Dr. Richard M. Southall is currently a professor in the Department of Sport and Entertainment Management at the University of South Carolina. He has been involved in sport and recreation management for over 30 years as both an academic and a practitioner. Since 2001, Dr. Southall has published 15 book chapters, 45 research articles, and 49 research and technical reports. He has given more than 200 national and international presentations – both invited and referred. Since 2008 he has been the director of the College Sport Research Institute (CSRI), which sponsors an annual national conference on U.S. college sport and publishes the Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics.
Dr. Southall teaches courses in college sport, sport business ethics, and management theory. In addition, as a Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) Course Director, Southall teaches scuba diving courses from open water to instructor levels. As a practitioner Richard worked in the scuba diving industry full-time for nine years, including managing two live-aboard diving operations and a retail dive center. He has offered marketing and operations consultancy for professional sport organizations, plaintiffs’ attorneys, and scuba-diving operations in the Caribbean and Mexico. Annually, he teaches a three-week course: Sustainability and the Scuba Diving Industry, in the Galapagos Islands.
Dr. Southall has been quoted in news outlets such as The Chronicle of Higher Education, insidehighered.com, The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, ESPN Outside the Lines, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time and CNN. He has disseminated his research in such publications as The Chronicle of Higher Education, Ethnic and Racial Studies, International Sports Law Journal, International Journal of Sport Communication, Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics, Journal of the Legal Aspects of Sport, Journal of Sport Management, Journal of Sport and Social Issues, Sociology of Sport Journal, and Sport Marketing Quarterly.
A recognized expert on U.S. college sport, Richard was a consultant for the plaintiffs in the 2009-2016 O’Bannon v. NCAA litigation. In addition, he has testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation.
He is co-author of two sport management textbooks: Introduction to Sport Management: Theory and Practice (3rd ed.), and Sport Facility Management: Organizing Events and Mitigating Risks (4th ed.). In addition, he is co-editor and co-author of a forthcoming book: The NCAA and the Exploitation of College Profit-Athletes: An Amateurism That Never Was.
A native of Colorado, Richard loves the outdoors and is a diehard Denver Broncos (NFL) supporter.