Global Sport Institute 2019-2020 Annual Report

Our 2019-2020 Annual Report is now available. See the interactive PDF here.

Throughout the 2019-2020 academic year, the Global Sport Institute has exceeded all expectations in this new era of virtual collaboration and communication. GSI has continued to elevate the best and brightest academics, subject experts, athletes, and innovators. We have had valuable discussions with people from all over the world about the intersections of sport, race, global health, politics, and the future. 

The GSI Lab continues to produce fantastic research and support academia, entrepreneurship, and innovation. The Lab released its first field studies  and launched the Global Sport Institute Poll. Its funding program was expanded to award grants for college level courses that incorporate sport. This year’s grantees include Alaina Zanin, Hyunglae Lee, and Dennita Sewell, a professor of Fashion and Wearable Technology, a course provided through Arizona State’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. The Lab also partnered with ASU’s J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute (Edson E+I)  to fund several startups including Barrage Striking Sleeve, Accelerated Cycles, and Stonne Products. 

The revamped Global Sport Matters platform provides a multitude of articles, podcasts, and documentaries about sport’s intersection with health, gender, race, technology, politics, and more. The current issue, The Reset of College Sport, includes content from the editors of The Intercollegiate, filmmakers April Abeyta and Rhasaan Nichols, and TIME senior writer Sean Gregory. GSM has also hosted a series of live events that have brought together experts from all over the world and have covered topics like the future of youth sport, globalization, sport in Native American communities, and threatcasting.

GSI also maintains outreach on local, national, and international stages. In February, GSI hosted Black Bodies in Leadership: Journey of the Black Quarterback, which explored the history of Black quarterbacks and the representation of Black men in leadership roles. This summer, GSI partnered with the University of Brighton for the 2020 Global Sport Research Conference which gathered researchers from across the world to present their work to an international audience. For GSI’s first virtual conversation, Around the World: COVID-19 + Sport, over 40 countries were represented. 

While next year will bring new challenges, GSI is looking forward to researching and creating content for our 2020-2021 theme, Sex, Gender, and Sexuality in Sport. We will be studying issues such as unequal policy, the history of sex and gender in sport, and the experiences of LGBTQ+ athletes on and off the field, and more.

We look forward to this new chapter! To receive updates and exciting content from the Global Sport Institute and Global Sport Matters, subscribe to our newsletter.

For more content that goes beyond wins and losses, head to globalsportmatters.com. 

The Global Sport Institute cares for the health and safety of all its readers. If you are having thoughts of hurting yourself or need someone to talk to, please take action now by calling 1-800-273-8255 or by visiting suicidepreventionlifeline.org. For other resources, visit the Mental Health Resources Guide.