How to Become A Sports Data Analyst

Although the field of sports data analytics is relatively new, professionals increasingly understand the positive impact of successful data analysis. The sports industry continues to adapt to the use of collecting and analyzing data to better inform business, marketing, players and overall team decisions.

According to recent research, “The global sports data analytics market was valued at USD 889.4 million in 2021. It is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 27.1% from 2022 to 2030.”   

If you have a passion for sports and statistics, but you’re unsure how to pursue a career in the industry without being an athlete or a coach, then this article is for you. You’ll learn more about what a sports data analyst does, the specific steps to become one and the career outlook.   

What Does A Sports Data Analyst Do

Professional sports teams and leagues, media companies, betting organizations, and research institutions all employ sports data analysts. 

The main role of a sports data analyst is to use various tools like predictive analytics, machine learning, and data mining, to break down performance and identify improvement areas or reveal other insights on or off the field. They then apply this information to decisions about strategy, personnel, and tactics. 

Sports data analytics is an exciting field, combining data analytics with a love of sports. If you have the right education, skills and experience, you could find yourself in a highly rewarding career.

The Steps to Become a Sports Data Analyst

Becoming a sports data analyst typically consists of the following three key components: pursuing the right education, developing skills and gaining experience. If you’re wondering how to jumpstart your sports data analytics career, then these steps can help you.

Pursue the Right Education  

In most cases, securing a degree as a sports data analyst requires a minimum of a bachelor’s degree to get started. Some people choose to pursue more education if their bachelor’s degree isn’t related to data analytics or sports management in any way.

Due to the wide array of job opportunities, you may choose an MBA in Business Analytics degree to combine the necessary skills of data analytics with leadership and management skills that boost your career. If you would prefer to focus the majority of your education on business analytics skills, with some management overlap, an MS in Business Analytics may be right for you. 

Ultimately, if you have a solid background in business and sports and are comfortable working with data, this is sufficient for an entry-level role.

Develop Skills

Sports Data Analysts often have a passion for sports and the ability to remember a lot of statistical information. 

A sports data analyst career requires a specific set of hard and soft skills to be successful. Top hard skills for sports data analyst unsurprisingly crossover with typical data analytic roles. These skills can include:  

• Knowledge of machine learning and big data tools
• Understanding of data visualization software, such as Tableau
• Proficiency in data mining, data cleaning and manipulation
• Ability to interpret and analyze datasets to identify trends and insights
• Expertise in data-driven decision-making, statistical modeling and predictive analytics

Top soft skills for sports data analysts can include: 

• Capacity to work independently as well as in a team environment
• Excellent communication and presentation skills (for presenting findings and visualizations to stakeholders)
• Strong understanding of the sports industry, including team dynamics, major sporting events and the specifics of their sector or sport
• Ability to understand the relevance of (and interpret) different sports data to inform team personnel decisions and strategic planning

Those who aspire to be sports data analytics can gain these top hard and soft skills with a combination of education programs and experience. 

Gain Experience

A person’s pursuit of a career in sports often begins with a deep love of sports, but to be successful in sports data analytics you’ll need experience.  

This experience can be in the form of internships, freelancing, volunteering opportunities or the use of data analytics in other roles. As long as you can show potential employers your professional experience in data analytics, then it’s enough to strengthen your sports data analyst resume.

Sports Data Analyst Career Outlook

Sports data analytics involves collecting and analyzing relevant historical statistics that can provide a competitive edge to a team or individual. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), overall employment in the entertainment and sports occupations is predicted to grow 13% and employment of management analysts is predicted to grow 11% through 2031. 

The sports data analytics industry offers a much more diverse range of careers than one may think, especially if you have an MBA in business analytics or an MS in Analytics degree. In terms of sports roles, you may want to work as a:

• Coach
• Marketing analyst
• Sports programmer
• Sports data scientist

These are only a few options available! Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the industry and the types of opportunities available, you’ll be able to get a feel for the areas you want to pursue.

Gain Top Business Analytics Skills

Becoming a sports data analyst isn’t far out of reach if you have a passion for sports and interpreting analytics. As sports teams at K-12 schools, universities and colleges, and in professional leagues increase their use of collecting and interpreting data on and off the field, so do opportunities for hiring professionals to fill roles. 

Pursuing an MBA in Business Analytics degree or an MS in Business Analytics online from Montclair State University equips you with the business skills and data analytics knowledge to jumpstart or enhance your sports data analytics career. You’ll take the following analytics courses:  

• Introduction to Business Analytics
• Data Analytics and Visualization
• Advanced Business Analytics

If you’d like to learn more about this program, then visit the MBA in Business Analytics program page today or fill out the contact information form below.