Athletic Staff & Sports Organisation Recruitment

Build the staff your programme deserves.

Total Sports Recruiting is a US executive search firm for athletic departments and sports organisations. Head coaches, athletic directors, S&C specialists, athletic trainers, sports medicine, compliance and general managers. Retained searches, confidential by default, delivered on a published timeline.

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Practices

The athletic staff searches we run for you

Twelve practice areas across coaching, athletic administration, sports medicine, S&C, sports operations and front-office leadership. Retained searches for athletic departments and pro sports organisations.

Head Coach Search

Head coaches for football, basketball, baseball, soccer and Olympic sports across NCAA D1, D2, D3, NAIA, JUCO and pro franchises.

Position & Assistant Coaches

Offensive and defensive coordinators, position coaches, assistant coaches and specialty coaches. Confidential approaches on staff turnovers.

Athletic Director

Athletic director searches for universities, colleges and school systems. Turnaround, restructuring and long-tenure succession briefs.

Associate & Assistant AD

Senior associate athletic directors, deputy ADs, assistant ADs for advancement, external affairs, student-athlete services and business operations.

Strength & Conditioning

Directors of S&C, head strength coaches, sport-specific S&C leads, performance coaches. CSCS-credentialed and NSCA-aligned.

Athletic Trainer

Head athletic trainers, associate athletic trainers, sport-specific ATCs. BOC-certified, licensed and clinical-experience validated before introduction.

Sports Medicine

Team physicians, orthopedic surgeons, sports medicine directors and rehabilitation leads for D1 programmes and pro franchises.

Sports Information

Sports information directors, communications leads, digital content directors, broadcast and social media professionals for athletic departments.

Compliance & Academics

Compliance officers, academic services directors, eligibility specialists, Title IX coordinators and NIL-adjacent operations professionals.

Facilities & Operations

Facilities directors, event operations, equipment managers, travel and logistics coordinators for athletic departments and pro venues.

Sports Nutrition

Directors of sports nutrition, performance dietitians, sport-specific nutritionists. RD-credentialed and CSSD-preferred.

General Manager & Front Office

General managers, presidents of baseball or basketball operations, VPs of hockey ops, front-office executives for pro and minor-league franchises.

Why athletic directors retain us

Search that understands the athletic department

Most executive search firms treat athletics as another vertical. We staff nothing else. Coaching, front office, athletic administration, sports medicine and sports operations only.

01
Athletics-fluent partnersOur partners have run programmes, sat in athletic-department leadership, and understand the difference between a D1 conference brief and a D2 conference brief.
02
Confidential by defaultEvery approach is confidential. NDAs signed at first contact. We coordinate approaches to staff currently under contract at competitor programmes with you upfront.
03
90-day shortlist commitmentA vetted shortlist of three to five candidates inside 90 days, contractually committed. Every candidate credential-verified before introduction.
04
12-month replacementStandard twelve-month replacement on every retained search. If the placement does not stick, we re-run the search at no additional fee.

§ Our commitment

IEngagement letter with scope, fees and timeline before day one.
IILong list of 40 to 80 candidates approached over the first month.
IIICalibration session with your stakeholders at day 30.
IVShortlist of three to five candidates presented by day 90.
VProgress reports written and delivered on a fortnightly cadence.
VIPost-placement onboarding support through day 90.

How a search runs

From engagement to signed, three considered stages

A methodical, partner-led search process. Contractually committed timeline, confidential by default, written reporting throughout the mandate.

Engagement & scope

A working session with the athletic director, hiring committee or ownership. We capture the programme context, the operating expectations, the salary band, the timeline and the success metrics. Engagement letter follows.

Long list & shortlist

We approach 40 to 80 long-list candidates over four to six weeks, calibrate the shortlist with your stakeholders at day 30, and present three to five vetted candidates by day 90. Confidential throughout.

Final stages & offer

Reference and back-channel checks, credential and licensure verification, final-stage interview management, offer structuring and onboarding support through the first day 90 in role.