I thought I'd start a little list of Sports Management programs. Here's a story about one from USSA: http://blog.al.com/press-releases/2018/10/united_states_sports_academy_s_2.html
a few more https://www.liberty.edu/online/education/bachelors/sports-management/ https://ufonline.ufl.edu/degrees/undergraduate/sport-management/ https://www.snhu.edu/online-degrees/bachelors/bs-in-sport-management
There's a program in my town BS / MBA Keep in mind Charlotte has a lot of sports and entertainment outlets for these types to work. We have NASCAR, pro football / hockey / basketball / etc plus all the college athletics. It's kinda popular (and both available via DL) https://www.jwu.edu/academics/programs/explore-programs.html?filter.interest=sports_entertainment_eventmanagement
My wife's son has this degree, ran up over 100k in student loans, could not find employment. Manages a sprinkler outfit for Simplex.
If only student loan amt correlated with employability. True story- my son went to look at a Jeep last week. The guy was asking $8100 and my son brought $7500 cash to the meeting. Guy said he'd love to take it but he still owed $8100 on his auto loan. His loan has nothing to do with how much a Jeep is worth, but that's what he thought. But a Jeep, like education, is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. I'm not criticizing your wife's son, but you can't get mad at a guy for paying a lot of money for his education - it's what he wanted. I predict that if the guy with the Jeep could scrape together $600 to get out from under his upside down auto loan, he'd probably do it just so he could get another car loan (gotta love the cycle that keeps people poor). I'm sure the fact that my teenage son brought cash to the meeting was totally lost on him. Anyway, I googled salary for "Sprinkler Manager" and it looks like someone in the lawn services industry earns about $40k while someone in fire or safety sprinkler industry can earn about $90k. No college degree required. Again, not being critical of HIM, rather saying that a slight shift in thinking about the big picture could change the trajectory of his long-term financial health.
I know of a young girl who graduated with a degree in museum studies from a really nice school. She ended up working in the gift wrapping department of a big box store for several years. She currently works as a pharmacy tech for a drug store. Neither job required a college degree.
Here's another factor that might be considered. While many of these jobs "don't require a degree," as degree holders increasingly occupy these jobs the requirements shift through effective degree inflation so that in reality they DO require degrees. Perhaps the written requirements for jobs, at least in terms of education, are lagging behind the reality of the job market. We have seen a similar phenomenon in the world of college instruction. On paper it might be stated that you only need a Masters degree and the 18 grad credits in the area of specialization in order to be qualified to apply, but to actually get the job you really need a PhD.
Another thought . . . in my own opinion, Sports Management is a degree with some flexibility. Running a place like Planet Fitness, a YMCA or some other training facility is one sort of destination for a degree holder. Working at/running a larger performance venue like Fenway Park, McCoy Stadium, Gillette Stadium is an equally likely destination but an entirely different sort of job. Finally, there are people who work within actual sports team structures such as the Red Sox or the Patriots. Again, an entirely different type of job. With all that in mind, I'd add that this is the sort of degree where you are virtually required to be willing to relocate. For example, I might want to work for the Boston Breakers but they have no openings. If, however, I get a shot at working for the Chicago Red Stars then I will definitely be packing my bags because that might be a once in a lifetime opportunity (and it could also result in my eventually getting that Breakers job down the line). Willingness to consider jobs in other areas of the country is key to many career tracks these days. In any case, here's some more school programs. https://www.bestvalueschools.com/cheap/online/sports-management-degree-programs-bachelors/
Glassdoor - company: NASCAR - 102 openings (non-racing) almost everyone I've clicked on requires a bachelor's degree.
The rate of increase seems pretty steady though and so we could reasonably expect that that 33% might approach 40% soon enough. https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/censusatlas/pdf/10_Education.pdf
I, of course, jest somewhat here. But degree inflation is a big issue. When I was in high school, a physical therapist needed a bachelors as their entry level credential. By college it was a Masters. Now it's a doctorate. But they have assistants. Entry level credential? Well, started out as an associates but is quickly going the way of bachelors. Physician assistant was a certificate program and sometimes an associates degree. Now it's a Masters to play and a few doctoral programs have come onto the scene. Outside of medicine, we see similar inflation in Education (formerly a bachelors, now a Masters just to get a permanent certificate), accounting (formerly bachelors, now masters in many states for CPA). Professional level jobs that you used to be able to reach in four years post-HS are now being pushed to five, seven even ten years post-high school. Used to be that to get a job as an administrative assistant (secretary) you might find one with a bachelors degree here and there. Now, it's required. I cannot hire an admin with decades of experience unless I can also check that box.
I just have experience in the field while studying in college, when the school will have experience to interview. More interview skills, I think it is impossible to not work!
Here's a little twist on the Sports Management idea - - - Sports Product Management. At a cost of almost 100K you'd better have a Nike endorsement deal to help pay the bills. https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2018/11/26/sports-product-managers-to-get-an-online-degree-of.html