Strategic Sport Communication

Sport continues to experience unprecedented popularity, with growth driven by the evolving ways in which sport teams, athletes, and media communicate with their audiences and fan bases. In turn, the dynamic world of sport communication offers burgeoning career opportunities for students skilled in communication and passionate about sport.

No other college text explains the nuances of the field more effectively than Strategic Sport Communication. Now in its fourth edition, the text blends theory and research with practical approaches and current examples to provide students with a comprehensive examination of all aspects of sport communication.

The text boasts an unparalleled authorship team of international sport communication scholars, educators, and practitioners and aligns with the Common Professional Component topics outlined by the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA).

The updated edition features a two-part structure. The opening chapters present the history of the field, career opportunities available to aspiring sport communicators, and an examination of the intersection between sport communication and today’s sociological and cultural issues, such as gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, and nationalism.

Part II is dedicated to the Strategic Sport Communication Model (SSCM), bridging theory and practice by detailing the three main components of sport communication: personal and organizational aspects of sport communication, mediated communication in sport, and sport communication services and support systems.

Mass media and their shifting and converging roles in the sport communication space are explored, while special attention is given to digital sport media, including Internet usage in sport and the Model for Online Sport Communication (MOSC), espousing seven central aspects of sport websites. The text is rounded out by chapters focusing on integrated marketing communication, including advertising, sponsorships, athlete endorsements, and data analytics; public relations and crisis communications; and sport communication research.

Additional updates and new features of the fourth edition include the following:

• The suite of instructor ancillaries and student resources is the most comprehensive of any sport communication text. These resources are delivered in HKPropel, with case studies and Issues in Sport Communication activities and questions assignable to students within this platform.
• The Digital, Mobile, and Social Media in Sport chapter has been updated to address the latest technological advancements, such as mobile devices, social media, influencers, streaming services and video, virtual reality, and augmented reality.
• New case studies, job listings, and sport communicator profiles are included in each chapter, providing examples of sport communication in action and highlighting key players in the industry and career opportunities for students.

Strategic Sport Communication, Fourth Edition, presents a comprehensive examination of the evolving field of sport communication and prepares students for an exciting and fulfilling career in this burgeoning field.

Note: A code for accessing HKPropel is included with all new print books.

Paul M. Pedersen, PhD, is a professor of sport management in the School of Public Health at Indiana University Bloomington (IU). In addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate courses at IU, Pedersen has been the doctoral chair of 22 PhD graduates and a committee member of another 29 dissertations. As an extension of his previous work as a sportswriter and sport business columnist, Pedersen's primary areas of scholarly interest and research are the symbiotic relationship between sport and communication as well as the activities and practices of various sport organization personnel.

A research fellow of the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM), Pedersen has published 10 books (including Contemporary Sport Management, Handbook of Sport Communication, and Research Methods and Design in Sport Management), an encyclopedia (Encyclopedia of Sport Management), and more than 125 articles in peer-reviewed outlets such as the Journal of Sport Management, European Sport Management Quarterly, Sport Marketing Quarterly, Sociology of Sport Journal, International Review for the Sociology of Sport, and Journal of Sports Economics. He has also been a part of more than 140 refereed presentations at professional conferences and more than 50 invited presentations, including invited addresses in China, Denmark, Hungary, Norway, and South Korea. He has been interviewed and quoted in publications as diverse as The New York Times and China Daily.

Founder and editor in chief of the International Journal of Sport Communication, he serves on the editorial board of seven journals. He is a 2020 recipient of the distinguished alumni award from Florida State University (College of Education) and a 2011 inductee into the Golden Eagle Hall of Fame (East High School in Pueblo, Colorado). In 2024, Paul was inducted into the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA) Hall of Fame as a master professor. 

Pamela C. Laucella, PhD, is the academic director of the sport capital journalism program at Indiana University Indianapolis as well as an associate professor and graduate director. She was previously academic director of the National Sports Journalism Center and, along with the former director, helped create and develop the first sport journalism graduate program in the United States. She earned her PhD in journalism and mass communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was a Roy H. Park fellow, and she received her master’s and bachelor’s degrees from The George Washington University and the University of Virginia, respectively.

Before coming to Indiana University Indianapolis, Laucella was an assistant professor of sport communication at Indiana University Bloomington and an assistant professor in communication studies at Christopher Newport University.

Laucella’s positions integrate academia and industry. She has moderated numerous panels and supervised students at major sporting events like the Super Bowl, Women’s Final Four, and the Indianapolis 500, and has edited articles for sites such as those of NCAA, Turner Sports, and the Indianapolis Star. Her research investigates race, gender, and social justice, and she is the recipient of an EMPOWER grant for her research on Pat Summitt and Alzheimer’s. She has also served as a Forum Fellow and Mosaic Faculty Fellow at her university, which focus on inclusive scholarship, active learning, and innovative research and pedagogy. She has received a Trustees Teaching Award and has won several top paper awards from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

Laucella has presented at numerous professional conferences in journalism, sport sociology, history, and communication and has published in peer-reviewed national and international journals, including Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Journal of Sports Media, and International Journal of Sport Communication. She has served as head and vice head of the Sports Communication Interest Group of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. She is active in the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the National Communication Association, and the Association for Women in Sports Media.

Edward (Ted) M. Kian, PhD, is a professor of sport media in the School of Media and Strategic Communications at Oklahoma State University, where he previously coordinated all three tracks of one of the world’s largest sport media academic programs while holding the Welch-Bridgewater Chair of Sports Media for nine years. He earned an undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Georgia, a master’s in sport management from the University of Texas at Austin, and a doctorate in sport administration from Florida State University.

Previously, he served on the faculty at the University of Central Florida, where he was founding coordinator of the graduate program in sport leadership and coaching and held the rank of tenured associate professor of sport administration. Kian’s research focuses on sport media, examining the framing of gender, sex, and LGBT issues in media coverage and social media content; attitudes and experiences of sport media members; and marketing of sport. He has authored more than 110 journal articles, conference papers, and book chapters, and his work has appeared in top journals from a variety of academic disciplines. Dr. Kian has reviewed more than 120 submissions for more than 30 academic journals as an editorial board member or ad hoc reviewer.

Kian’s journalism, research, and expertise have been cited by media outlets such as 60 Minutes, the New York Times, and Fox Sports. Dr. Kian has 15 years of professional experience in sport communication, having worked in the newspaper, magazine, and radio industries as well as in media relations. He served as prep sports editor for the Press-Telegram (Long Beach), where he was on a team of reporters honored with a national Associated Press sports editors award for investigative journalism. Among his other positions were serving as a full-time sportswriter for the Pensacola News Journal, covering University of Texas athletics as editor and website manager for Horns Illustrated, and being one of the original contracted bloggers for AOL Fanhouse, where he wrote about University of Georgia and Southeastern Conference football.

Andrea N. Geurin, PhD, is a professor of sport business and the director of the Institute for Sport Business at Loughborough University London. She has published extensively on the topics of sport communication and marketing, focusing on athletes’ and sport organizations’ use of social media and on media portrayals of athletes with regard to race, gender, and nationality. Her work has appeared in more than 50 peer-reviewed articles in publications such as Journal of Sport Management, Sport Management Review, European Sport Management Quarterly, Sport Marketing Quarterly, and International Journal of Sport Communication. Additionally, she has authored 5 books and over 20 book chapters.

She has presented her research at conferences and invited lectures in 17 countries on 5 continents. In 2015 she was named a North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM) research fellow in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the field of sport management. In 2023 she received the NASSM Distinguished Research Award, the highest research award bestowed by the organization, and was honored for her research that validated social media as an important area of inquiry in sport management. Geurin is an associate editor of European Sport Management Quarterly and Managing Sport and Leisure. Additionally, she serves on the editorial boards of four other academic journals and is a professional member of the European Association for Sport Management (EASM) and NASSM, where she served on the executive council from 2017 to 2019.

Geurin earned her undergraduate degree in journalism from Indiana University, where she also received both her master’s degree and her PhD in sport management. In 2023 she was honored by the Indiana University School of Public Health with the Tony A. Mobley International Distinguished Alumni Award for demonstrating global leadership in her field. She is a former sport public relations professional who held positions with USA Gymnastics and the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Top Fuel drag racing team. Originally from Mount Vernon, Indiana, Geurin was awarded the Mount Vernon Senior High School Outstanding Alumnus Award in 2019 and served as the commencement speaker at the class of 2019 graduation ceremony.