Founders’ Night

Written By Scott Soldat-Valenzuela

June 3, 2023

Arrival 6:15

Dinner Seating 7:00

Opening Remarks 7:05
Dr. Thomas Aicher, President

Dinner 7:15

Awards 7:30
Dr. Thomas Aicher, President

Dr. Garth Paton Distinguished Service

Dr. Bri Newland

New York University

Distinguished Sport Management Educator Award

Dr. Jim Strode

Ohio University

Joy DeSensi Diversity Award for Inclusive Excellence

Dr. Laura Misener

Western University

Distinguished Research Award

Dr. Andrea Geurin

Loughborough University

NASSM Research Fellows Awards

  • Adam Karg, Swinburne University of Technology

  • Akira Asada, Texas Tech University

  • Chen Chen, University of Connecticut

  • Christine Wegner, University of Florida

  • Jacob Tingle, Trinity University

  • Katie Sveinson, University of Massachusetts Amherst

  • Jason Doyle, Griffith University

  • Richard Buning, The University of Queensland

Sport Management Education Journal (SMEJ) Fellow Awards

  • David Pierce, Indiana University

  • Elizabeth Taylor, Temple University

  • Robin Hardin, University of Tennessee

  • Stacy Warner, East Carolina University

  • James Johnson, Ball State University

Grant Recipients

Janet B. Parks Research Grant NASSM Service-Learning Grant Doctoral Grant

Landy Lu, University of Minnesota. 

Promoting gender equity and inclusion in collegiate varsity eSports programs. 

Chen Chen, University of Connecticut

Tribal Ownership and the Management of Professional Sport Franchise: the Case of Connecticut Sun and the Mohegan Tribe

Service-Learning Grant Recipient

Juha Yoon, Indiana University

Understanding Experiential Learning Outcomes in a For-Profit Service-Learning Experience

Doctoral Grant Recipients

Hailey Harris, Texas A&M University 

Making a Case: The NBA’s Recurring Investment in the WNBA

Baykal Altiner, Texas A&M University

Help-Seeking Intentions of NCAA Divisoin I Athletes and Social Network Influences on Athlete Perceptions of the Athletic Environment

Leila Riley, University of Minnesota

Men Mentoring Women in Professional Sport: A Study Exploring the Relational and Gendered Aspects of Mentoring in Sport

Marshall Mainer, Florida State University

Masking the Ugly Truth?’ A Sentiment Analysis of Sportswashing and 2022 Qatar World Cup

The History of NASSM

On September 20th, 1985, at the urging of Earle F. Zeigler, Robert Boucher, Janet Parks, and Beverly Zanger met in Windsor, Ontario to discuss convening a group of sport management academicians in order to identify common needs and concerns. After a productive discussion, they decided to invite colleagues from other Canadian and American sport management programs to join them. By October, interest had grown and Gordon Olafson, Garth Paton, Zeigler, Carl Schraibman, Joy DeSensi, Janet Koontz, Ted Coates, and Rick Quain joined them. From their discussion, debate, and dialogue, the group determined that they and their programs had more commonalities than differences and decided to invite others with common interests to join them to form a professional organization. From these discussion groups, The North American Society for Sport Management was founded. By mid-December, June Baughman, Terry Haggerty, Charles Higgins, Pat Galasso, and Dennis Hastings joined the others and selected Kent State University as the site for the first NASSM conference in 1986. 

Scott Soldat-Valenzuela