Official Journal of the North American Society for Sport Management
Indexed in: Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest, EBSCOhost, ERIC, Google Scholar
Print ISSN: 1938-6974
Online ISSN: 2163-2367
2023 Impact Factor: 1.6
2023 CiteScore: 2.1
Sport Management Education Journal (SMEJ) promotes advancement of the body of knowledge in pedagogy as it relates to sport management education and disseminates knowledge about sport management courses, curricula, teaching, and faculty affairs. This established semiannual journal, publishing in April and October, addresses a range of issues concerning graduate and undergraduate education in sport management. Topics of interest include curriculum development, accreditation, employment competencies, effective teaching methods, experiential learning, online learning, and issues and trends in sport management education. Manuscripts based on conceptual, philosophical, and empirical inquiry will be considered for publication.
SMEJ also features two special sections. In an effort to encourage growth in the exchange of pedagogical practices in sport management, the Pedagogical Innovations section solicits contributions that aid SMEJ readers in both a scholarly and an expressly practical manner. These submissions address the everyday needs of sport management educators and industry professionals in search of ideas that can be put to use immediately. Submission categories include case studies and instructional techniques.
The Perspectives section provides a space for exchanging ideas that may not be immediately applicable to teaching but are nonetheless critical for advancing the state of sport management education. This section includes essays, commentaries, and interviews.
The author(s) of each article appearing in this Journal is/are solely responsible for the content thereof; the publication of an article shall not constitute or be deemed to constitute any representation by the journal, NASSM, Editors, Editorial Board, reviewers, publisher, etc.
Please visit the Ethics Policy page for information about the policies followed by SMEJ.
Joshua Pate
Lees-McRae College, USA
David Shonk, James Madison University (2021–2024)
Michael Kanters, North Carolina State University (2006–2009)
Mary Hums, University of Louisville (2009–2012)
Damon Andrew, Louisiana State University (2012–2015)
Lynn Ridinger, Old Dominion University (2015–2018)
Robin Hardin, University of Tennessee (2018–2021)
Michael Odio
University of Cincinnati, USA
Megan Shreffler
University of Louisville, USA
Leeann Lower-Hoppe
The Ohio State University, USA
Genevieve Birren, SUNY Cortland, USA
Joseph Cooper, University of Massachusetts Boston, USA
Zack Damon, Texas Tech University, USA
Leigh Ann Danzey-Bussell, Trevecca Nazarene University, USA
Melissa Davies, Ohio University, USA
Jaime DeLuca, Towson University, USA
Jeremy Foreman, University of Louisiana, USA
Elizabeth Gregg, University of North Florida, USA
Meg Hancock, University of Louisville, USA
Daniel Larson, University of Oklahoma, USA
Cindy Lee, West Virginia University, USA
Michael Martinez, Louisiana State University, USA
Jillian McNiff Villemaire, Southern Connecticut State University, USA
Mitchell McSweeney, University of Minnesota, USA
Timothy Mirabito, Ithaca College, USA
Erin Morris, SUNY Cortland, USA
Adam Pfleegor, Siena College, USA
Amy Rundio, High Point University, USA
Jimmy Sanderson, Texas Tech University, USA
Jim Strode, Ohio University, USA
Elizabeth Taylor, Temple University, USA
Liz Wanless, Ohio University, USA
Clinton Warren, University of Minnesota, USA
Doyeon Won, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, USA
Julia Glahn, Senior Journals Managing Editor
Prior to submission, please carefully read and follow the submission guidelines detailed below. Authors must submit their manuscripts through the journal’s ScholarOne online submission system. To submit, click the button below:
The Journals Division at Human Kinetics adheres to the criteria for authorship as outlined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors*:
Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for the content. Authorship credit should be based only on substantial contributions to:
a. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
b. Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
c. Final approval of the version to be published; AND
d. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Conditions a, b, c, and d must all be met. Individuals who do not meet the above criteria may be listed in the acknowledgments section of the manuscript. *http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html
Authors who use artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technologies (such as Large Language Models [LLMs], chatbots, or image creators) in their work must indicate how they were used in the cover letter and the work itself. These technologies cannot be listed as authors as they are unable to meet all the conditions above, particularly agreeing to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
Human Kinetics is pleased to allow our authors the option of having their articles published Free or Open Access. In order for an article to be published Free or Open Access, authors must complete and return the Request for Open Access form and provide payment for this option. To learn more and request Free and Open Access, please see our Open Access resource page.
All Human Kinetics journals require that authors follow our manuscript guidelines in regards to use of copyrighted material, human and animal rights, and conflicts of interest as specified on our author resource page.
The Sport Management Education Journal encourages the submission of manuscripts in a number of areas as they relate to diverse issues in the field of sport management education. Studies using quantitative and/or qualitative approaches are welcomed. The journal publishes research and scholarly review articles in the field of sport management education.
Authors should follow the guidelines in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition; www.apa.org). Manuscripts must be submitted in American English. All tables, figure captions, and footnotes must be grouped together on pages separate from the body of the text. Reference citations in the text must be accurate concerning dates of publication and spelling of author names, and they must cross-check with those in the reference list. Manuscripts will be summarily rejected if they do not follow the APA guidelines.
Manuscripts submitted will be judged primarily on their substantive content, but writing style, structure, and length are very important considerations. Poor presentation is sufficient reason for the rejection of a manuscript. When first received, manuscripts will be evaluated by the editor in terms of their contribution-to-length ratio. Thus, manuscripts should be written as simply and concisely as possible. Papers should be no longer than 40 double-spaced pages (using one-inch margins and Times New Roman 12-point font), inclusive of references, tables, figures and appendices. The first page of the manuscript should include only the title of the manuscript. All manuscripts must include an abstract of 150–200 words and three to six keywords chosen from terms not used in the manuscript title. Line numbers should be embedded in the left margin beginning with the abstract to facilitate the review process. Line numbering should be continuous throughout the manuscript including the references.
Please note that an anonymous review process is used to evaluate manuscripts. As such, any clues to the author’s identity should be eliminated from the manuscript. The first page of the manuscript must not include author names or affiliations, but it should include the title of the paper and the date of submission.
Manuscripts must not be submitted to another journal while under review by the Sport Management Education Journal nor should manuscripts have been previously published. Manuscripts are read by reviewers, and the review process generally takes approximately 12 weeks. Manuscripts will be evaluated in terms of topical relevance, theoretical and methodological adequacy, and clarity of explanation and analysis. Authors should be prepared to provide the data and/or research instrument(s) on which the manuscript is based for examination if requested by the editor. Comments from reviewers concerning manuscripts along with the editorial decision are made available to authors.
Submissions that are rejected (i.e., that do not receive a minor- or major-revision decision and invitation to resubmit) should not be resubmitted to SMEJ per the Publication Manual of the APA (7th ed., 2020, p. 381).
Questions about the journal or manuscript submission should be directed to the Editor of the journal, Josh Pate at patej@lmc.edu.
The journal comprises three separate sections: (I) Research Articles, (II) Pedagogical Innovations, and (III) Perspectives.
Research articles are scholarly manuscripts that are empirical or theoretical in nature. Please note that articles should be in alignment with the mission of the journal.
Manuscripts in this section are focused on sharing and advancing tactical pedagogical practices grounded in appropriate theoretical frameworks (e.g., universal design for learning, experiential learning theory). Submissions should center on new and inventive pedagogical practices or improvements on established teaching methods. They also should address the everyday needs of sport management educators in search of ideas that can be put to use immediately.
Contributions to this section will vary in length depending on whether authors are preparing a case study or instructional technique. Articles should be written in a brief, easy-to-read, ready-to-use format and, depending on the subject matter, focus on specific activities and include lists of steps and necessary resources.
Submission categories for the Pedagogical Innovations section include the following:
Case studies should be developed in order to provide readers with an abbreviated but adequate understanding of a particular theory (e.g., social identification theory, LMX theory), research topic (e.g., consumer satisfaction, organizational politics, realistic job previews), or business issue (e.g., screening possible interns, creating a school or conference television network) and its application to a particular sport industry realm. The practical issue may pertain to a real event or a fictitious scenario created by the authors to illustrate a potential business problem and possible solutions. Case studies published in the Pedagogical Innovations section of SMEJ should contain two sections:
The case study and teaching notes should be prepared as a single document. Both sections combined should be between 4,000 and 6,500 words. If more space is needed, please contact the section editor prior to submitting your manuscript.
This category is used for manuscripts sharing pedagogical tools, resources, and tactics grounded in a learning or instructional theory. Rather than broad discourse, submissions should be more similar to case-study submissions, wherein the aim should be to provide a lesson and/or activity and/or demonstrate the use of a resource (e.g., database, specific technology) in the sport management educational context so that others can adopt or adapt it for their own use in teaching. Submissions in this category should be 2,000–5,000 words in length.
This section includes essays, commentaries, and interviews meant to facilitate dialogue and discussion to push forward the state of education and pedagogy in sport management. Submissions in this category should be 2,000–5,000 words in length.
These submissions should challenge current thinking and practice on particular topics related to sport management education, including curriculum, course development, pedagogy, policy, common challenges, a current trend, or teaching a difficult or controversial topic.
Essays are original commentaries or critiques that are theoretically or scholarly driven, rather than opinion-based. Such submissions should be well-reasoned and thought-provoking. An essay may focus on ideas and concepts essential to sport management education, emerging trends, and issues raised at conferences or symposiums. For example, an essay may expand upon a concept from a conference presentation and how implementation of that subject may enhance sport management education (while supported by literature). Rather than documenting narrative accounts of author experiences using specific instructional technologies, techniques, courses, or program creation, essay contributions may reflect upon those experiences and offer substantial scholarly support as to why those experiences may be beneficial to sport management education. Essays may also address a specific issue or topic in sport management and the applicability to sport management education or the integration into curriculum.
These contributions are critical assessments of a published research article or essay.
Interviews are discussions with academics, educators, and business or thought leaders that would be of interest to the SMEJ readership. Interviews may take the shape of a Q&A, but should be largely focused toward deep discussions with the subject that relates to education in sport management. For example, a Q&A with an industry professional about his/her work is not ideal for this section. Instead, authors should consider a focused interview with multiple professionals about a topic of interest to sport management education or a deep discussion with a thought leader about such an issue. Authors should be mindful that interviews would ideally relate back to theoretical or scholarly work within the field. The following questions may help guide authors in development of an interview submission:
- What is the phenomenon being discussed and why is it important for sport management education?
- How can a better understanding of this phenomenon from a professional or academic perspective help advance sport management education?
- Why should sport management educators hear from the person or people being interviewed?
- How does this interview relate back to scholarly work in sport management education?
Exemplary Contributions are invited from prominent scholars and practitioners. Note: Uninvited manuscripts are not accepted for this section.
Authors should submit their manuscript through ScholarOne (see submission button at the top of this page), the online submission system for the Sport Management Education Journal. ScholarOne manages the electronic transfer of manuscripts throughout the article review process while providing step-by-step instructions and a user-friendly design. Please access the site and follow the directions for authors submitting manuscripts.
Authors of manuscripts accepted for publication must transfer copyright to the North American Society for Sport Management. To view this copyright form, visit ScholarOne and select "Instructions & Forms" in the upper-right corner. Any problems that may be encountered can be resolved easily by selecting “Help” in the upper-right corner of any ScholarOne screen.
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