Scott Tainsky

Biography

Scott Tainsky (he/him/his) joined the Department of Sport Management in the David B. Falk College of Sport in July 2025 as a Full Professor and Senior Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Academic Operations.

Prior to joining Syracuse University, Tainsky was a Professor of Management and Director of Sport & Entertainment Management at Wayne State University since 2017. There, he was awarded the Mike Ilitch School of Business awards for innovative teaching in 2019 and excellence in research in 2020. Tainsky began his career at the University of Illinois, where he was a faculty member from 2008-2017 and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Recreation, Sport, & Tourism from 2013-2017.

Tainsky has served the field of sport management’s preeminent academic association, the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM), in numerous capacities dating back to his time as a doctoral student. These include stints on the Student Board (2007-2008), Nominating Committee (2008-2010, Chair 2009-2010), Diversity Committee (2014-2016), Strategic Communication and External Relations Committee (2017-2018), and Governance Committee (2018-2022), and as Treasurer (2018-2022) and Conference Section Head in Finance (2013), Economics (2015-2023), and Management (2024). Tainsky is currently Editor in Chief of the Society’s official research journal, the Journal of Sport Management.

Tainsky’s research lies at the intersection of the fields of economics and sport management. He utilizes quantitative analysis to research major professional, intercollegiate, and amateur sports. At the core of this research are the decisions made by high-level sports managers and how they impact both organizational performance and the collective well-being of fans. To date, his projects have focused on demand for tickets and game broadcasts, league efficiency, player performance, spillover effects, and corporate social responsibility in the largest U.S.-based sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA Football, U.S. Paralympics) and several abroad in Canada, China, Europe, and Africa. Tainsky has co-authored over 50 journal articles and became a NASSM Research Fellow in 2015.

Tainsky earned his Ph.D. in 2008 and M.A. in 2006 from the University of Michigan and B.A. in 2000 from New York University.