Patrick T. Walsh

Chair

Department of Sport Management

Professor

Department of Sport Management

Graduate Director

Department of Sport Management

Contact

315.443.3844 ptwalsh@syr.edu

Department

Department of Sport Management

Location

MacNaughton Hall, #402A
Syracuse, NY 13244

Biography

Dr. Patrick Walsh is a Professor of Sport Management in the Falk College at Syracuse University. He was appointed as Department Chair of the Department of Sport Management in July 2024. Previously, he held faculty positions at Indiana University and the University of Miami (Florida).

His research focuses on the brand management practices of sport organizations and how they can best harness the power of their brand to further their business objectives. Specifically, he has examined topics such as the effectiveness of brand extensions in sport, the rebranding of sport organizations, and the use of new media forums, specifically sport video games and social media outlets, as marketing and branding tools.
His research has been published in journals such as Sport Marketing Quarterly, Journal of Sport Management, Sport Management Review, and Communication and Sport.
Dr. Walsh currently serves on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Sport Management and the Journal of Global Sport Management. In 2016, he was named a Research Fellow of the Sport Marketing Association (SMA), becoming one of only 23 faculty members across the country to have earned the honor to date. He is also a co-author of a Sport Marketing textbook, which was published in 2021.

Prior to entering academia, Dr. Walsh worked in marketing with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, and was an associate with Velocity Sports and Entertainment (now MKTG), where he developed and executed strategic marketing plans for a number of today’s top sponsors of professional and collegiate sport properties.

Education

Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Minnesota, MN
M.S., Canisius College, Buffalo, NY, . Major: Sport Administration
B.S., Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, . Major: Marketing and Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises

Specialization

Sport brand management, brand extensions, rebranding.

Teaching

Currently Teaching

SPM 444 - Sports Marketing Management
SPM 655 - Practicum in Sport Venue and Events Management

Published Scholarship

Publications

Pedersen, Z., Blaszka, M. & Walsh, P., 2024. Visual athlete rebrands: Discussing the factors that influence athletes to alter their personal brand logo. International Journal of Sport Communication, 18(2), pp.136–143.
Dees, W. et al., 2025. Sport Marketing, Human Kinetics.
Cianfrone, B. & Walsh, P., 2024. Brand communication through sport video games. In Communication in Sport Management. Routledge.
Kim, J., Delia, E. & Walsh, P., 2023. National Olympic Committee sponsorship in small states: A case study with focus on the Caribbean Region. Sport, Business, Management: An International Journal, 13(1), pp.57–73.
Galen ClavioKatie MetzPatrick Walsh (2023). Yes to You! Individual and related visual social media brands of Peloton instructors. In Social Media in Sport: Evidence Based Perspectives. , 123-143.
Dees, W. et al., 2021. Sport Marketing, Human Kinetics..
Kim, J. et al., 2021. Impact of mega sports events on the host country’s brand personality: The moderation of event involvement and brand familiarity. International Journal of Sport Management, 21, pp.1–25.
Williams, A.S. et al., 2021. The influence of logo change on brand loyalty and the role of attitude toward rebranding and logo evaluation. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 30(1), pp.69–81.
Walsh, P.T. & Clavio, G., 2019. Examining the effectiveness of measuring team brand association networks with textual analysis software. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 19, pp.293–312.
Walsh, P.T., 2018. Miami Marlins: Rebranding in the sunshine state. In J. W. Lee, ed. Branded: Branding in Sport Business. Carolina Academic Press.

Presentations

Pauline, G., Walsh, P. & Tainsky, S.A., 2025. Engaging first-year sport management students through experiential learning: Fostering personal and professional growth (Submitted and under review). In North American Society for Sport Management Conference.
Blaszka, M., Walsh, P.T. & Morehead, C., 2024. New year, new logo: Examining professional sport rebrands through brand storytelling. In Sport Marketing Association.
Popp, N., Greenwell, C. & Walsh, P.T., 2023. Do NIL Collectives create a substitution effect among athletics donors at ACC institutions?. In Sport Marketing Association.
Blaszka, M. et al., 2023. What is our brand? Examining the Indiana State athletics rebrand. In Sport Marketing Association.
Walsh, P., 2023. Developing a Sport Brand Management Research Agenda. In Loughborough University London. Institute for Sport Business Ph.D. Knowledge Exchange Event. Loughborough University London.
Walsh, P.T., Blaszka, M. & Pegoraro, A., 2022. Guardians of the brand: Online versus offline attitudes towards a rebrand. In Sport Marketing Association Conference.
Walsh, P.T., Clavio, G. & Blaszka, M., 2021. Examining perceived fit and consumer attitudes toward cannabidiol (CBD) sponsorships in sport.. In Sport Marketing Association Conference.
Kim, J., Delia, E. & Walsh, P.T., 2021. National Olympic Committee sponsorship in small states. A case study with focus on the Caribbean region.. In Sport Marketing Association Conference.
Blaszka, M. et al., 2019. Tell me you like me: Examining Super Bowl commercial likeability.. In Sport Marketing Association Conference.
Blaszka, M., Clavio, G. & Walsh, P.T., 2019. HeatCheck: NBA brand extensions in the NBA2K League.. In Global Sport Business Association Conference.

Active Service

Professional Service

Editorial Review Board Member, Journal of Global Sport Management (active since: 2016)
Editorial Review Board Member, International Journal of Sport Management (active since: 2010)

Honors, Awards, and Recognition

Outstanding Reviewer Award, International Journal of Sport Management (received: 2025)
Outstanding Reviewer Award, International Journal of Sport Management (received: 2024)
Research Fellow Award, Sport Marketing Association
Emerald Literati Award for Excellence
Best Paper Award, Sport Marketing Association

Memberships

Sport Marketing Association (SMA)

Recent Media Mentions:

Anon, 2024. Kelce vs. Manning: Battle of the NFL brothers on and off the field. In Newsweek.
Makes cents: Why the Arizona Cardinals rank low among NFL’s most valuable franchises (16 September 2022)
Naomi Osaka faces biggest challenge of her career at the Olympics – on and off the court. (19 July 2021)
Who is the Pirates’ next face of the franchise. (3 February 2021)
As Redskins rebrand, warming up to a new name might take time. (20 July 2020)
New calls for American football team Redskins to rename. (21 June 2020)
CBD is here and companies have money to spend. Which sports are listening? (8 August 2019)
Knicks could turn Zion Williamson into a god: ‘Billboard, Adrenaline’. (12 May 2019)
OU Football: How Kyler Murray could benefit from being the NFL Draft centerpiece (25 April 2019)
Measuring the impact of Super Bowl exposure. (14 February 2019)

Department

Department of Sport Management

Location

MacNaughton Hall, #402A
Syracuse, NY 13244