SMART Lab

The SMART Lab is located within the College of Applied Studies (CAS) and offers partnerships, applied learning experiences, holistic educational opportunities, networking, and both personal and professional experiences. The SMART Lab is committed to rigorous and impactful applied research projects, which is articulated in the SMART Lab's Purpose Statement.

Purpose Statement: Our purpose is to support practitioners by gathering, analyzing, visualizing, and disseminating sport, recreation, and tourism-related research while providing students an opportunity to learn and develop professionally. 

The SMART Lab links academic expertise in sport management and related contexts to real-world applications, empowering professionals, organizations, and communities with innovative, data-driven solutions.

The goals and outcomes of the SMART Lab include the following:

1. Serve as a sport, recreation, and tourism organization research resource in order to support our local and regional practitioners.
2. Provide applied learning experiences for students interested in sport, recreation, or tourism-related research projects.
3. Provide local and regional sport, recreation, and tourism organizations with access to industry best-practices for research collection, analysis, visualization, and dissemination techniques.

Dr. Wonyoung Kim, Professor of Sport Management & Executive Director of SMART Lab

• Sport Marketing, Consumer Behavior in Sport, Impact and Destination Image Analysis of Sport Events/Facilities

Dr. Mark Vermillion, Professor of Sport Management/Organizational Leadership & Learning

• Organizational Deviance & Ethical Decision-Making, Social Psychology & Group Dynamics in Sport, Sport Participation Factors & Barriers

Dr. Clay Stoldt, Professor of Sport Management 

• Sport Public Relations, Sport Marketing, Competitive Balance in College Athletics

Dr. Jeff Noble, Associate Professor of Sport Management

• Youth Sports & Organizational Policies/Practices on Child Abuse/Neglect, Competitive Balance in College Athletics

Dr. Mike Ross, Associate Professor of Sport Management/Organizational Leadership & Learning

• Leadership Development & Organizational Identification and Commitment, Sport Communication

Dr. Chelsea Redger-Marquardt, Assistant Professor of Organization Leadership & Learning 

• Scholarship of Teaching & Learning, Experiential & Service Learning, Leadership Development

Alexandra Lazarova, Doctoral Student & Research Assistant

• Career Development in Sport, Athlete Career Discourse, Career Readiness and Experiential Learning

The Journal of Contemporary Issues in Sport serves as the official affiliated journal of the SMART Lab, dedicated to advancing the dissemination of rigorous research and practical insights. The journal highlights impactful scholarship emphasizing practical implications from esteemed scholars and contribution from our board members. 

Like any great organization, an advisory board is key to external accountability. And, there are a number of advisory board members devoting both their time and talent to the SMART Lab. These members include:

Dr. Yong Chae Rhee, Associate Professor of Sport Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University

Joe Mazzara, MEd, Director of Esports at Wichita State University 

Dr. Kadir Yildiz, Professor of Sport Management at Manisa Celal Bayar University in Türkiye

Dr. Seung Ae Lee, Associate Professor of Sport Management at Hanyang University in S. Korea

Dr. Minjung Kim, Assistant Professor of Sport Management at McPherson University

The SMART Lab provides formalized applied learning experiences and internships for students. The SMART Lab internship is a paid position that supports the development, growth, and maintenance of the SMART Lab’s activities, duties, and initiatives. Duties would include:

1. Support, engage, and manage SMART Lab’s social media promotional strategies
2. Engaging and coordinating SMART Lab applied research projects in partnership with SMART Lab director and/or other student participants.
3. Manage SMART Lab databases
4. Produce regular research incubator briefs.
5. Other duties as assigned.

Logistics of the internship include the following:

1. Paid position: The student-intern is paid through semesterly stipends as available.
2. Work expectations: Varies based upon projects, deadlines, and research initiatives.
3. Eligibility Requirements: The student must be enrolled or utilized this internship as part of an applied learning experience for academic credit.
4. Preferred: Graduate student majoring in Sport Management; would consider advanced undergraduate student that majors/minors in Sport management, Organizational Leadership and Learning, or other related fields.