Kadence Otto

Professor Western Carolina University

  • Cullowhee NC

Kadie Otto's research centers on ethical, social and legal issues in sport with specific attention to NCAA corruption and reform.

Contact

Biography

Kadence Otto, Ph.D., is Professor of Sport Management at Western Carolina University. Dr. Otto earned her B.S. degree in Physical Education, graduating Sum Cum Laude from Plymouth State University. She earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in Sport Management from Florida State University.

Dr. Otto teaches courses in Sport Ethics, Sport Law and Risk Management, and Global Sport and Culture. She recently published a textbook with Carolina Academic Press titled Applied Ethics for Sport Managers (2019).

Dr. Otto's research centers on ethical, social, and legal issues in sport with specific attention to NCAA corruption and reform. Her research has been published in scholarly journals including Sport, Ethics & Philosophy, Journal of Legal Aspects of Sport, Journal of Amateur Sport, and the Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes in Education. Dr. Otto served as an expert consultant for the plaintiff’s attorneys in O’Bannon v. NCAA, offered insight to the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division regarding NCAA scholarship restrictions, and has been interviewed by over 100 national media outlets such as CNN, Bloomberg, USA Today, and ESPN regarding critical issues facing big-time college sports.

Industry Expertise

Writing and Editing
Sport - Amateur
Education/Learning
Sport - Professional
Research

Areas of Expertise

NCAA Corruption and Reform
Risk Management
Sport Ethics
Sport Law
Global Sport and Culture

Education

Florida State University

Ph.D.

Sport Management

2003

Florida State University

M.S.

Sport Management

2000

Plymouth State University

B.S.

1997

Affiliations

  • College Athletes Rights & Empowerment Faculty Coalition : Working Group Member
  • Journal of Legal Aspects of Sport : Journal Article Review Board
  • American Association of University Professors : Member
  • Sport and Recreation Law Association : Member

Languages

  • English

Media Appearances

Faculty, Staff senates approve resolution setting guiding principles for budget cut process

WCU Stories  online

2020-11-19

The recommendations will be formally presented to Chancellor Kelli Brown and Provost Richard Starnes by Faculty Senate Chair Kadence Otto and Staff Senate Chair Ben Pendry.

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Faculty Senate approves resolution opposing resumption of in-person instruction for fall 2020

WCU Stories  online

2020-08-11

Faculty Senate Chair Kadence Otto, professor of sport management, presided over the meeting while past chair Enrique Gomez served as parliamentarian, keeping meeting participants in compliance with Robert’s Rules of Order.

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Sport management professor Kadie Otto writes her first textbook

WCU Stories  online

2019-07-24

Kadie Otto used to think she would do anything in order to take a sabbatical. That was until the Western Carolina University sport management professor used a recent scholarly leave assignment to write a textbook.

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Articles

Online Sport Management Education: What Students’ Qualitative Comments Tell Us About Their Perceptions of Learning

The Journal of SPORT

2019

What do students perceive they are learning in the online setting? Using students open-ended comments on the Student Assessment of Instruction (SAI) instrument, researchers employed a case study approach to explore students’ perceptions of instruction in the online and face-to-face settings in an undergraduate sport management course at a regional comprehensive university in the North Carolina state system.

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What would the political philosophers do? An exploration of ideological perspectives on ‘athlete-centered’ reform

Journal of Amateur Sport

2016

In this paper I explore how the values inherent in the political philosophies of libertarianism, capitalism, utilitarianism, and egalitarianism are manifest in big-time college athletics reform which places athletes’ rights as its highest value.

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A Value Oriented Analysis of Proposed Collegiate Athletic Reform Legislation

Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes in Education

2014

The purpose of this study was to conduct a value oriented analysis of the National Collegiate Athletics Accountability Act (NCAA Act), the Collegiate Student Athlete Protection Act (CSAP Act), and the College Athlete Protection Act (CAP Act). Based on theory of moral development and logical moral reasoning criteria three value classifications served as the orientational framework.

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