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CIP 31.0504 Parks, Recreation and Fitness

Sport and Fitness Administration/Management

IPEDS Completions, US Department of Education · 2025

中文

Total graduates

18,240

2025 · 625 schools

International share

5.7%

1,040 international students

Bachelor's degrees

12,710

4.7% international

Master's degrees

5,027

8.1% international

Overview

Sport and Fitness Administration/Management is a dynamic field that combines principles of business management with a focus on the sports and fitness industry. This program prepares students to take on leadership roles in various settings, including fitness centers, sports organizations, recreational facilities, and wellness programs.

Students in this major learn about the operational aspects of managing sports and fitness facilities, including budgeting, marketing, event management, and human resource management. Coursework typically covers topics such as sports marketing, facility management, exercise science, and health promotion. Additionally, students often have opportunities for hands-on experience through internships, which are crucial for gaining practical skills and industry connections.

The demand for professionals in this field is growing, fueled by an increased emphasis on health and wellness in society. Graduates can pursue diverse career paths, including fitness center management, sports administration, personal training, and health coaching. They may work with various populations, from professional athletes to community members seeking to improve their health.

Moreover, this major is ideal for individuals passionate about sports and fitness, as it allows them to merge their interests with a solid understanding of business practices. Overall, Sport and Fitness Administration/Management offers a unique blend of knowledge and experience that equips students to thrive in a rapidly evolving industry, making a positive impact on individuals' health and well-being.

Graduates by year

Graduates by degree level (first and second majors)

AssociateBachelor'sMaster'sDoctoral

From 2002 to 2025, graduates grew 470% and the international share went from 3.3% to 5.7%.

International share (%)
Graduates by group, 2025
White
58.6%
Asian
1.5%
Hispanic
9.8%
Black
16.7%
Other
7.8%
Intl.
5.7%

Colleges that award this degree

In 2025, 625 schools awarded this degree as a first major. The table lists those in the 2027 U.S. News National or Liberal Arts rankings, plus the unranked schools with the most graduates.

RankSchoolStateGraduatesInternational
#9 Northwestern University Illinois 49 0
#12 Columbia University in the City of New York New York 66 16
#16 Rice University Texas 39 6
#23 Georgetown University D.C. 161 19
#25 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Michigan 208 29
#31 Boston College Massachusetts 83 31
#34 University of Florida Florida 267 13
#34 The University of Texas at Austin Texas 84 3
#34 University of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin 32 0
#44 Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Jersey 107 7
#44 Ohio State University-Main Campus Ohio 178 11
#52 University of Georgia Georgia 178 4
#55 University of Miami Florida 131 17
#59 George Washington University D.C. 36 16
#59 Florida State University Florida 265 9
#59 University of Massachusetts-Amherst Massachusetts 141 16
#59 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minnesota 96 10
#59 Texas A & M University-College Station Texas 262 4
#72 Syracuse University New York 104 8
#73 University of Connecticut Connecticut 44 8
#73 Howard University D.C. 18 0
#73 North Carolina State University at Raleigh North Carolina 149 4
#80 Pepperdine University California 19 0
#80 Drexel University Pennsylvania 11 0
#80 Clemson University South Carolina 55 0
#85 University of Delaware Delaware 77 5
#85 Southern Methodist University Texas 124 3
#90 Baylor University Texas 25 0
#90 Gonzaga University Washington 56 12
#95 American University D.C. 8 0
#100 University of South Florida-Main Campus Florida 22 2
#100 University of Iowa Iowa 163 4
#100 Saint Louis University Missouri 17 0
#100 Elon University North Carolina 49 0
#109 Fairfield University Connecticut 4 0
#109 University of New Hampshire-Main Campus New Hampshire 38 1
#109 Temple University Pennsylvania 122 11
#109 The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Tennessee 228 4
#116 University of San Francisco California 98 19
#121 Arizona State University-Tempe Arizona 10 0
#121 University of Central Florida Florida 20 4
#121 University of Dayton Ohio 29 2
#121 University of South Carolina-Columbia South Carolina 355 28
#121 George Mason University Virginia 40 0
#133 Clark University Massachusetts 4 1
#133 Miami University-Oxford Ohio 173 3
#137 California State University--Long Beach California 40 5
#137 St John's University (NY) New York 88 11
#137 University of Houston Texas 84 3
#137 James Madison University Virginia 248 5
#148 University of Kansas Kansas 86 6
#148 University of Tulsa Oklahoma 10 1
#156 The University of Alabama Alabama 85 2
#156 Quinnipiac University Connecticut 6 0
#156 Florida A&M University Florida 25 0
#156 Seton Hall University New Jersey 26 3
#156 Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia 39 3
#169 Colorado State University-Fort Collins Colorado 25 1
#169 Michigan Technological University Michigan 3 0
#179 University of Louisville Kentucky 171 8
#179 University of Mississippi Mississippi 13 1
#179 University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Ohio 187 0
#186 California Lutheran University California 34 3
#186 Wayne State University Michigan 70 2
#186 Texas Tech University Texas 152 7
#191 Samford University Alabama 14 0
#191 Georgia State University Georgia 24 3
#191 Adelphi University New York 35 1
#191 Washington State University Washington 82 2
#202 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Louisiana 354 14
#202 Ohio University-Main Campus Ohio 71 5
#208 California State University--Fresno California 3 1
#208 Ohio Northern University Ohio 13 0
#208 Xavier University Ohio 69 0
#208 Belmont University Tennessee 55 4
#219 North Carolina A&T State University North Carolina 138 0
#227 Ball State University Indiana 50 1
#227 University of North Dakota North Dakota 2 0
#236 Florida Institute of Technology Florida 6 2
#236 University of North Florida Florida 78 2
#236 North Dakota State University-Main Campus North Dakota 22 0
#236 Kent State University at Kent Ohio 60 3
#236 Pacific University Oregon 15 0
#236 Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 24 0
#250 Nova Southeastern University Florida 18 2
#250 Lipscomb University Tennessee 7 1
#262 University of Alabama--Huntsville Alabama 7 0
#262 Aurora University Illinois 26 1
#262 University of Maine Maine 17 2
#262 University of New England Maine 8 0
#262 Western New England University Massachusetts 40 1
#262 Central Michigan University Michigan 52 0
#262 DeSales University Pennsylvania 8 0
#276 Harding University Arkansas 4 0
#276 California Baptist University California 6 0
#276 Western Michigan University Michigan 70 0
#276 University of Missouri--St. Louis Missouri 20 1
#276 Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Ohio 50 0
#288 University of Hartford Connecticut 9 0
#288 Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Illinois 20 0
#288 University of Indianapolis Indiana 40 6
#288 Wichita State University Kansas 54 3
#288 Arcadia University Pennsylvania 17 0
#288 University of Memphis Tennessee 74 7
#288 Texas State University Texas 49 0
#288 Utah State University Utah 29 0
#299 Southern Connecticut State University Connecticut 31 0
#299 Boise State University Idaho 16 0
#299 Utica University New York 8 0
#299 Concordia University Wisconsin Wisconsin 17 0
#308 Northern Illinois University Illinois 78 4
#308 University of Southern Mississippi Mississippi 62 5
#308 Maryville University of Saint Louis Missouri 32 3
#308 University of the Incarnate Word Texas 29 7
#317 University of Mary North Dakota 3 1
#317 Emory & Henry University Virginia 25 0
#317 Marshall University West Virginia 18 1
#317 Augusta University Georgia 3 0
#328 Georgia Southern University Georgia 80 1
#328 East Tennessee State University Tennessee 53 2
#328 Old Dominion University Virginia 86 9
#332 University of South Alabama Alabama 15 1
#332 University of Lynchburg Virginia 10 0
#342 Concordia University -- Irvine California 238 5
#342 Mississippi College Mississippi 16 3
#342 Campbell University North Carolina 15 0
#342 University of Akron Ohio 39 1
#342 Cleveland State University Ohio 2 0
#342 Kennesaw State University Georgia 133 3
#353 Jacksonville State University Alabama 30 4
#353 Arkansas State University Arkansas 140 1
#353 University of West Georgia Georgia 31 0
#353 Plymouth State University New Hampshire 18 2
#353 Trevecca Nazarene University Tennessee 26 4
#353 Pennsylvania Western University Pennsylvania 68 2
#365 Troy University Alabama 34 6
#365 University of Central Arkansas Arkansas 6 0
#365 Indiana State University Indiana 54 1
#365 Jackson State University Mississippi 19 0
#365 Gardner-Webb University North Carolina 35 0
#365 Liberty University Virginia 225 7
#376 University of Arkansas--Little Rock Arkansas 7 0
#376 University of Bridgeport Connecticut 13 2
#376 Barry University Florida 16 5
#376 Concordia University-Saint Paul Minnesota 54 0
#376 Belhaven University Mississippi 40 0
#382 University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska 1 0
#382 Grand Canyon University Arizona 58 2
#382 Post University Connecticut 30 1
#382 Wilmington University Delaware 11 1
#382 Saint Leo University Florida 20 4
#382 Southeastern University Florida 17 4
#382 Concordia University-Chicago Illinois 73 0
#382 Wright State University-Main Campus Ohio 4 0
#382 Southwestern Oklahoma State University Oklahoma 21 1
#382 Angelo State University Texas 28 3
#382 Texas A&M University--Corpus Christi Texas 12 1
#382 Dallas Baptist University Texas 14 1
#382 East Texas A&M University Texas 15 0
#382 Houston Christian University Texas 31 1
#382 Lamar University Texas 35 2
#382 Tarleton State University Texas 77 1
#382 Texas Southern University Texas 35 0
#382 Inter American University of Puerto Rico, Metropolitan Campus Puerto Rico 3 0
#382 Universidad Ana G. Mendez-Gurabo Campus Puerto Rico 2 0
LAC #47 Hillsdale College Michigan 7 0
LAC #62 Gustavus Adolphus College Minnesota 5 0
LAC #97 Austin College Texas 2 0
LAC #111 Saint Vincent College Pennsylvania 6 0
LAC #116 Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio 7 0
LAC #116 Roanoke College Virginia 22 2
LAC #119 Ripon College Wisconsin 6 0
LAC #125 Emmanuel College Massachusetts 8 0
LAC #128 University of Minnesota-Morris Minnesota 10 0
LAC #132 Centenary College of Louisiana Louisiana 1 0
LAC #140 Alcorn State University Mississippi 17 1
LAC #142 Eastern Connecticut State University Connecticut 9 0
LAC #142 Covenant College Georgia 10 0
LAC #146 Claflin University South Carolina 12 0
LAC #160 Wittenberg University Ohio 22 0
LAC #160 Albright College Pennsylvania 6 0
LAC #172 Guilford College North Carolina 18 2
LAC #175 Mitchell College Connecticut 17 0
LAC #176 Virginia Wesleyan University Virginia 14 0
LAC #177 Grambling State University Louisiana 46 0
LAC #184 Fort Lewis College Colorado 11 0
LAC #184 Allen University South Carolina 23 0
LAC #184 Utah Tech University Utah 10 0
— Southern New Hampshire University New Hampshire 238 2
— American Public University System West Virginia 191 0
— Southeastern Oklahoma State University Oklahoma 166 3
— State University of New York at Cortland New York 146 2
— Coastal Carolina University South Carolina 137 6
— The University of Tampa Florida 120 1
— Towson University Maryland 99 3
— Monroe University New York 92 13
— Reinhardt University Georgia 66 6
— Endicott College Massachusetts 66 0
— Wingate University North Carolina 66 4
— SUNY Brockport New York 64 0
— Minnesota State University-Mankato Minnesota 63 0
— Western Carolina University North Carolina 58 1
— Niagara University New York 57 9
— High Point University North Carolina 57 2
— Grand Valley State University Michigan 54 1
— Long Island University New York 53 5
— Canisius University New York 52 5
— University of Florida-Online Florida 49 1
— University of Wisconsin-Parkside Wisconsin 48 4
— Eastern Michigan University Michigan 47 3
— University of Central Missouri Missouri 47 1
— University of Southern Indiana Indiana 46 0
— William Penn University Iowa 46 9
— Farmingdale State College New York 46 0
— SUNY Oneonta New York 46 0
— University of West Alabama Alabama 45 4
— Nichols College Massachusetts 45 0
— Oral Roberts University Oklahoma 45 4

Purple: international students are 25% or more of the school's graduates.

Related jobs and pay

OccupationUS employmentMean hourly wageMean annual wage
Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors 322,930 $25.20 $52,420
Coaches and Scouts 248,950 — $60,160
Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling 37,980 $43.15 $89,750
Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary 12,630 — $86,620

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025.

Graduate counts: IPEDS Completions, US Department of Education, 2002–2025. Rankings: 2027 U.S. News.