Contemporary Sport Management

For over 25 years, Contemporary Sport Management has been the most comprehensive, authoritative introductory sport management textbook, and this improved eighth edition promises to serve the needs of students even better.

Sixty contributors representing a diverse array of scholarly and practitioner backgrounds have teamed up to deliver a timely text to keep pace with the ever-changing sport management landscape. Nearly a third of the contributors are new to this edition, adding fresh perspectives, examples, and experiences to the mix.

This full-color text is organized into three parts and aligns with Common Professional Component principles set forth by the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA). Part I, Introduction to Sport Management, provides an overview and covers the foundational elements of the field. Part II, Sport Management Sites, exposes students to career opportunities through various sport entities, including interscholastic, intercollegiate, and professional sport organizations and agencies. In part III, Sport Management Functions, readers learn about the core functional areas of sport management, including sport marketing, communication, sales and consumer behavior, analytics, finance, facility and event management, and law.

Much has changed in the sport industry since the previous edition was published: name, image, and likeness (NIL) rules; social justice and inclusion initiatives; conference realignments; billion-dollar media rights deals; opportunities for women in sports; and the proliferation of artificial intelligence, sport analytics, and virtual reality and augmented reality--just to name a few. Each chapter incorporates new content, case studies, and sidebars addressing these and other trending topics. Other additions include a section on sport tourism and a new chapter dedicated to esports, discussing its ecosystem, global expansion, and career opportunities.

Supplementing the text are online learning materials delivered through HKPropel that are designed to increase student engagement and enhance understanding of chapter content. More than 200 activities, Case Studies in Sport Management journal articles, and case study sidebars underscore key concepts and challenge students to think critically about sport management so they can develop insight into issues they will encounter in their careers. Case studies new to this edition examine the 2026 World Cup, marketing of women's sports, facility management, and player safety.

Contemporary Sport Management has long been a favorite of instructors and students, propelled by its engaging content and visuals, full-color design, robust pedagogical aids, integrated online learning tools, and extensive instructor ancillaries. The updated eighth edition continues that tradition, broadening students' understanding of today's sport management issues and preparing them to enter the profession.

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

Paul M. Pedersen, PhD, is a professor of sport management within the department of kinesiology in the School of Public Health at Indiana University Bloomington (IU). He has worked as a sportswriter, sport management consultant, and sports business columnist. Pedersen's primary areas of scholarly interest and research are the symbiotic relationship between sport and communication and the activities and practices of various sport organization personnel.

A research fellow of the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM), Pedersen has published more than 10 books (including Sport and the Pandemic, Strategic Sport Communication, Encyclopedia of Sport Management, Handbook of Sport Communication, and Research Methods and Design in Sport Management) and over 125 articles in peer-reviewed outlets such as the Journal of Sport Management, European Sport Management Quarterly, Sport Marketing Quarterly, International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, 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 125 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 other journals. He was a 2024 inductee into the Hall of Fame of the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA) as a Master Professor, was a recipient of the 2020 distinguished alumni award from Florida State University's College of Education, and was a 2011 inductee into the Golden Eagle Hall of Fame (East High School in Pueblo, Colorado). Pedersen lives in Bloomington, Indiana, with his wife, Jennifer, and their youngest child, Carlie, who is in college. Their oldest children, their spouses, and grandson (Hallie and Liam; Brock and Brooke; Zack, Megan, and Nolan) live in Montana, Texas, and Indiana.