ESU Faculty in the News

ESU faculty members Robert P. Fleischman, J.D., Ed.D., professor of sport management and interim dean of the College of Business and Management, and Robert McKenzie, Ph.D., distinguished professor of communication studies, have published a refereed journal article in the Fall 2012 edition of “Derecho Comparado de La Información” (Comparative Media Law Journal) titled, “How the National Football League (NFL) Has Strategically Managed the 1961 Sports Broadcasting Act (SBA) to Gain Market Supremacy in the USA and a Dominant Market Niche in Mexico.” This international journal is dedicated to discussion of legal issues pertaining to comparative, international media and is published in collaboration with the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico and the Universidad de Palermo, Argentina.

The article traces the legal history of the NFL’s strategic approach to managing the SBA in order to dominate the sports broadcasting market in a way that gives it worldwide distribution supremacy over Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League. The article indicates that because the SBA allowed the NFL to enter into exclusive broadcasting rights with television networks, the NFL has executed this privilege to the fullest extent, achieving remarkable worldwide ratings and brand awareness. Though the NFL’s management of the SBA is not exclusively responsible for the league’s supreme status, and though televised broadcasts of NFL games are fewer than other professional leagues’ games, the article concludes that the NFL today finds itself in the ascendant position in the U.S. and Mexican markets mainly due to the NFL’s legitimate business options in effectively managing the SBA.

Dr. McKenzie delivered a presentation on January 7, 2013, titled, “How the 1961 Sports Broadcasting Act Secured a Niche Market for the NFL in Mexico.” The presentation was at a conference hosted by the Autonomous University of Sinaloa in Mexico.

Drs. Fleischman and Nancy Jo Greenawalt, D.Ed., assistant professor and academics coordinator of the ESU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, recently served as the opening and closing speakers and group facilitators for a service learning initiative with students in Ms. Patricia Tiernan’s gender studies class at East Stroudsburg High School South. The program, “Play Like a Girl: 40 Years of Title IX,” was held at ESU’s Innovation Center in its Research and Business Park on January 15, 2013. Dr. Greenawalt was one of several individuals interviewed by the class and featured in the documentary presented as part of the evening’s program. This school-based service learning initiative was facilitated through a partnership between Youth Infusion, Inc., and the Cavalier Justice Academy at East Stroudsburg High School South. Both Dr. Fleischman and Dr. Greenawalt addressed the history of Title IX, as well as the progress made by girls and women in sport and education since enactment of the historical legislation that granted gender equity to girls and women in educational programs that receive federal financial assistance. They also emphasized the importance of educating the various constituencies regarding Title IX and stressed the importance of supporting women in their efforts to assume leadership roles in athletics and education. ESU President Marcia G. Welsh, Ph.D., actively participated in the service learning event as part of the round table discussions that included, but were not limited to, dialog that addressed the history and effects of Title IX legislation, controversies in women’s athletics, media coverage, early childhood development and the impact of athletics on girls, as well as the social, economic, and psychological benefits of the involvement of athletics for women.

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