The McCormack Department of Sport Management was ranked #1 globally in the latest edition of the Sport Management Research Contribution Ranking, published annually by the University of North Texas’s Sports Innovation Space. The list tracks all publications by sports management researchers over the past decade (2015-2025) in three of the industry’s most respected journals: Sport Management Review, Journal of Sport Management, and European Sport Management Quarterly. McCormack faculty achieved their #1 ranking by publishing an impressive 130 articles over this time period, cementing the department as a leading contributor to scholarly discourse around the sport management industry across the world.
McCormack made its mark in the individual rankings as well, with six faculty members all landing among the top 20 for individual publications out of more than 1200 researchers included. “Having McCormack ranked #1 globally, with so many faculty members recognized among the top scholars in the field, is remarkable and speaks to the strength, consistency, and visibility of the department’s scholarly contributions,” said Fousseni Chabi-Yo, Isenberg’s associate dean of research and PhD programs. “This is truly an impressive achievement for the McCormack faculty.”
The department has ranked highly on previous editions of the list, but this is its first time hitting #1. Some of the topics that McCormack faculty have recently published research on include fandom and the WNBA, merchandising and the female fan, amateurism, and diversity in sport fandom.
“This ranking demonstrates that our department is not only producing high-quality research, but also generating knowledge that shapes the future of sport management in theory and practice,” said Katie Sveinson, associate chair of the McCormack Department of Sport Management and Charles J. Dockendorff Endowed Faculty Fellow. “Our faculty are advancing important conversations in the field, and bringing that expertise into the classroom to enrich student learning and experience.”
To learn more about recent publications by McCormack faculty, click here.