of-fame biography. When you combine the personnel of the teams, their coaches, and their achievements, one can see why the two have had such a perennial strong conference and national presence. Read the rest of this entry →

Championship week has arrived for college basketball! Conference tournaments abound across the country from coast to coast featuring all the power conferences, mid-majors, and small conferences that make up Division I in the NCAA. There will be great performances by teams, individuals, and coaches while the games themselves are bound to feature some come-from-behind efforts that pluck victory from the jaws of defeat with some buzzer beaters. This is what makes the month of March so special. It is the madness before the madness of the NCAA Tournament. It will feature bubble teams that solidify their spot in the NCAA field and bubble teams who see their bubble burst. Seedings for the NCAA Tourney are on the line and will be impacted by what happens over the next seven days. Quite simply it is couch potato heaven for college basketball junkies across the land.

The 2017 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament is taking place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY for the first time ever.

While this years’ heavyweights such as Kansas, Gonzaga, Villanova, and North Carolina look to show why they are the cream of the crop for likely NCAA #1 seeds, there are plenty of other national title worthy contenders like Kentucky, Arizona, UCLA, Duke, Louisville, Notre Dame, and Oregon. Other schools like Big East competitors Butler, Creighton, Seton Hall, Providence, and Marquette all won at least 10 conference games this season and could make some noise in March. Smaller schools from less worthy conferences like Vermont (27-5, 16-0) of the America East and Middle Tennessee (27-4, 17-1) of Conference USA could make a run. Both schools are riding winning streaks with Vermont having won 19 straight and Middle Tennessee seven. Both Vermont and Middle Tennessee have produced significant upsets in NCAA history. In 2005, 13^th-seeded Vermont upset a fourth-seeded Syracuse team that was fresh off a Big East Tournament Championship. Middle Tennessee, a 15^th seed, upset second-seeded Michigan State in last year’s tournament. Results like these explain why March is so thrilling and dramatic. It captivates audiences across the country based on upsets by the little schools like these. They get on a run and gain the support of their schools so much that it can carry them on a fairy tale ride.

Before we get that far, the conference tournament championships are to be decided this week. In the process, the NCAA field will be determined with some teams sneaking in, others being left out, and others altering their seed and positioning for better or worse. Here is a look at one of the power conferences, the Atlantic Coast Conference, and how its’ conference tournament shapes up this week. The ACC Tournament Championship game will be played Saturday night March 11 at 9 pm EST and it can be seen live on ESPN.

North Carolina (26-6, 14-4), #1 seed

The ACC Tournament is being held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY for the first time ever. North Carolina enters the tournament as the outright ACC regular season champion and is the defending tournament champion. The Tarheels (26-6, 14-4) ended the regular season with a 90-83 win over arch rival Duke on Mar. 4 to split the annual season series.  North Carolina has played in the ACC Tournament Championship game each of the last two years, falling to Notre Dame 90-82 in the 2015 title game before beating Virginia 61-57 in last year’s finale.

Head coach Roy Williams has his team playing at a high level yet again after coming within a whisker of winning an NCAA title last

Roy Williams has lead North Carolina to the top seed in the tournament.

year. Despite losing four-year starting guard Marcus Paige and Associated Press All-American forward Brice Johnson, North Carolina has enjoyed another stellar season. Both took key production with them as Johnson averaged 17.0 points-per-game and 10.4 rebounds a game while Paige scored 12.6 points-per-game and dished out 128 assists on the season. Yet the heels have retooled this season and may be a better all-around team. Junior forward Justin Jackson was just named the ACC Player-of-the-Year and leads the team with 18.3 ppg. He also dishes out 2.6 assists and hauls in 4.7 rebounds-per-game. Junior guard Joel Berry II adds 15.1 ppg and dishes out a team best 3.7 apg while senior post player Kennedy Meeks scores 12.5 ppg and leads the team with 9.1 rpg. Berry is the team’s best 3-point shooter at 42.4 percent (75-for-177) while Jackson has made a team-high 85 trifectas on the season.

North Carolina’s victories over Florida State, Louisville, and Notre Dame this season allowed them to create a two-game cushion

and ultimately win the ACC regular season title. They will likely have to face one of these teams in the ACC tournament again and this can always be interesting a second time around. Carolina will have to bring the same intensity and high production on offense that saw them score 85.2 ppg in the regular season if they are to beat these same teams again in postseason play.

Florida State (24-7, 12-6) is the second seed followed by Notre Dame (23-8, 12-6) and Louisville (24-7, 12-6) as the third and fourth seeds respectively. These three schools along with North Carolina all received a double bye and won’t play until the quarterfinal round beginning on Thursday March 9. You can easily make a case for any of these top four seeds to win the tournament championship as they were very competitive against each other during the season. While North Carolina beat each of the other three to create separation from them in winning the regular season crown, all four teams were very competitive against each other.

Florida State beat both Louisville and Notre Dame at home and lost at Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish split home and home wins with both Florida State and Louisville while Louisville lost to Florida State and split home and home wins with Notre Dame. Basically, the top four seeds in this year’s ACC Tourney beat up on each other in the regular season. Even though North Carolina beat the other three teams, the games between the four teams were very competitive and could of gone either way. What each team learned from the other one in those games should be a factor in preparation for potential matchups among the quartet this week. Read the rest of this entry →