A Degree in Professional Tennis Management
September 14, 2011 07:30 PM
Did you know…
Did you know that you could get a four year college degree in tennis? Yep, that’s right, tennis! Derek Ameel tells his experience of doing exactly that.
"You might be thinking what kind of degree is that, or what kind of jobs are out there for a person with this degree. Maybe you’re thinking, "You must have to be an incredible player to get into a program like that, or if this program is just beginning, this degree isn’t proven and after I graduate my degree won’t be worth anything in a couple of years." Some people might think OK, what happens 5 or 10 years after graduation, or this degree is too specialized and it limits my job opportunities, or can I even get a job after graduation?
Like you, I had many of these same questions and many more. You see in 1984, I graduated from high school and started teaching tennis that summer with my hometown park and recreation department. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to be, well I knew what I wanted to be, but didn’t think it was possible. I mean, I wanted to be a tennis professional, not a pro tennis players like Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, the best players at the time.
I came to the realization when I was 16 that my playing ability wasn’t even close, I couldn’t even receive a college scholarship to a D1 school let alone play professional tennis. I did however love tennis and teaching it. I felt I was a pretty good teacher because the people I was working with were making a lot of improvement; it was really rewarding.
Over the next couple of years I continued to work on my playing and teaching. In 1986 my high school tennis coach told me about a university that was offering a 4 year degree in Professional Tennis Management (PTM) and it was located in my home state of Michigan. Ferris State University's innovative four year PTM program was the first 4 year program of its kind in the world and it was accredited by the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA), the oldest and largest tennis professional certification organization.
I learned that at Ferris, skilled tennis players could combine their interest in tennis with academic preparation for a career in the tennis industry. The four-year program leads to a Bachelor of Science degree in Business, with a choice of a marketing or resort management concentration. So if I wanted to go into business I would have a Business degree and all Ferris graduates would become certified USPTA tennis professionals.
It took me 5 years to save enough and after attending a community college where I also played tennis, I was admitted to Ferris in 1991. I graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Professional Tennis Management/Marketing. Today over 275 students have graduated from the Ferris’ PTM program representing most states in the U.S. and 14 countries around the world. The Ferris PTM program has maintained a 100% career placement rate since its inception.
Tennis participation has increased in the U.S. to over 30 million in 2009 for the first time in 22 years and tennis has the largest increase of 43% in participants of all traditional sports since 2003. With this increased growth, this is a great time for careers in the tennis industry. Ferris has just offered the Great Lakes Scholarship, http://www.ferris.edu/admissions/financialaid/greatlakes.html - freshman, which gives residents in 16 states (California, Florida, New York, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and Ontario, Canada) in-state tuition.
The Ferris PTM program has enabled many PTM graduates to create fantastic careers in the tennis industry, including me. I've gone on to fulfill many of my dreams like working with top juniors and future pros, owning my own business, directing tennis clubs and now completing a full circle back at my alma mater as the current Ferris PTM Director.
I know firsthand and have seen the success of many Ferris PTM graduates like Dave Bone, who is the Executive Director of the United States Racquet Stringers Association and the Publisher of Racquet Sports Industry. Dave said, "Attending the PTM program at Ferris State University was the greatest career decision I’ve ever made. I would not be where I am now if not for the training and the networking opportunities I received in Big Rapids. I went into the program as an eager young teaching pro with a good reputation in my community. I came out with terrific tennis management offers from all over the country."
If you have a love for tennis and want to make your passion into your profession there is no better opportunity than the PTM program at Ferris State University. For more information about the PTM program please view our web site at www.ferris.edu/ptm/ or contact us at 231-591-2219."
