Posted on: December 7, 2017
By: Allen Wallace, wallacej7@mailbox.sc.edu, 803-777-5667
Professor Matt Brown, chair of the University of South Carolina’s Department of Sport and Entertainment Management, has been selected to receive The North American Society for Sport Management’s (NASSM) highest service honor.
The Garth Paton Distinguished Service Award recognizes leaders who have made significant contributions to the field and built a legacy of exemplary service to NASSM, which was the first scholarly organization formed to meet the unique interests of persons within sport management academe and remains the most prestigious.
Brown will be formally presented with the honor in 2018 as the 17th recipient of the prestigious award, which is given annually to recognize distinction within the industry and academic community. “It is truly an honor,” Brown says. “I know most of the previous recipients of the award, and they all have worked tirelessly for this organization. I am humbled to be included in great company.”
Brown has been a member of NASSM since joining as a student in 1996, and has served as treasurer for the organization, as chair of its Finance and Economics Conference Program Track, and on numerous committees and task forces, as well as hosting the NASSM conference in Columbia in 2009. He was nominated for the award by Khalid Ballouli, a fellow faculty member in the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management (HRSM) at South Carolina.
“This award is a reflection of Dr. Brown’s significant contribution to the discipline, as well as his successful leadership in our college. We are honored to have him as a colleague and congratulate him on his well-deserved recognition,” said HRSM Dean Haemoon Oh.
Brown says the award is also a reflection on the great reputation of the Department of Sport and Entertainment Management as a whole, listing many faculty members who have received awards from NASSM and other academic organizations. University of South Carolina is ranked No. 1 in the United States for sport sciences.
“Our department has grown tremendously. From our founding chairman, Dr. Guy Lewis, to Dr. Tom Regan—who expanded the program to include entertainment management—to today, we have always strived to be leaders in the industry,” Brown said. “The combined efforts of our faculty to lead the industry can be seen by the number of students who come to USC to study sport and entertainment management.”
Brown has been at the University of South Carolina since 2005 as a teacher and researcher. His research has led to publications in journals such as the Journal of Sport Management, Sport Marketing Quarterly, Entertainment and Sport Law Journal, the International Journal of Sport Finance, and Sport Management Review. In addition, Brown has made more than 40 national and international research presentations. In 2003, Brown was named the Jefferson College Alumnus of the Year.