NEW RESEARCH COLLABORATIVE TO FOCUS ON SPORT AND SUSTAINABILITY

April 26, 2019

This week’s Earth Day marked the debut of the Sport Ecology Group (SEG) - a group of sport scholars from around the world that have formed a research collaborative and public education forum for sport and the natural environment.

The SEG was designed to produce high-quality research with academic and public impact, and to serve as a catalyst for industry-academy knowledge exchange.

The SEG is led by Co-Directors Brian McCullough and Madeleine Orr and includes members from the University of Tennessee, University of Minnesota and North Carolina State University among others.

“We combine the expertise of sport practitioners and sport academics to understand the dynamic relationship between sport and the natural environment to leverage the power of sport to protect our planet and preserve our ability to participate and watch sport,” said McCullough, associate professor in the Sport Business Leadership program in the Albers School of Business and Economics.

The launch of the SEG represents a formalization of research partnerships and collaborations that have been driving sport ecology research for the past 10 years, according to McCullough.

The members of the SEG have been deeply involved in sport ecology research and initiatives for many years. For example, Tiffany Richardson, PhD, co-chaired the Sustainability Committee for NCAA Final Four 2019 and has been a leader in greening the MLB All Star Game over the past five years through her Sport Sustainability course at the University of Minnesota.

“When you think of the fact that we’ve seen more than 30 500-year floods in the last ten years, causing irreparable damage to golf courses and sport stadiums up and down the East Coast, or the low-snow winters that are crippling the ski industry in the North East and the Rockies, it’s easy to see that climate change will have significant impacts on the sport industry. It’s already happening,” said Madeleine Orr, co-director of SEG and PhD Candidate at the University of Minnesota.

Roger McClendon, Executive Director of the Green Sports Alliance, expressed his enthusiasm about this launch: “As the leading convenor of the sports greening movement, the Green Sports Alliance is thrilled with the launch of The Sport Ecology Group’s research database.”

Beyond Sport is proud to be a Community Partner of the Greensports Alliance Summit, taking place in Philadelphia on June 25-26. Learn more about the Summit here.