2006 – Carlsbad, California
With sports as a metaphor for life, Dr. Kathleen A. Davis stepped up to the plate to create the Sports Management Research Institute (SMRI). She is an internationally recognized expert in sport economics and sports market analysis. Headquartered in South Florida, with offices soon to open in San Diego, SMRI counts among its clients the Chicago Bears, New York Giants, New York Jets, US Open Tennis Championships, WTA, and Super Bowls XXIX through XXXXI. Athletics came naturally to Kathleen; her mother was Wisconsin’s track star in the 1930s. Sports strategies – working as team, covering your teammates, thinking ahead, playing ball, hitting a home run – applied well to the development of SMRI. She has taught at Tulane, Rice, Northeastern and Florida State universities and has also written a textbook, Sport Management: Private Sector Business Strategies. An accomplished speaker, Kathleen frequently presents at international conferences on sports related business topics. Mentoring students is a passion for Kathleen. Working with bright young people and introducing them to the business side of profes-sional sports provides continual reward and satisfaction. Raised with a large extended family (both her parents have 9 brothers and sisters, giving her 88 first cousins), she knows well the value of teamwork and getting along with others. Solid Midwestern principles such as hard work and moral integrity are fundamental to the success enjoyed by Kathleen and SMRI.
