Education

Ph.D., Recreation, Sport and Tourism, University of Illinois
M.S., Leisure Studies, University of Illinois

Background

Nicholas Masafumi Watanabe is the international graduate program director and an associate professor in the Department of Sport and Entertainment Management. Watanabe received his Master of Science in leisure studies and his Ph.D. in recreation, sport and tourism from the University of Illinois. Prior to coming to South Carolina, Watanabe served as assistant professor from 2016 to 2017 and assistant teaching professor from 2010 to 2016 at the University of Missouri.

As an undergraduate, Watanabe interned for the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer from 2000 to 2003. He lectured at Beijing Sport University in 2011, where he taught a course comparing and contrasting the business practices of North American sport organizations with those in China. In addition, he has a second degree black belt in the Japanese martial art of Kendo.

---

In the Media

Expand all

2024

• Dodgers' Ohtani-Yamamoto Double Play Seen As A Win Overseas: NPR Los Angeles

2023

• Experts say Qatar can compete in global esports industry. Here’s how: Doha News

2022

• Tanking in professional sports: NPR Marketplace

2021

• Climate Change’s groundbreaking sustainability efforts offer a gigantic example, and new challenges: Sports Business Journal
• As COVID Fades — in Starts — Effects and Prevention Habits May Persist: SC Public Radio
• The words you'll need to know to watch these new Olympic sports this week: CNN
• Sport 2050: Why are we doing this - and why does it matter today?: BBC
• Sport 2050: Three ways attending sport as a fan could change: BBC
• The Rise and Collapse of Europe’s Soccer Super League: The Nation

2020

• Air quality issues expected to increasingly impact sports: ESPN
• Athlete protests: WIS (link unavailable)
• Who Decides if College Football Returns in the Fall?: SC Public Radio
• For sports fans, coronavirus cancellations are unprecedented and deflating: Washington Post
• A typically noisy sports month is silenced by coronavirus cancellations: Washington Post
• Afternoon Headlines, March 17: SC Public Radio (link unavailable)
• COVID-19 impact: Sports and entertainment: SC.edu
• Hard work and strength of character made Kobe Bryant a star in Asia: Nikkei Asian Review
• What are the biggest challenges facing professional football today?: WalletHub
• How racial demonstrations affected NFL attendance: KBTX and other outlets

Research

• Sports economics
• Esports
• Big data and analytics
• Sport finance
• Social media
• Communication
• International sport
• Collegiate athletics

Teaching

• SPTE 440 – Sport and Entertainment Business and Finance
• SPTE 550 – The Business of Esports
• SPTE 590 – Big Data and Analytics

Honors / Awards

• North American Society for Sport Management Research Fellow (2018)

Editorial Boards

• European Sport Management Quarterly
• International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship
• Journal of Global Sport Management
• Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics
• Journal of Leisure Research, Associate Editor
• Journal of Sport Management
• Managing Sport and Leisure
• Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal
• Sport Management Review
• Sport Marketing Quarterly

Research Publications

Koba, T. H., Nagel, M. S., Watanabe, N. M., Yan, G., Southall, R. M., & Kidd, V. K. (2023). An exploration of professional U.S. based basketball players competing in Turkey. Journal of Global Sport Management, 8(1), 161-182. https://doi.org/10.1080/24704067.2020.1775019

Jin, D., DiPietro, R. B., & Watanabe, N. M. (2022). Customer online feedback with an identity versus no identity: The influence on review comments. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 46(2), 267-295. https://doi.org/10.1177/1096348020988889

Yan, G., Pegoraro, A., & Watanabe, N. M. (2021). Examining IRA bots in the NFL anthem protest: Political agendas and practices of digital gatekeeping. Communication & Sport, 9(1), 88-109. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479519849114

Xue, H., Watanabe, N. M., Chen, R., Newman, J. I., & Yan, G. (2020). Football (as) Guanxi: A relational analysis of actor reciprocity, state capitalism, and the Chinese football industry. Sport in Society, 23(12), 2005-2030. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2020.1755959

McCullough, B. P., Orr, M., & Watanabe, N. M. (2020). Measuring externalities: The imperative next step to sustainability assessment in sport. Journal of Sport Management, 34(5), 393-402. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2019-0254

Watanabe, N. M., & Cunningham, G. B. (2020). "The impact of race relations on NFL attendance: An econometric analysis. PLoS ONE, 15(1), e0226938. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0226938

Watanabe, N. M., Pegoraro, A., Yan, G., & Shapiro, S. L. (2019). Does rivalry matter? An analysis of sport consumer interest on social media. International Journal of Sport Marketing and Sponsorship, 20(4), 646-665. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSMS-07-2018-0070

Watanabe, N. M., Yan, G., & Soebbing, B. (2019). Market disruption as a regime for athlete activism: An economic analysis of college football player protests. Sport Management Review, 22(5), 600-612. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2018.08.003

Yan, G., Watanabe, N. M., Shapiro, S. L., Naraine, M. L., & Hull, K. (2019). Unfolding the Twitter scene of the 2017 UEFA Champions League Final: Social media networks and power dynamics. European Sport Management Quarterly, 19(4), 419-436. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2018.1517272

Watanabe, N. M., Yan, G., Soebbing, B. P., & Fu, W. (2019). Air pollution and attendance in the Chinese Super League: Environmental economics and the demand for sport. Journal of Sport Management, 33(4), 289-302. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2018-0214

Wanless, E. A., Watanabe, N. M., Lawrence-Benedict, H., & Fodor, A. (2019). Contextualizing the financial disparity discussion: Modeling Power Five and Group of Five athletic revenues. Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics, 12, 22-45. http://csri-jiia.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/RA_2019_02.pdf

Gong, H., Watanabe, N. M., Brown, M. T., & Nagel, M. S. (2019). The impact of the Chinese Basketball Association’s Asian-born player policy on competitive balance. Journal of Global Sport Management, 4(2), 128-148. https://doi.org/10.1080/24704067.2018.1537679

Yan, G., Steller, D., Watanabe, N. M., & Popp, N. (2018). What determines user-generated content creation of college football? Analytical modeling from the lens of structuration theory. International Journal of Sport Communication, 11(2), 219-240. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsc.2017-0113

Baker, T. A., Edelman, M., & Watanabe, N. M. (2018). Debunking the NCAA’s myth that amateurism conforms with antitrust law: A legal and statistical analysis. Tennessee Law Review, 85, 661-705. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3072641

Yan, G., Pegoraro, A., & Watanabe, N. M. (2018). Student-Athletes’ organization of activism at the University of Missouri: Resource mobilization on Twitter. Journal of Sport Management, 32(1), 24-37. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2017-0031

Soebbing, B. P., Watanabe, N. M., & Seifried, C. (2017). The impact of price discrimination, price dispersion, and facilities on organizational revenue: Lessons from Major League Baseball. Managing Sport and Leisure, 22(6), 442-457. https://doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2018.1515031

Watanabe, N. M., Yan, G., Soebbing, B. P., & Pegoraro, A. (2017). Is there consumer-based economic discrimination on sport social media? An analysis of Major League Baseball. Journal of Sport Management, 31(4), 374-386. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2016-0244

Brunette, C., Vo, N., & Watanabe, N. M. (2017). Donation intention in current students: An analysis of university engagement and sense of place in future athletic, academic, and split donors. Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics, 10, 78-100. http://csri-jiia.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/RA_2017_05.pdf

Watanabe, N. M., & Soebbing, B. P. (2017). Chinese Super League: Attendance, pricing, and team performance. Sport, Business and Management, 7(2), 157-174. https://doi.org/10.1108/SBM-10-2016-0055

Popp, N., McEvoy, C., & Watanabe, N. M. (2017). Do college athletics marketers convert social media growth into ticket sales? International Journal of Sport Marketing and Sponsorship, 18(2), 212-227. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSMS-05-2017-090

Watanabe, N. M., Wicker, P., & Yan, G. (2017). Weather conditions, travel distance, rest, and running performance: The 2014 FIFA World Cup and Implications for the Future. Journal of Sport Management, 31(1), 27-43. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2016-0077