Brenda G. Pitts, Professor Emeritus, is well known nationally and globally in sport business marketing and sport business management. Dr. Pitts was a professor at the University of Louisville, Florida State University, and Georgia State University. As an award-winning professor, she is among the first Research Fellows of both the North American Society for Sport Management and the Sport Marketing Association, and is the honored recipient of numerous awards, including the 2020 COSMA Hall of Fame Master Professor Award, 2012 and 2016 Diversity Award, the prestigious Dr. Earle F. Zeigler Scholar Award, Distinguished Sport Management Educator, and the Dr. Garth Paton Distinguished Service Award. She has delivered over 250 presentations at conferences around the world, and is published widely, including 27 books (some in different languages) and over 200 papers in such scholarly journals as Sport Management Education Journal, Journal of Sport Management, Sport Marketing Quarterly, Journal of Vacation Marketing, International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, Women in Sport and Physical Activity, International Journal of Sport Management, Journal of Legal Aspects of Sport, Sport Management International Journal, Sport Management Review, and Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education.
Dr. Pitts loves and plays all kinds of sports. She played in the first Women’s Professional Basketball League (WBL), was one of the first scholarship basketball players at the University of Alabama, and is an inductee in the Huntsville Sports Hall of Fame, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, and a nominee for the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Putting research into action, her dissertation study on the first women’s basketball for the WBL was used by the WBCA in their decision to adopt the basketball nationally. A documentary film about this can be found on YouTube. Every day, Dr. Pitts enjoys traveling the world and spending time with her wife, Melita, and playing with their furry kid – Blu, the cat.
The late Dr. Ming Li (1959-2022), was professor and dean of the College of Education and Human Development at Western Michigan University. He received his bachelor’s degree in education from Guangzhou Sport University, his master’s degree in education from Hangzhou University, and his doctor of education degree in physical education (sport administration) from the University of Kansas. His research interests were in financial and economic aspects of sport and in management of sport business in a global context. He has published more than 30 articles in refereed journals, numerous book chapters and three books: Economics of Sport, Research Methods in Sport Management, and International Sport Management. He has made numerous refereed presentations at state, national, and international conferences. Dr. Li served as President of the Chinese American Deans and Presidents (CCADP), as President of the Michigan Council for Deans of Public Colleges of Education, President of the Alliance for Sport Business (ASB), Chair of the Board of Commissioners of the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA), and President of the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM). He also served on the editorial boards of several professional journals, including Journal of Sport Management, Sport Marketing Quarterly, and International Journal of Sport Management. Dr. Li was an honorary guest professor of a number of institutions in China, including Sun Yat-sen University, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing Sport University, Tianjin University of Sport, and Guangzhou Sport University. He was the recipient of the Taylor Dodson Award given by the Southern District American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), both the Garth Paton Distinguished Service Award and the Diversity Award bestowed by NASSM, the Founding President Award presented by ASB, the Distinguished Alumni Award of the Guangzhou Sport University, and the 2017 Giving Back Diversity Leadership Award recognized by the Insight into Diversity Magazine. Dr. Li worked for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) as an Olympic Envoy in 1996. In November 2011, he served as a consultant for the sports department of the Organizing Committee for the Asian Games held in Guangzhou, China. Professor Li’s photo appears courtesy of Western Michigan University. Dr. Li passed away on August 4, 2022.
Dr. Amy Chan Hyung Kim is an Assistant Professor for the Department of Sport Management at Florida State University. Her research inquiry lies in promoting community well-being and health through community sport programs from a social epidemiological perspective. She also has been interested in exploring the evolution of knowledge structure in the field of Sport Management. She has taught Research methods in Sport Management, Strategic Management in Sport, Facility and Event Management in Sport, Human Resource Management in Sport, and Introduction to Sport Management for undergraduate and graduate students at Florida State University. If she is not in her office, you may be able to find her on the tennis court.
