What Does a Sports Information Director Do?
The deadline starts when the game ends. Sports information directors keep the statistics, write recaps and record books and handle interview requests for college athletic departments, checking that each figure released to reporters, fans and recruits is right. Larger departments split the sports among assistant and associate directors.
Also known as: Assistant Sports Information Director, Associate Sports Information Director
Other Job Titles for This Work
Workers in this occupation report titles such as Communications Specialist, Community Relations Coordinator, Corporate Communications Specialist, Information and Communications Specialist, Media Relations Specialist, Public Affairs Specialist, Public Information Officer, Public Information Specialist.
Sports Information Director Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a sports information director include:
- Write game previews, recaps and news releases for every varsity sport the office covers.
- Run the press box on game days; seat the media, hand out stat sheets and fix Wi-Fi problems.
- Keep official statistics in StatCrew and check them against the scorebook before release.
- Arrange postgame interviews with coaches and athletes, and prepare them for hard questions.
- Update rosters, schedules and results on the athletics website and social media accounts.
- Produce media guides, game programs and record books, and keep historical records accurate.
- Nominate athletes for conference and national awards, including academic honors.
- Pitch feature stories about athletes and coaches to local newspapers, TV stations and podcasts.
- Handle credential requests from reporters and photographers, and enforce the department's media policy.
- Assign student workers to keep stats, shoot photos and post live updates during events.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a sports information director, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- StatCrew or similar game-stat software
- AP style news writing on tight deadlines
- Social media scheduling and basic photo and video editing
- Website content systems used by college athletics
- Working knowledge of NCAA and conference media rules
- Calm judgment on bad-news days
- Willingness to work nights, weekends and road trips
- Accuracy with numbers, names and records
Education and Training
Student assistant work in a college sports information office starts most careers in this field, and a graduate assistantship often follows. Athletic departments hire writers with degrees in journalism, communications, sports management and other fields. What they weigh most is press-box experience. Clips, stat work and game-night deadlines already met all count.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $56,260 - $100,370 per year, with a median of $74,750.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Public Relations Specialists.
According to BLS, employment of public relations specialists, the wider group that includes sports information directors, is projected to grow about 2 percent from 2025 to 2035. That is slow growth, yet the same projections show about 23,000 openings a year across the group. Jobs in college athletics often are tied to conference budgets and the number of sports a school sponsors, but departments will keep needing someone who can turn a box score into a story by midnight.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Public relations specialists.
Sports Information Director Pay Range
| Earners | Annual pay |
|---|---|
| Bottom 10% earn less than | $44,110 |
| Bottom 25% earn less than | $56,260 |
| Median (half earn more, half less) | $74,750 |
| Top 25% earn more than | $100,370 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $135,150 |
Highest-Paying States for Sports Information Directors
The states with the highest median pay for this occupation are District of Columbia ($102,740), Washington ($87,470), California ($85,030), Connecticut ($84,990), New York ($81,250). Pay is lowest in Mississippi ($59,810), Pennsylvania ($57,460), West Virginia ($56,730).
Median pay in all 51 states with BLS data
| State | Median annual pay |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $61,710 |
| Alaska | $70,050 |
| Arizona | $66,710 |
| Arkansas | $65,000 |
| California | $85,030 |
| Colorado | $80,680 |
| Connecticut | $84,990 |
| Delaware | $76,120 |
| District of Columbia | $102,740 |
| Florida | $63,660 |
| Georgia | $73,200 |
| Hawaii | $63,880 |
| Idaho | $61,110 |
| Illinois | $76,380 |
| Indiana | $64,900 |
| Iowa | $62,970 |
| Kansas | $64,860 |
| Kentucky | $60,150 |
| Louisiana | $60,470 |
| Maine | $62,450 |
| Maryland | $79,560 |
| Massachusetts | $79,660 |
| Michigan | $65,300 |
| Minnesota | $68,620 |
| Mississippi | $59,810 |
| Missouri | $61,130 |
| Montana | $63,780 |
| Nebraska | $61,780 |
| Nevada | $73,840 |
| New Hampshire | $73,280 |
| New Jersey | $80,130 |
| New Mexico | $68,700 |
| New York | $81,250 |
| North Carolina | $67,230 |
| North Dakota | $70,280 |
| Ohio | $64,840 |
| Oklahoma | $64,920 |
| Oregon | $74,900 |
| Pennsylvania | $57,460 |
| Rhode Island | $77,540 |
| South Carolina | $62,730 |
| South Dakota | $64,520 |
| Tennessee | $60,900 |
| Texas | $65,160 |
| Utah | $62,670 |
| Vermont | $66,060 |
| Virginia | $80,380 |
| Washington | $87,470 |
| West Virginia | $56,730 |
| Wisconsin | $67,240 |
| Wyoming | $67,490 |
What the Work Is Like
O*NET surveys people who work as public relations specialists about their daily conditions. Of those surveyed:
- 95% use email every day
- 95% say teamwork is very or extremely important in their job
- 86% are on the phone every day
- 77% work indoors in a climate-controlled space every day
- 73% say being exact and accurate is very or extremely important
- 65% spend more than half the workday sitting
- 64% work against deadlines every day
Education Workers Say the Job Needs
| Education level | Share of workers |
|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree | 91% |
| Master's degree | 9% |
Tools and Software Sports Information Directors Use
Tools and equipment
Software
Is This Job a Good Fit for You?
People who do well in this job tend to enjoy leading, persuading and making business decisions as well as creative work and self-expression.
Skills O*NET rates most important: Active Listening, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Writing, Social Perceptiveness, Critical Thinking.
Knowledge areas used most: Communications and Media, English Language, Administration and Management, Customer and Personal Service, Sales and Marketing.
Preparation: O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone 4 of 5, which means considerable preparation.
Related Careers
These jobs use similar skills, according to O*NET's related-occupation data:
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Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035.
- O*NET 30.1 Database, occupation 27-3031.00 (Public Relations Specialists). View on O*NET OnLine.
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