Is sport management research diverse? A five-year analysis of dissertations

Sport management as an academic discipline has experienced tremendous growth in the last 15-20 years with the present number of universities offering some academic study of sport management exceeding 200 (Parkhouse & Pitts, 2005). However, the number of qualified faculty members available to teach in these programs has not kept up with the growth of the programs (Mahony, Mondello, Hums & Judd, 2004). Mahony and colleagues found, on average, 70 faculty positions are advertised each year seeking sport management expertise
but only 15 new doctoral graduates enter the marketplace each year. This underproduction of qualified faculty, during a time of growth in the programs, raises questions about the potential to advance research in the discipline forward.