Special Feature
October 18, 2026
The College Athletics Job Market
What 6,232 Job Postings Reveal About 2026 Hiring
By Editorial Staff
Every job posting says something about where a department is headed. We analyzed every posting on the CollegeSports.jobs network from January through September of 2025 and 2026, 6,232 in all, to see how hiring has changed in the first full cycle after the House settlement.
Postings are up 20.3%, from 2,829 to 3,403. Most of that growth came from employers coming back for more: the 416 schools and organizations that posted in both years put up 19.6% more jobs, and 198 employers posted for the first time.
The mix of jobs is shifting too. Revenue-generating roles are growing fastest, the Assistant/Associate AD level is thinning, and job descriptions are asking for new skills. The full report breaks down the trends by division, seniority, function and skill, with a three-year look back to 2024.
Key Takeaways:
➤ Revenue Roles Lead: Ticket operations (+57%) and sales (+55%) postings grew more than twice as fast as the market.
➤ Compliance and NIL Cooled: After growing in 2025, compliance postings fell 12% and NIL postings fell 32% in 2026.
➤ A Thinner Middle: Assistant and Associate AD roles fell from 12.1% of postings in 2024 to 8.4% in 2026, while entry-level and coordinator roles grew.
➤ New Skills in Demand: Sponsorship and corporate partnerships now appear in 16% of postings, up from 11%, and AI shows up as a listed skill in 28 postings, up from 8.
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