Risa F. Isard
Assistant Professor
Expertise: Sport Management; Not accepting new Ph.D. students for 2025
Title:
Assistant Professor, Sport Management
Academic Degrees:
Ph.D. Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst
B.A., Social Change at the Intersection of Culture, Gender, and Sport, Duke University
Areas of Expertise:
Current Courses:
Management of Sport Organizations
Introduction to Sport Marketing
Sport Marketing (Master’s)
Biography:
Dr. Risa Isard is a sport industry veteran whose research focuses on women’s sport.
As a scholar, Isard uses quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate how stigma influences the experiences of organizational stakeholders. She is most interested in exploring how this manifests in women’s sport, given the unique economic, historic, and socio-cultural factors that influence associated organizations. She is driven to produce work that can advance equity for girls and women, LGBTQ+ folks, and people of color, as well as others marginalized in society and sport.
Her research has been featured at the international festival SXSW, on MSNBC live, as well as in the Associated Press, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Atlantic, Washington Post, ESPN, Ebony, CNN, NBC Sports, Vice and elsewhere, including on the popular podcast Takeline. As a thought leader and public scholar, Isard has penned pieces for Sports Business Journal, NBC, Adweek, Global Sport Matters, Quartz, and espnW among other outlets. Her research and public scholarship have inspired industry changes and spurred related partnerships.
Isard’s varied industry experiences inform her research. She is the founder of RISport, where she consults for sport organizations on issues of equity and inclusion. Previously, as the first full-time employee for the Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society Program, she launched and oversaw all community-based initiatives; was founding director of the Project Play Summit, which hosted Michelle Obama and Billie Jean King; developed the first online tool to grow access to sport; related evidence-based findings for sports industry leaders; and consulted for international partners. She has also led thought leadership for the national nonprofit KABOOM!. She also previously oversaw key community and corporate initiatives for a minor league baseball team and Brandi Chastain’s nonprofit ReachUp! and held staff roles with Duke Women’s Basketball and the Phoenix Mercury.
Isard received her Ph.D. from the Isenberg School of Management and Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management at the University of Massachusetts. Her dissertation was titled Women’s Professional Sport and Stigma. She previously graduated cum laude from Duke University with a specialized degree in “Social Change at the Intersection of Culture, Gender, and Sports,” simultaneously receiving honors for her original research on the pre-history and early years of Title IX (1969-1975).
You can follow Isard on Twitter: @RisaLovesSports.
Peer-Reviewed Publications (Select):
Katz, M., Melton, E. N., Isard, R. F., & Agha, N. (2024). Fan networks in women’s sport: An egocentric analysis of social fans and isofans. Sport Marketing Quarterly.
Isard, R. F., Melton, E. N., Delia, E. B. & Nite, C. (2023). Between profit and purpose: Employee responses to financial and social logics in women’s sport. Journal of Sport Management.
Isard, R. F., Melton, E. N., & Macaulay, C. D. T. (2023). Women’s sport and everyday resistance. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living.
Melton, E. N., Cunningham, G. B., MacCharles, J., & Isard, R. F. (2023). LGBTQ inclusive fan codes of conduct in US athletic departments: A multilevel analysis. International Journal of Sports Marketing, 24(3), 432-448.
Isard, R. F., & Melton, E. N. (2021). Does sport media raise her name? Examining intersectional representation in media narratives. Sport, Business and Management, 12(3), 305–322.
Industry Media & Engagement (Select):
Isard, R. F., Melton, E. N., & Sveinson, K. (2024). To celebrate the women’s sport moment, look to the movement. Sports Business Journal. https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/05/14/oped-14-isard-melton-sveinson
Isard, R. F., Katz, M., Melton, E. N., Agha, N. (2023). Solving the mystery of the WNBA ‘IsoFan.’ Sports Business Journal. https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/SB-Blogs/OpEds/2023/07/27-isard-katz-melton-agha
Isard, R., Davis, A. R., McNutt, M., Kelley, M., Melton, E. N., & Waters-Brown, L. (2022, March 14). Improving equity for women in sports media. SXSW, Austin, Texas, United States. https://schedule.sxsw.com/2022/events/PP117459
Isard, R. (2021). Discriminatory sports laws hurt trans girls—and cis girls, too. Global Sport Matters. https://globalsportmatters.com/opinion/2021/03/31/discriminatory-sports-laws-hurt-trans-girls-and-cis-girls-too/
Isard, R. (2019). The life-altering moment that turned the father of Title IX into a champion for women. Quartz. https://qz.com/1594098/birch-bayh-showed-that-the-best-allies-listen-to-women-then-act/
Isard, R. (2018). Beyond a level playing field: A conversation with Olympians Kristine Lilly, Elana Meyers Taylor, and Joe Maloy. Aspen Insight podcast. https://www.aspeninstitute.org/podcasts/beyond-a-level-playing-field/
Media Mentions (Select):
Mentioned in Associated Press: Savage, C. (2024). WNBA corporate sponsorship deals are growing. But not ever athlete is getting their due. (Link)
Mentioned in LA Times. Baxter, K. (2024). Caitlin Clark marketing boom is celebrating but also draws questions of race and equity. (Link)
Mentioned on The ReidOut with Joy Reid. (2024). MSNBC.
Mentioned on ESPN Daily (podcast). (2024). Will Black WNBA superstars get what they’re due? (Link)
Mentioned in The Atlantic. Hill, J. (2024). What Caitlin Clark’s Fans are Missing. (Link)
Mentioned in CBS Sports. Ayala, E. (2024). Empowered Voices: How South Carolina’s Dawn Staley is highlighting diversity in women’s basketball media. (Link)
Mentioned in The Athletic. Trotter, J. (2024). The Caitlin Clark Effect and the uncomfortable truth behind it. (Link)
Mentioned in New York Times: Friedman, V. (2023). From the Women’s World Cup to Wimbledon, a victory everyone can share. (Link)
Mentioned in Washington Post. Strauss, B. (2023). As the WNBA grows, so does tension between players and media. (Link)
Mentioned in New York Times: Streeter, K. (2023). A growing W.N.B.A. still boxes out some personalities. (Link)
Mentioned in USA Today. Sykes II, M. D. Sabrina Ionescu’s new signature shoe is great, but it also highlights a huge issue with WNBA coverage. (Link)
Quoted in ESPN: Barnes, K. (2022). Jonquel Jones and the untold story of the WNBA’s reigning MVP. (Link)
Mentioned in Ebony: Blakely, A. S. (2022). The discrepancy and inequity that comes with being a talented Black female athlete. (Link)
Mentioned on ESPN Around the Horn. (Link)
Mentioned in NBCSports On Her Turf: Azzi, A. (2021). Don’t be misled by the WNBA’s top 10 jersey list. (Link)
Quoted in The Atlantic: Flanagan, L. (2017). The field where men still call the shots. (Link)
Invited Lectures (Select):
Racial equity research in women’s sport. Medill School of Journalism, University of Maryland.
Title IX past and present. Sports Innovation Lab.
Sports as voice and tool for social progress. U.S. Department of State Sports Diplomacy.
To optimally use and build on the compelling science. Surgeon General’s Innovation Summit.
I’m an athlete, not a princess: The double bind of women in sports. Women’s Center, Duke University.
Sports and sexuality: The intersection of sports and sexual identity. Carey Law School, University of Pennsylvania.
Sports for social change. B’nai B’rith Youth Organization International Convention.
Featuring Billie Jean King: Building a social movement for access to sport. Aspen Institute Project Play Summit.
Awards:
2x Faculty MVP (2024, 2025), University of Connecticut
Finalist, Student Research Competition, North American Society for Sport Management
Winner, Middlesworth Award, Duke University
Nominated, Highest Departmental Award, Duke University
Industry Partnerships (Select):
ESPN
Sports Innovation Lab
MirNaHill Foundation
Academic Service + Leadership in Community (Select):
Reviewer, Sport Management Review
Reviewer, Leisure Studies
Reviewer, Sport in Society
Reviewer, Journal of Intercollegiate Sport
Member, The Collective, Wasserman
Member, Expert Review Panel, Women’s Sports Foundation
Member, Academy of Management
Member, American Marketing Association
Member, North American Society for Sport Management
REALITY Sports Fellowship, Schusterman Family Philanthropies
Previous Industry Roles:
KaBOOM! | Associate Director, Thought Leadership (and Sports)
Aspen Institute | Project Director, Sports & Society Program
Fresno Grizzlies (MiLB) | Community Relations
Phoenix Mercury | Basketball Communications
| risa.isard@uconn.edu | |
| Phone | (860) 486-0204 |
| Office Location | Gentry 217B |
