Biography
I am an assistant professor of recreation and sport management at the University of Arkansas. I teach a variety of courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels in Sport Communication and Promotions, Sport Management, Finance, and Research Methods. I also hold a visiting assistant professor appointment in the AACSB-accredited MBA program at the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid, Spain where I teach a course in Sport Media and Public Relations. My research interests include how sport organizations use new media in their PR efforts, as well as the legal concerns in sport media rights such as carriage issues and the role of Congress, the FCC, and the court system in regulating media rights. Having spent 10-plus years in the Olympic movement, I also have a keen interest in the Olympic movement and the governance of international sport in the United States. I co-authored Sport Public Relations: Managing Stakeholder Communication, published by Human Kinetics in 2012. This is the second edition of a text originally published in 2006.
Prior to entering higher education, I worked 10+ years in sport public relations. I received a PhD in educational leadership and organizational development from the University of Louisville in 2007, an MA in communication from Drake University in 1995, and a BA in news-editorial journalism also from Drake University in 1991.
I had the fortune of working at two Olympic Games (Atlanta 1996 and Salt Lake City 2002), traveling to 10 countries, and presenting at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. I served as Director of Venue Press Services in Salt Lake (that’s me on the right, immediately after an 18-hour day at Opening Ceremonies).
Prior to Salt Lake City, I worked with the Atlanta organizing committee and USA Wrestling. I have worked three U.S. Olympic Festivals, a Pan American Games, an NCAA Final Four, and countless professional, collegiate and international sporting events at all levels. I also had a brief (two-year) stint outside of sports working for a PR agency and in a corporate PR setting.I speak a conversational Spanish, meaning I can order at a restaurant and get a taxi to my hotel (or to la embajada de los Estados Unidos as all Spanish books emphasize).I was born in Redondo Beach, Calif. and am a lifelong Dodgers fan. My first Major League Baseball game (that I recall clearly) was July 20, 1975, 5-3 Dodgers extra inning win on a Sunday afternoon. Walk off HR by John Hale.
