UT Austin: The Reasons are Obvious
The University of Texas is the flagship institution in an athletically minded state and a major participant in intercollegiate athletics. As a member of the NCAA’s Big 12 Conference, its Division 1 men’s and women’s teams excel in virtually all areas. As a result, the University must deal with all of the issues associated with being an athletic powerhouse: social, political, financial, legal, ethical, and cultural. Texas is also a state where sports passions run high and where Friday night football is a way of life. In addition, the State lays claim to eight professional sports franchises and The University of Texas has close associations with each.
The University already has a number of centers on campus that are ripe for cross-campus collaborations on the role of sports in modern society.
Working with these existing units, our hope is to build an interdisciplinary consortium that will put greater focus on the role of media in modern sports.
As the Texas Program in Sports and Media comes into being, it will work with these other centers to offer coursework at the undergraduate and masters levels, launch field studies of professional and amateur sports, inquire into the legal/ethical aspects of sports journalism and sports publicity, use the McGarr Symposium to bring major speakers to campus, and give students new opportunities for employment in the ever-growing field of sports and media.
Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports
An academic research center located in the College of Education that houses a major collection in physical culture and that conducts behavioral science research on weight training, physical conditioning, alternative medicine, and nutrition education.
Texas Entertainment and Sports Law Journal
This journal has been published by the Texas Bar Association from 1997 to 1999 but has recently become the eleventh journal overseen by The University of Texas School of Law. Professors Scot Powe and Anthony Reese are overseeing the journal.
Sports Management Institute
An inter-institutional effort coordinated locally by the McCombs School of Business to sharpen the skills of mid-career executives in such areas as business strategy, marketing, financial management, media relations, legal issues, etc.
