Program Director
Instructional Associate Professor
Department of Sport Management
Ph.D. in Sport Management, University of Georgia (2013)
M.S. in Sport Management, University of Florida (2005)
B.A. in Business Administration, University of Florida (2003)
Office: FLG 306
Address: P.O. Box 118208, Gainesville, FL 32611-8208
Contact: (352) 294-1663
Email: atavor@ufl.edu
Biography
Alyssa L. Tavormina, Ph.D. is the instructional associate professor and program director of the online sport management master’s program at the University of Florida in the Department of Sport Management. She holds her Ph.D. from the University of Georgia, and her main research interests revolve around sport marketing, specifically sport branding and sport consumer behavior. Prior to rejoining the faculty in the Department of Sport Management in 2014, she served as a lecturer and the internship supervisor in the sport management undergraduate program, as well as the faculty advisor of the Gator Sport Management Club, from 2005-2008.
She is a member of the North American Society of Sport Management (NASSM) and the Sport Marketing Association (SMA). Dr. Tavormina has numerous presentations at national and international conferences related to the topics of sport branding and sport consumer behavior. Her work is published in journals such as the International Journal of Sport Management and Event Management. She has also co-authored multiple book chapters on sport branding.
Research Interests
Courses
Director of Racquet Sports Specialization
Instructor
Professional Tennis Management
Department of Sport Management
M.S. in Education, University of Missouri (2017)
B.S. in Business Administration, University of Florida (1985)
Office: FLG 300
Address: P.O. Box 118208, Gainesville, FL 32611-8208
Contact: (913) 800-4616
Email: kimbastable@ufl.edu
Biography
Kim Bastable joined the College of Health and Human Performance as an adjunct lecturer in August 2019 and was named as director of the Professional Tennis Management program in January of 2020. She led the Gator women’s tennis team as captain in the early 1980s and was selected as an NCAA All-American in 1984 and All Southeastern Conference in 1983 and 1984. Kim has successfully served multiple roles within the tennis industry in her career, including tennis club professional, park and recreation tennis program director, junior league director for KC Junior Tennis League, high school coach for Kansas City Christian School, and a collegiate coach for the University of Kansas. Kim is a USPTA Elite-level and PTR Professional-level certified pro. She is also certified as a Mental Toughness Specialist through Johnson and Johnson’s Human and Performance Institute, as a Mental Game Coach through Peak Performance Sports and completed the Executive Certificate in Leadership from University of Notre Dame. Kim is passionate about sports as a growth opportunity for life skills and character. She consults with athletic programs regarding use of the Athlete-Centered model, and is interested in helping all coaches lead with a holistic approach and as transformational leaders.
Courses
Instructional Associate Professor
Department of Applied Physiology & Kinesiology
Ph.D. Biobehavioral Science, University of Florida (2015)
M.S. in Human Performance, University of Florida (2011)
M.Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction, University of Missouri (2007)
B.S. in Psychology, University of Florida (2005)
Office: FLG 140
Address: P.O. Box 118205, Gainesville, FL 32611-8208
Contact: (352) 294-1721
Email: gbeatty@hhp.ufl.edu
Biography
Garrett Beatty joined the College of Health & Human Performance as an instructional assistant Professor in August 2015. Garrett studied biobehavioral science under the mentorship of Dr. Christopher Janelle. Garrett’s research interests include studying the strategies individuals employ to regulate emotional experiences in order to improve human performance within emotionally charged environments. Garrett is also interested in investigating how social, psychological, pedagogical, coaching, and management principles can be leveraged to enhance the career and life development of athletes. As a lecturer, Garrett aims to disseminate knowledge garnered from cutting edge research to undergraduate and graduate students studying sport psychology, exercise psychology, and athlete development. Garrett is constantly seeking ways to incorporate technology into teaching strategies for on-campus, blended, and fully online courses.
Research Interests
Courses
Assistant Professor
Department of Sport Management
Ph.D. in Sport Management, University of Florida
M.A. in Sport Management, University of Florida
B.A. in Physical Education, Seoul National University
Email: yhchang@hhp.ufl.edu
Biography
Yonghwan Chang (Ph.D., University of Florida) is an assistant professor of sport management. Previously, Chang served as an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota and Texas Tech University from 2016 to 2020. For approximately three years, Chang worked at Kumho as a financial investment consultant. Chang has been named a North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM) Research Fellow. Chang has also been honored as an Emerging Scholar in Sport Marketing by the American Marketing Association’s (AMA) Sport and Sponsorship-Linked Marketing Special Interest Group.
Research Interests
Chang’s research interests are sport marketing and consumer behavior, with an emphasis on two lines of inquiry: (i) experiential consumption and (ii) sport sponsorship. Sport experiences are largely subjective, contextual, hedonic, and affective in nature, and thus he aims to provide an improved understanding of consumers’ decision-making processes as well as the benefits and values of sport experiences. He explores a variety of experiential consumption areas such as luxury services, spectator sports, and social media. The primary objective of his sport sponsorship research is to identify the complex network of brand associations stored in fans’ memory in order to optimize desirable consumption outcomes. He works toward expanding current sponsorship literature by integrating recent metacognitive accounts of consumers’ perception and assessment with the purpose of filling explanatory gaps in the existing research.
As a means to create innovative and impactful knowledge, Chang has a keen interest in adapting emerging technologies. He utilizes technologies in three ways: i) as a statistical tool, ii) as a measurement of consumer cognition and emotion, and iii) as a research context. He is proficient in the R programming language and open-source software for statistical analyses. Chang desires to improve and diversify existing methods in order to more accurately measure consumer cognition and emotions, thus overcoming response biases. In particular, he explores sport consumers’ unfiltered, natural, and real-life expression of their emotions by employing a combination of machine learning and Bayesian optimization techniques. Most recently, he utilizes entertainment technologies as research contexts in order to identify major industrial and academic trends. He explores the role of simulated environments in developing spectators’ emotional inertia and resilience.
Courses
Professor
Department of Sport Management
Ed.D. in Sport Management, Florida State University (1995)
M.S. in Recreational Studies, University of Florida (1992)
M.S. in Physical Education, Bridgewater State College (1991)
B.S. in Exercise and Sport Sciences, University of Florida (1987)
Office: FLG 186B
Address: P.O. Box 118208, Gainesville, FL 32611-8208
Contact: (352) 294-1666
Email: danc@hhp.ufl.edu
Biography
Dan Connaughton, Ed.D., is a professor in the sport management program. His research is largely focused on the study of law and risk management in sport and physical activity programs. Adopting a multi-methodological approach, his research has specifically investigated (a) risk perception, (b) risk management policies and practices, (c) awareness of and compliance with statutes, standards, and guidelines, and (d) injury/death prevention in sport and physical activity. His research findings have implications for influencing policy; improving risk management practices; and decreasing injuries, fatalities, and liability.
The American Heart Association has funded his research investigating “Implementation Constraints and Risk Management Practices Related to Automated External Defibrillators in Sport/Recreation Programs.” Additionally, since 2008, he has served as the principal investigator of the “Bicycle Safety and Risk Management Project” which is funded by the Florida Department of Transportation – Safety Office. The primary purpose of the project is to reduce the number of injuries and deaths to Florida’s bicyclists (Florida regularly leads the nation in the number of bicycling-related injuries and fatalities).
Connaughton is a research fellow with the Sport and Recreation Law Association, and research consortium of the AAHPERD. The author of many publications, he has received several teaching and research awards.
Research Interests
Courses
Department Chair
Professor
Department of Sport Management
Office: FLG Suite 300
Address: P.O. Box 118208, Gainesville, FL 32611-8208
Contact: (352) 392-4042
Email: g.cunningham@ufl.edu
Biography
George B. Cunningham (Ph.D., The Ohio State University) is a professor and chair of the Department of Sport Management. He is also director of the Laboratory for Diversity in Sport. His research focus is on diversity and inclusion in sport and physical activity. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, has authored an award-winning book (Diversity in Sport Organizations), and has co-edited an award-winning book (Routledge Handbook of Theory in Sport Management). He is a two-time president of the North American Society for Sport Management and is a member of the National Academy of Kinesiology.
Research Interests
All my professors were very well-connected in the sport industry and offered real-world perspectives in each of my classes.
Matt LaCoille
Assistant Director, Athletics and Parent Giving
New England College
Professor
Graduate Coordinator
Department of Sport Management
Ph.D. in Park, Recreation, and Tourism Resources, Michigan State University (2006)
M.S. in Recreation Management, Loughborough University, Loughborough, England (2000)
B.S. in Physical Education and Sports Science, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece (1996)
Office: FLG 190A
Address: P.O. Box 118208, Gainesville, FL 32611-8208
Contact: (352) 294-1668
Email: kkaplanidou@hhp.ufl.edu
Biography
Kiki Kaplanidou is a professor and graduate coordinator at the University of Florida, Department of Sport Management and an affiliate faculty member of the Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute at the University of Florida. She holds her Ph.D. from Michigan State University. Her main research interests revolve around mega and small scale sport event image perceptions; sport event consumer behaviors; sport events’ impacts on community development via legacy management programs; and interactions between event image, destination image, and event sponsors’ images. Dr. Kaplanidou has conducted research for the International Olympic Committee related to the legacy of the Olympic Games and a number of sport related organizations.
She is a member of the North American Society of Sport Management, European Association for Sport Management, Greek Association for Sport Management, and the Travel and Tourism Research Association. Dr. Kaplanidou has numerous presentations in national and international conferences related to the topic of sport consumer behaviors, sport tourism and mega event impacts. Her work is published in journals such as Journal of Sport Management, European Sport Management Quarterly, Sport Management Review, Journal of Sport & Tourism, Journal of Travel Research, Journal of Leisure Research, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research and Leisure Sciences.
Research Interests
Courses
Professor
Department of Sport Management
Ph.D. in Sport Management, Ohio State University (2000)
M.A. in Physical Education, Ohio State University (1996)
B.A. in Physical Education, Seoul National University (1991)
Office: FLG 186A
Address: P.O. Box 118208, Gainesville, FL 32611-8208
Contact: (352) 294-1665
Email: yongko@hhp.ufl.edu
Biography
Dr. Yong Jae Ko is a professor in the Department of Sport Management at the University of Florida.
His primary research interests are (a) service marketing and (b) sport consumer behavior. A particular research interest includes consumer socio-psychological constructs such as attitude, perception, and belief about sport organizations and their product brands; sport participation motivation/involvement; and commitment/identification of sport consumers. This line of research has been extended to a variety of segments in the sport industry such as sport sponsorship, college sport, sport e-business, and martial arts. The overriding goal of this line of research is to develop an improved understanding of sport consumers’ decision-making processes and provide sport organizations with managerial implications. Ultimately, his scholarly efforts will help communities improve quality of life for individuals and families through sport participation, with the added benefit of also improving their psychological and physical health. Many of his studies have been published in peer-reviewed sport management and marketing journals (e.g., Journal of Sport Management, Sport Management Review, International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, and Sport Marketing Quarterly). He also published his research outcomes in the relevant premier journals related to these lines of research (e.g., Journal of Marketing Management, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, and Annals of Tourism Research).
Dr. Ko is a member of the Sport Marketing Association (SMA) and the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM). His professional service has been excellent as he routinely serves on various committees and advisory boards in national and international sport organizations.
Research Interests
Courses
Assistant Professor
Department of Sport Management
Ph.D. in Sport Management, Florida State University (2017)
M.S. in Sport Management, Florida State University (2013)
B.S. in Physical Education, University of Otago (2012)
Office: FLG 306
Address: P.O. Box 118208, Gainesville, FL 32611-8208
Contact: (352) 294-1654
Email: mcleod.c@ufl.edu
Biography
Dr. Chris McLeod is an assistant professor with the Department of Sport Management at the University of Florida. He studies athletes’ work, development, and employment conditions with a focus on athlete-centric approaches. Based on research with new leagues in the United States, he created the concept of a human capital ecosystem (e.g., Major League Rugby, National Pro Fastpitch, National Women’s Hockey League, Premier Lacrosse League). He is currently leading a team of researchers that use a mix of analytics and qualitative methods to examine whether athletes overestimate their chances of “making it.” His goal is to create a theory helping athletes make excellent decisions about their careers, contracts, and human capital investments.
He has published research in top peer-reviewed sport journals such as Journal of Sport Management, Sport Management Review, Sociology of Sport Journal, Journal of Sports Economics, and Journal of Sport and Social Issues. He also advises More Than Baseball, an organization dedicated to improving minor league baseball players’ pay and working conditions. They have conducted research to better serve players’ needs and to help them flourish. He is interested in working with other athlete-led and worker-led organizations.
He is from Aotearoa/New Zealand and enjoys playing all sports.
Research Interests
Courses
Instructional Associate Professor
Department of Sport Management
Ph.D. in Kinesiology, University of Georgia (2012)
J.D., Tulane University (2004)
B.S. in Political Science; International Affairs, Florida State University (2001)
Office: FLG 312
Address: P.O. Box 118208, Gainesville, FL 32611-8208
Contact: (352) 294-1669
Email: cthomas10@ufl.edu
Biography
Cyntrice Thomas is an instructional associate professor in the Department of Sport Management. Prior to coming to UF, she was a professor of sport business at Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, FL.
She is a graduate of Florida State University and she holds a Juris Doctor from Tulane University as well. She is a licensed attorney in the District of Columbia and state of Virginia. After practicing law for a few years she pursued her Ph.D. in Kinesiology from the University of Georgia.
Research Interests
Courses
Instructional Associate Professor
Department of Sport Management
Ph.D. in Business Administration, Temple University (2016)
M.A. in Education, Brooklyn College (2005)
B.S. in Latin, Vassar College (2003)
Office: FLG 304
Address: P.O. Box 118208, Gainesville, FL 32611-8208
Contact: (352) 294-2821
Email: christinewegner@ufl.edu
Biography
Christine Wegner, Ph.D. is an instructional associate professor with the Department of Sport Management at the University of Florida. Her research interests include sport for social change and marginalized populations in sport, particularly the role of organizations and organizing in the formation of identities in and through sport. She has also worked with several local and national non-profit sport organizations, providing program and membership evaluations as a means of strategic programming and fundraising. Dr. Wegner has published in the Journal of Sport Management, the Journal of Leisure Research, and the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. She is a member of the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM).
Research Interests
Courses
Instructional Associate Professor
Undergraduate Coordinator
Department of Sport Management
Ph.D. in Health and Human Performance, Specialization in Tourism, Minor in Sociology, University of Florida (2001)
M.S. in Recreational Studies, University of Florida (1994)
B.S. in Recreation, University of Florida (1993)
Office: FLG 308
Address: P.O. Box 118208, Gainesville, FL 32611-8208
Contact: (352) 294-1662
Email: willming@hhp.ufl.edu
Biography
Cynthia Willming, Ph.D., joined UF in 2009 as an adjunct faculty member. Willming came to UF from Bethune Cookman College where she was chair of the recreation administration program. Willming was also an assistant professor of marketing and leisure service delivery at California State University, Chico.
Willming’s area of research in tourism studies focused on the leisure travel behaviors of African Americans and their perceptions of racial discrimination while traveling for pleasure. The focus of this research has been to examine perceived racial discrimination based on sociological factors.
Research Interests
Courses
The faculty in the program was exceptional. The breadth of knowledge they shared is used daily in both my work and study. My instructors were very helpful in understanding brand new concepts in sport management. I was only ever interested in becoming a better coach; I got that and so much more. The program has driven me to keep learning more.David Wilson
M.S. in Sport Management
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The Athlete Development specialization qualifies students to pursue certification through the Professional Association of Athlete Development Specialists (PAADS).
