Selecting Students for Graduate Academic Success and Employability: A New Research Direction for Sport Management

Abstract

This study sought to identify significant predictors of success (a) in a graduate program of sport management at a major research institution in the United States and (b) in initial employment success. Regression analysis identified four significant predictors for success in the graduate program. The variables that produced a positive relationship with the dependent variable—final graduate grade point average—were age upon application, number of years of extracurricular activity involvement in undergraduate school, and undergraduate grade point average. The number of years in a full-time position in sport management upon application produced a significant negative relationship. Discriminant analysis was used to identify possible predictors of initial employment success identified as time from graduation to employment in a sport management position. However, no significant predictors were found.