More than 30 Sport Management alumni will return to campus Monday, March 12 to share their experiences and insider knowledge with the program’s current students.

The sixth annual Sport Management (SPMA) Alumni Day is an opportunity for the program’s near 750 students to network with industry professionals and learn more about various careers available to them.

“With nine panels and a networking session, this will be the largest SPMA Alumni Day to date,” says Sport Management Experiential Education Co-ordinator Emily Allan.

The day will feature sessions examining leadership in the sport industry, policy, analytics, public relations and marketing, among other topics.

Fourth-year student Matt Milligan, who is helping to organize the event, says it’s a great chance for students to find out about life after graduation.

“As a transfer student, this is my second Alumni Day,” Milligan says. “One of the biggest takeaways for me from last year was seeing that there are a lot more career opportunities out there than I thought were available.”

While many SPMA alumni work in the public, non-profit and commercial sport sectors, there are other fields that attract SPMA graduates.

“I have been really impressed with how diverse our SPMA alumni are. Learning about the careers available outside of sport has shown me just how transferrable our knowledge and skills are going to be,” says Milligan, an Ottawa native. “There really is no limit to what people can do with this degree, whether they choose to stay in the sport industry or not.”

The alumni in attendance will represent a broad spectrum of organizations, positions and industry sectors.

Milligan is particularly looking forward to the event’s meet and greet luncheon.

“It’s a great time to network, meet people and have interesting conversations about our futures in a friendly and relaxed environment,” he says.

This year’s executive panel will provide students and guests with a behind-the-scenes account of working for a championship team from Toronto FC employees. The panel discussion takes place from 1 to 2 p.m. in TH 325 and is open to everyone.

“We have a really great group of students and presenters contributing to this event,” Allan says. “There is always a lot of excitement and anticipation building to make this day happen. It provides real insight into what careers are available and we often hear that our graduates were inspired to pursue a certain career path because of something they heard at this event.”

More information on SPMA Alumni Day and a full schedule of panelists is available on the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences website.