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This study examined how academic programs administrate their internships, including implementing and executing their philosophy and internship rationale, and connecting with and managing relationships with internship agencies while accounting for contextual information (e.g., geography, size, and research vs. teaching focus). Using a case-study methodology, 12 sport management programs’ internship approaches were analyzed, leading to several cross-case themes and larger interpretations useful for advancing future research and practice related to internships. Several commonalities and differences were observed that offer insight important for interpreting existing research and recommending practices across programs.

This study examined the role of men athletes in framing women athletes in marketing images, and CrossFit was used as the sport-specific context. The purpose was to understand how consumers perceive women athletes, whether the presence of men athletes influences these perceptions, and if consumers perceive women athletes to be represented more accurately when pictured alone or with male counterparts. Using a mixed-methods approach involving both quantitative and qualitative analysis, questionnaires (n = 389) and interviews (n = 19) were utilized to gather participants’ perceptions on videos featuring all women CrossFit athletes and/or those with men and women CrossFit athletes. Results showed that consumers’ perceptions began to shift when looking at their athletic competence, although a focus on appearance remained. While the results of the questionnaires revealed no clear correlation between the presence of men athletes and the perception of women athletes, the interviews suggested a relationship, highlighting the complex role that male athletes play. Overall, the study indicates that consumers perceive women athletes to be framed more accurately when pictured alone and offers valuable insights into how men athletes affect consumers’ perceptions of women athletes.

In the context of sport events, several stakeholders’ reputations could be impacted by critical incidents, including event organizers, athletes, teams, countries represented by athletes, and sponsors. The purposes of this study were to develop an understanding of (a) how an event organizer, media, and the public framed a critical incident in a rhetorical arena and (b) how frames were connected with the reputations of event stakeholders immediately following a critical incident. A three-phase approach was employed that involved collecting and analyzing data from X/Twitter about a bus crash at the 2013 Tour de France. The critical incident was framed in nine different ways, many of which were emergent. Findings demonstrated that critical incidents at a sport event are interpreted and framed in multiple ways and can have an impact on the reputations of the event and other event stakeholders.

Internships help position college students to succeed in the sport industry but have historically been unpaid. In response to a call from Walker et al. for more research on the impacts of unpaid internships, this study interviewed internship supervisors regarding their perspectives on unpaid internships. Data analysis was framed by institutional theory, exploitation theory, and efficiency wage theory. Results showed that supervisors use several narratives to justify unpaid internships and organizations are often slow to change without a pressing reason. While the supervisors believed that higher pay would attract better candidates and produce higher quality work, they also believed that some organizations are not capable of paying their interns and sport organizations are popular enough to attract many applicants without paying.

This case study highlights the symbiotic relationship between sport management programs and athletic departments, emphasizing the benefits of leveraging on-campus athletics for practical student experiences. Given the prominence of intercollegiate athletics in the United States, universities have a unique opportunity to offer sport management students hands-on learning while on campus. Through the lens of a fundraising project, this study demonstrates effective strategies for building partnerships with athletic departments. It underlines how such projects provide real-world industry experience, focusing not only on technical skills but also on soft skills. The case study shows that both students and athletic departments can significantly benefit from this collaborative approach, enriching the educational experience and contributing to the professional development of future sport industry leaders.