International Athletic Directors “State of the Industry” Survey 2025

The job of an athletic director (AD) or head of sport can be extremely isolating as you are typically the only person in your school that understands the long hours, extensive list of duties, and a constant flow of events to organize or people to supervise. There are no other ADs that you can talk to during your lunch break in the staff room and, often, there are no other ADs in the same country that you are in. When I started to organize a world wide survey in 2019 my goal was to bring the international AD community together and show each of us how similar we are regardless of our school sizes, conferences, or geographical locations

State of the Industry

This survey began in 2019 and has been organized every two years since, usually using relatively the same questions. The results are analyzed, compared with previous years, sent to all participants, and shared across other platforms. Previous survey results include: 2023,  2021, and 2019.

This year the total participants were down to 57 from 93 two years ago. The majority of the responses are from ADs in Europe (22) and Asia (23) but there are always some from Latin America (6) and the Middle East (6) as well. 

Same Story, Different Year

This year, the fourth version of the survey keeps true to form with a top concern of ADs around the world being "increased workload or expectations." However, it’s not the only thing that has remained the same. The second and third top concerns this year are also repeats from previous surveys: "finding qualified coaches" and "rising costs of trips." Then, rounding out the top concerns are "finding qualified officials," "participation," and "funding or shrinking budgets."

Something Different 

Over the years, I’ve noticed that many of the same concerns continue to surface, despite ongoing efforts to collect data and analyze trends. While progress has certainly been made in some areas, and many have benefited from this work, it’s clear that lasting change takes more than information alone.

To help move the conversation forward, I decided to take a new approach. This year, I’m dedicating a podcast episode to each of the top concerns, where we’ll explore why these issues persist and share practical, actionable strategies to help schools make meaningful improvements. So far, we’ve covered the top three concerns, and the rest are coming throughout this school year. To catch up on the conversation and find out more, listen to the Globetrottin’ ADs podcast. 

My Hope

My hope in continuing to organize this survey, and in introducing a new way to analyze the results, is to help ADs address these recurring concerns so they can focus their energy on broader areas of growth and improvement. Presenting the analysis in podcast form adds context and offers practical solutions that can lead to real progress. I also hope these results empower ADs worldwide to have productive conversations with their administrators, demonstrating that these challenges are shared and not isolated. I encourage everyone to share this survey, discuss the findings with colleagues, and continue connecting with peers around the world to inspire meaningful change together.