Matthew Robinson

Professor, Sport Management University of Delaware

Newark DE

Prof. Robinson is an expert on international sport development.

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Spotlight

Feb 2, 2026

2 min

Training champions: University of Delaware experts prepares students Olympic success

University of Delaware students, alumni and experts are very involved with this year's Olympics. The following are available for interview. Alumni Attending Olympic Games Shannon Colleton is a 2022 graduate of UD's Physical Therapy Sports Residency Program heading to the Winter Olympics with the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team. She's specifically working as a PT for the women's speed skiing team (Super G and the downhill competitions). Students Covering Olympics Cris Granada, a senior communication major and member of UD's soccer team, has parlayed a summer internship with NBC Sports into a position as a production assistant with the network at the Winter Olympics. Professors with Olympic Expertise Matthew Robinson, professor of sport management in Lerner, is an all-around Olympics expert. He can talk about the host city, Milan, and the IOC's evolving model of hosting games in multiple locations. He can also talk about the idea of sport as a unifier despite what's going on in the world around us. Robinson can also talk about the burden the NHL faces, having to pause its season so players can compete on the world stage. While it's an honor to have an athlete represent their country on the world stage, it's also a risk to the professional team if they get hurt. The NBA feels similarly about the Summer Games. Soccer also pauses for the World Cup. Jeffrey Schneider, clinical instructor of kinesiology and applied physiology, has worked with Olympic figure skaters in the past and can speak as an expert on this sport. Thomas Buckley, professor of kinesiology and applied physiology, is an expert in ice hockey and bobsledding. He can talk about common injuries, risks/benefits. He noted that bobsledding has a surprisingly high rate of concussion and repetitive head trauma due to the speed of the sport. To contact Robinson and Buckley directly, visit their profile pages and click the "contact" button. Interviews for all the experts featured here can also be arranged by contacting mediarelations@udel.edu.

Mar 18, 2025

1 min

March Madness: Experts comment on picking underdogs, prop bets and economic benefits

Why do people pick underdogs when filling out their brackets for the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments? How do people consume March Madness? How does the tournament benefit host cities and teams economically? University of Delaware experts have the answers. The following UD faculty members can provide their expertise for journalists working on stories about the tournaments. Jackie Silverman, assistant professor of marketing: Why people might have chosen underdogs still hanging around in their brackets, John Allgood, instructor of sport management: How people consume March Madness (streaming vs. cable TV) and how major collegiate sports events can help brand individual schools. Contact UD media relations to reach him. Tim DeSchriver, associate professor of sport management: Sports gambling (including prop bets) and advertising targets. Matthew Robinson, professor of sport management: Economic benefits of the host city. Matt McGranaghan, assistant professor of marketing: Consumer attention span during commercial breaks. To reach these experts directly and set up interviews, visit the expert profiles below and click on the contact button.

Aug 9, 2024

1 min

Success stories: How Team USA racked up so many medals

Team USA took home 120 medals from the 2024 Paris Olympics – the highest total of any nation. This didn’t come as a big surprise to Matt Robinson, professor of sport management at the University of Delaware. Robinson says the U.S. is an example of a trend in Olympic success: Nations perform better when they are hosting the next Olympics. "With the 2028 L.A. Olympics on the horizon, Team USA performed as expected for a nation that is next in line for hosting the games," he said. Robinson, who was in Paris to watch the Summer Games, has researched and published text about the Olympics and can give the backstory on The International Coaching Enrichment Certificate Program (ICECP). Robinson is the author of a number of highly successful sport management texts: Profiles of Sport Industry Professionals: The People Who Make the Games Happen and Sport Club Management and has authored over 25 articles and has made over 100 national and international scholarly and professional presentations. He can be contacted by clicking his profile.

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Biography

Dr. Matthew J. Robinson serves as Director for Community Engagement at the University of Delaware. Dr. Robinson has been at the University since 2001 and is a full professor in the Sport Management Program in the Lerner College of Business and Economics. Dr. Robinson is the author of the highly successful sport management texts: Profiles of Sport Industry Professionals: The People Who Make the Games Happen and Sport Club Management and has authored over 25 articles and has made over 100 national and international scholarly and professional presentations. In 2020, Robinson was named to the President’s Council on Sport, Fitness, Sports and Nutrition Science Board for The United States of America Department of Health and Human Services and also served as the President of the University of Delaware Faculty Senate.

Prior to this appointment, Dr. Robinson served as interim Director of Athletics and Recreation for the University of Delaware during the 2016 Spring Semester. Robinson oversaw a $29 million budget, over 600 student athletes and 200 staff members. Under Robinson’s leadership two teams earned CAA conference titles, and the Women’s Field Hockey Team won the NCAA Championship the semester after he completed his interim duties.

In 2008, Robinson in partnership with the (USOPC), and the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Olympic Solidarity Fund created the International Coaching Enrichment Certificate Program (ICECP).www.udel.edu/ICECP. In 2013 again in partnership with the USOPC and the IOC’s, Olympic Solidarity Fund along with the Federation Internationale Basketball Association (FIBA) Robinson launched the International Coaching Apprenticeship in Basketball. Through the two programs, Dr. Robinson has worked with over 400 international coaches from 125 countries in 24 different sports and has personally oversaw the implementation of over 40 sport development projects in selected countries.

Industry Expertise

Sport - Professional

Writing and Editing

Education/Learning

Research

Areas of Expertise

Coaching

Sports as a Diplomatic Tool

International Sports Governance

U.S. Sports Model

Olympics

Media Appearances

Was Gary Bettman right to quit the Olympics?

CBC News Network online

2017-04-08

Gary Bettman has always seemed comfortable playing the role of the villain. Every few years, the NHL commissioner is blamed by hockey diehards for "hurting the game," and yet he remains willing to put on the black hat. That's the case once again after the NHL's announcement that it plans to sit out the 2018 Olympics.

The price of Russia’s absence from the 2018 Winter Olympics

Al Jazeera online

2018-03-09

In a gritty commercial area in Seoul’s Dongdaemun District in the city’s northeast, there’s a cluster of streets where the signboards are more likely to be in Cyrillic than Korea’s Hangul script. Beside all the restaurants are the businesses that cater to Russians and Central Asians from the former USSR.

Column: What if they had an Olympics, but no one would host?

USA Today online

2018-10-12

What if they threw an Olympic party, but no one was willing to host it? That day could be coming, and sooner than you might think. With news Friday that Stockholm is likely to pull out of the race for the 2026 Winter Games — just days after it was approved as a candidate city by the International Olympic Committee — there is an ever-increasing chance that no one will be left to hear its name called by the time the final decision is made next year.

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Articles

Exploring the challenges facing female athletes as endorsers

Journal of Brand Strategy

2012

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate some of the potential reasons why female athletes, despite increases in female sport participation, are less commonly used as endorsers than male athletes. Using a combination of McCracken's meaning transfer model and three dimensions of source attractiveness, familiarity, likability and similarity, preliminary results indicate that female consumers find female athletes to be less effective endorsers due to low familiarity and because they are low in similarity and liking.

The Impact of the Olympics on the High Performance Legacy of a Host Country

Routledge Handbook of Sport and Legacy

2015

There is sufficient evidence that the Olympic Games are the preeminent international sporting event in the world. For example, the 2008 Olympics in Beijing had 4.7 billion television viewers globally, 70 per cent of the world’s population; the 2004 Games had 3.9 billion viewers; while Sydney in 2000 had 3.6 billion. The 2012 London Olympics ranked as the most viewed television event ever in the United Sates with a total audience of 211 million, or an average daily audience of 27 million people.

An examination of Oliver’s product loyalty framework

International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship

2016

The purpose of this paper is to test Oliver’s two-dimension (fortitude and community/social support) product loyalty framework.

Accomplishments

University of Delaware Faculty Senate Award for Exemplary Service

2008

The Leon and Margaret Slocomb Professional Excellence Award

2016

The Joseph R. Bailor Award

2016

Education

York College of Pennsylvania

Communications & English Education

1986

Western Maryland College

Educational Administration

1991

Temple University

EdD

Athletic Administration

1995

Affiliations

Delaware Sport Commission : Chairman
Slam Dunk to the Beach/Hoophall East High School Boys Basketball Tournament : Chairman