Abstracts must include the following information and conform to the following requirements. Please note that the information you submit with your abstract is will be used to generate the presentation schedule as well as the online and print version of the conference book of abstracts. As such, submitting authors should verify the correctness of all of the information provided. Please pay careful attention to the following:

• Fewer than 500 words, regardless of presentation type

• Presentation title using APA’s title case capitalization

• Body text only (do not include reference list, figures, or tables)

• Author name(s), institution name(s), and contact information

  • If your co-authors have alternate forms of their names, check with them to ensure you are entering what they normally use in their academic writing.

  • Do not use abbreviations or acronyms in the university names.

  • Do not include the title or author information within the body of your abstract.

• APA style must be used for all referencing in text.

• Please make sure that you proofread your abstract before completing the submission.

Presentations may be proposed in any of the following formats:

• A 20-minute oral presentation (including 5 minutes of Q&A)

• A poster

• A 60-minute full session symposium, roundtable, forum, or workshop

Authors’ names may not appear on more than two (2) abstracts/proposals of any kind [i.e., authors are limited to two (2) possible presentations regardless of co-authorship or type of presentation]. An exception to this limit is for an advisor to a student who is submitting an abstract. In this case, the advisor position must be clearly indicated in the author section of the submission and the first author must be a registered student at their institution at the time of abstract submission. 

Abstracts submitted for presentation at the NASSM conference should not be concurrently submitted for consideration to another conference or have been previously presented at another conference. Submitted abstracts should not be of work published prior to November 1, 2026.

Teaching & Learning Forum Updates

Please also note that there are operating code updates related to the Teaching and Learning Forum. You will upload Teaching & Learning Forum abstracts with all other abstract categories and will have up to 500 words to describe your assignments or pedagogical ideas.

Abstract Categories

• Empirical - Work that uses research to test or build sport management theory and concepts, or reports data in the context of consultation to a sport organization.

• Conceptual - Work that presents new conceptual frameworks or expands existing ones, and which typically does not collect new data.

• Teaching Innovation (Pedagogical Research) - The purpose of these presentations is to acquaint sport management faculty with new methods or procedures that have proven useful in the classroom.

• Methodological - Work that focuses on new methods or innovative applications of established methods for sport management research. These may be illustrated with empirical examples, but the empirical component in this case should be intended to illustrate the method

• Teaching & Learning Forum (Teaching in Practice) - Work intended as means of sharing pedagogical ideas, strategies, assignments, projects, and other teaching and learning tools with sport management faculty.

Authors are only permitted to be listed on one (1) Teaching & Learning Forum abstract submission per year. This is in addition to the two (2) submissions allowed for the other traditional conference abstract categories. The abstract review process will follow the process outlined in the operating codes like all other abstract categories.

Abstracts must be submitted online using the abstract submission portal, which will require you to supply the following information. Please note that NASSM has adopted a new categorization and context mechanism to help organize the review process and scheduling of accepted abstracts. We recommend authors consider the lists below in advance of submitting their abstracts. Selections from the category/sub-category and context lists will be required during the submission process.

• Abstract Type [empirical, conceptual, teaching innovation (pedagogical research), methodological, or Teaching and Learning Forum (teaching in practice)]

• Presentation Category/Sub-Category

  • Communication (examples: digital and social media; media public relations; strategic communications; other)

  • Events & Tourism (examples: experience design; marketing; operations; sponsorship; sustainability; tourism; volunteers; other)

  • Facilities (examples: experience design; marketing; operations; sponsorship; sustainability; volunteers; other)

  • Finance/Economics (examples: economics; finance; other)

  • Governance, Policy, and Law (examples: commercial law; contract law; dispute resolution; employment law; entertainment and media rights law; gambling law and policy; governance; NIL; policy; other)

  • Management (examples: corporate social responsibility; ethics; human resource management; leadership; organizational behavior; organizational capacity and change; strategy; work-life; other)

  • Marketing (examples: athlete activism; branding and brand community; consumer behavior; corporate social responsibility; fandom and fan identity; motivation; revenue generation; other)

  • Methodology (examples: design; mixed-methods; multilevel analysis; qualitative; quantitative; other)

  • Socio-Cultural (examples: community and socioeconomic background; family; gender; sexuality; work-life; other)

  • Sport Development (examples: athlete transition; athlete retention strategies; elite/high performance development; sport for all/mass participation; youth development; other)

  • Sport for Development (examples: education; wealth and mental well-being; human trafficking; humanitarian relief; social capital; sustainability; war and conflict relief; other)

  • Sport Ecology (examples: adaptation; circular economy; climate action; climate change; environmental attitudes and behavior; environmental impact; environmental justice; sustainability; other)

  • Teaching Research and Pedagogical Innovation (examples: career; case studies; delivery modalities; internships, apprenticeships, and practica; portfolios; problem-based; role playing and simulation; professional development and mentoring; teaching pedagogy; technology integration; other)

  • Technology, Gaming, and Innovation (examples: blockchain; emerging tech and innovation; gambling; gaming and esports; generative AI; wearables and tech equipment; other)

• Context Area (amateur sport, college sport, community sport, disability sport, elite sport, immigrant sport, international sport, Olympic sport, professional sport, recreational sport, school sport, youth sport, other)

• Presentation Type (20-minute oral; poster; 60-minute symposium, roundtable, forum, or workshop; Teaching and Learning Forum)

• Principal Author’s Information

Abstract submission indicates the intent of the presenter(s) to register for and attend the 2027 NASSM Conference in Vancouver. At least one presenter must be registered by the early bird registration deadline, or their paper will be withdrawn. Presenters should be prepared to present at any time between first session (8:00 AM on Wednesday June 9) and last session of the conference (4:30 PM on Friday June 11). The conference schedule will be released for review in March 2027. 

Abstracts cannot be submitted prior to October 1, 2026, and must be received no later than November 1, 2026 (11:59 PM PST). Submissions received after this date and time will not be accepted or reviewed. All abstracts selected for presentation will be reprinted and published in the Conference Abstracts as submitted. Some editorial corrections will be made by the program chair, but abstract authors will not be allowed to edit or update their abstract(s). Authors cannot be added after the abstract submission deadline has passed.

Abstracts will be subjected to a blind review. No preference will be given to longer abstracts. Review criteria will be based on the following presentation categories:

Empirical - Work that uses research to test or build sport management theory and concepts, or reports data in the context of consultation to a sport organization.

• Relevance/significance of the topic to sport management

• Review of relevant literature

• Clarity of purpose/objectives of the study/timeliness

• Appropriate methodology and data analysis

• Discussion/implications/applications

• Contribution to the body of knowledge

Conceptual - Work that presents new conceptual frameworks or expands existing ones, and which typically does not collect new data.

• Relevance/significance of the topic to sport management

• Review of relevant literature

• Clarity of purpose/objectives/timeliness

• Quality of theoretical/conceptual framework

• Discussion/implications/future directions

• Contribution to the body of knowledge

Teaching Research - Work that focuses on pedagogical research and innovation.

• Relevance/significance of the topic to sport management instructors

• Review of relevant literature

• Clarity of purpose/objectives of the presentation

• Potential for impact on teaching quality

• Originality of teaching innovations suggested

• Contribution to the body of knowledge

Methodology - Work that focuses on new methods or innovative applications of established methods for sport management research (these may be illustrated with empirical examples, but the empirical component in this case should be intended to illustrate the method).

• Relevance/significance of the topic to sport management

• Review of relevant literature

• Clarity of purpose/objectives of the presentation

• Potential for impact on sport management research

• Originality in sport management of suggestions in presentation

• Contribution to the body of knowledge

Teaching and Learning—Work that shares pedagogical ideas, strategies, assignments, projects and other teaching and learning tools with sport management faculty (abstracts submitted under this type will be reviewed for NASSM’s Teaching and Learning Fair)

• Relevancy to sport management educators

• Timeliness of idea

• Usefulness in the classroom

• Clarity of submission

• Potential impact on teaching quality

• Contribution to the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL)