Job Summary
Sports Reference LLC plans to welcome four interns for the summer of 2025 as valued contributors to our Data and Marketing teams. Sports Reference currently serves a still-growing 22m monthly users through our Reference sites and our SaaS business line at Stathead.com.
Our sites are used worldwide, every day by professionals and non-professionals alike. They are: Baseball-Reference.com, Basketball-Reference.com, Pro-Football-Reference.com, Hockey-Reference.com, SR/College Football, SR/College Basketball, FBref.com, and Stathead.com.
Additionally, in 2023, we acquired Immaculate Grid, the viral baseball trivia game, and have since launched grid games for basketball, football, hockey, and soccer.
Sports Reference is a relatively small company of only 42 employees. As such, interns’ work will be highly visible and have a definite and immediate impact. In addition to the projects interns will complete as members of their respective teams, interns will also participate in skill-building, career development, and networking opportunities designed to help interns achieve their career goals. Former Sports Reference interns have gone on to a wide array of meaningful careers, including a number of front-office positions.
To Apply
Please visit our jobs website at https://sports-reference-llc.breezy.hr/ to submit your resume for this position. In addition to a resume, you are required to submit your response to one of four prompts. More information on the prompts is included below.
We will start to review applications on January 13th and will begin phone interviews the week of January 20th. After we begin to review applications, we typically do not consider additional applications.
We have provided a general outline of our interview process here: https://www.sports-reference.com/job-interview-process.html We do not host full interviews for internship candidates.
We also have more information about interning at Sports Reference here: https://www.sports-reference.com/internships.html
Our Purpose and Values
We democratize data, so our users can enjoy, understand, and share the sports they love.
We value:
- Respect for our users, the athletes we cover, and our team;
- Reliable tools and services that meet our users' needs every day;
- Craftsmanship in building tools and products; and
- Data democratization. We publish many data sets for emerging and underserved sports. For instance, the New York Times covered our recognition of the Negro Leagues as major leagues in the summer of 2021.
To meet these expectations, we encourage team members to participate in company discussions and to share new ideas for features or potential solutions to problems.
Background
We take great pride in the Sports Reference Summer Internship program. Each year, we incorporate feedback from the previous year to ensure we are providing a valuable and relevant experience. In 2025, we will provide:
- Meaningful project assignments that advance our company purpose;
- Weekly programming, which last year included
- Technical skill seminars led by experienced members of our team,
- Professional development activities led by a trained Job Search Coach,
- Networking opportunities with professionals in the sports industry, and
- Industry-relevant presentations with Sean Forman, President of Sports Reference;
- Opportunities to bond with fellow interns; and
- Access to all team members and the ability to participate in company discussions via Slack.
Our program is designed with undergraduate students in mind, but we welcome all applicants. If you are interested in a Sports Reference Summer Internship and are more experienced, please take into consideration that we do not alter the pay or structure of our internship program to accommodate more advanced skill sets.
Positions
Sports Reference plans to welcome four interns for summer 2025:
- Two Data Interns
- Goals: Complete data management projects that help us fulfill our purpose to democratize data, so our users can enjoy, understand, and share the sports they love. A highly qualified candidate will also have basic knowledge of relational databases.
- Two Marketing Interns
- Goals: Actively contribute to marketing projects that help us fulfill our purpose to democratize data, so our users can enjoy, understand, and share the sports they love. A highly qualified candidate will also have experience with 1) digital and email marketing, 2) community engagement OR 3) social media marketing.
Applicants may apply to only one position. Any applicants who apply to more than one of the positions will not be considered.
Qualifications and Skills
A qualified candidate's application will demonstrate:
- Evidence that you are capable of meeting the goals listed above, beneath the relevant position;
- Ability to lead a project after being given basic directions;
- Desire to find correct answers, even when difficult to do so;
- Tremendous attention to detail; and
- A history of getting things done (and done well).
Expectations
- Complete assigned projects as time and skills allow
- Continue your ongoing learning and professional development
Salary
Sports Reference 2025 Summer Interns will be paid at a rate of $23/hour.
Sports Reference 2025 Summer Interns are expected to work 40 hr/week for at least nine weeks between May 27th and August 29th. We offer some flexibility for start/end dates and vacation time. We generally work a standard workday, though we offer the ability to flex hours to accommodate non-work obligations.
Other Information
- Sports Reference's first site was launched in 2000. We have bootstrapped ourselves to 42 full-time employees and have no venture capital backing.
- Sports Reference is a remote-first company. Sports Reference is located in Philadelphia and non-Philadelphia candidates will be considered on an equal footing to those who are local. Presently, all Sports Reference employees are working remotely at least some of the time. We have re-opened our office, but well over half of our team is full-time remote and those in Philly are in the office on days of their choosing.
- Applicants must have a legal right to work in the United States. Having an intern not based in the US would be difficult to coordinate at this time.
- We are willing to provide accommodations for candidates for whom the timing or structure of our interview process may be challenging. This may include early morning or evening interview times or provide payment to cover child care expenses if needed. If you are applying for a role where verbal communication is not a significant requirement, we may consider an alternative form of interview as is reasonably possible and suitable. Similarly if an extended period of internet connectivity is a challenge, we may consider an alternate form of interview. If we invite you to interview, please let us know of any possibly necessary accommodations.
- Our typical interview process is described at https://www.sports-reference.com/job-interview-process.html
- Employment at Sports Reference LLC is at-will and this position is an at-will appointment.
- 100% of our merchandise sales support youth sports.
Application Prompts
For ALL applicants, the first half of the prompt is to answer the following question:
Why do you want to intern with Sports Reference, and why should we hire you? (200 word max)
The second half of the prompt is related to the specific position for which you are applying. Applicants may apply to only one position. Find the prompt for the position in which you are most interested below.
Data Intern Prompt
On Basketball Reference, when an NBA player misses a full season, we note the missed season and provide details where possible (e.g., list an injury, link to stats in a foreign league, note military service). This data provides greater context to players’ careers. We wanted to add similar context for WNBA players’ careers.
(Note: This is an actual project interns have worked on in the past. You should not actually complete the project, but instead refer to and answer the questions below.)
Please answer the following questions with respect to how you would add missed seasons for WNBA players to Basketball Reference:
- Below is a small sample of data from a table we call wnba_stats in our SQL database. Attempt to write a SQL query that would find all players with gap years you would want to research. Alternatively, explain how you would use Excel, Google Sheets, or another tool. (Data Interns will use SQL during their internships, but knowing SQL is not a prerequisite for applying.)
- Step by step, how would you complete research on WNBA players with missing years? Which sources would you use?
player_id,year_id,stint,team_id,g,gs,mp,pts
alaribe01w,2020,1,DAL,22,3,309,59
alaribe01w,2021,1,DAL,31,11,407,81
alberma01w,1997,1,CLE,5,0,30,0
aldrima01w,1999,1,WAS,31,2,379,81
aldrima01w,2000,1,WAS,29,0,272,63
aldrima01w,2001,1,WAS,5,0,35,7
alexaer01w,1998,1,LAS,8,0,73,22
alexaer01w,1998,2,UTA,12,0,68,17
anderam01w,2006,1,CON,1,0,1,0
anderam01w,2006,2,NYL,3,0,9,0
Marketing Internship Prompt
Please pick ONE of the following prompts:
- A great deal of Sports Reference traffic comes from Reddit referrals and one of our team's goals this year is to establish a greater presence on there, including increased activity on our subreddit: r/sportsreference.
Please create 1) a pitch for a campaign we could run to increase the number of users subscribed to our subreddit and 2) a strategy for ways we could use our presence on other subreddits to grow membership of r/sportsreference
- Of the millions of people who come to a Sports Reference site every day, only a small fraction are subscribed to Stathead, our paid site with upgraded search features. What are three ways you can think of for us to leverage the large Reference audience to increase Stathead subscriptions?
Sports Reference LLC does not discriminate in employment decisions on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, religion, military service eligibility, veteran status, marital status, disability, membership in any other protected classes, or on the basis of sports franchise preferences.