Nancy Lough

Professor of Sport Management
Co-director, 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Sports Innovation
Director of Marketing, College of Education
President, Sport Marketing Association
Expertise: Sport Marketing and Sponsorship, Women and Leadership, Title IX & Gender Equity

Biography

Nancy Lough is a professor in 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ’s College of Education, where she also coordinates the College Sport Leadership certificate program. Her areas of expertise include sport marketing and sponsorship, development of women leaders, gender equity, and in sport. She has served as a consultant for Title IX issues in Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico.

Recently, Lough served as editor of Sport Marketing Quarterly and the Journal of Contemporary Athletics, as well as the director of the Center for Sport Education Leadership at 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ. She was the first female president of the Sport Marketing Association from 2013-15. As the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics (COIA) representative for 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ, Dr. Lough serves as a voice for NCAA Division I faculty senates on issues in college sport. Additionally, Lough is an executive board member of the 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Women of Excellence, which works to raise funds for women’s sport; member of the Women’s Council, Dean’s Advisory Council; an advisory board member for the Penn State Center for Sports Business & Research, and 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ PGA Management program, and University of Colorado Business of Sport certificate program. In addition she has conducted leadership training for a variety of organizations. He scholarly work has earned distinction meriting selection as a Sport Marketing Association Research Fellow.

She has been quoted extensively in media via outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Canada’s Globe & Mail, and the Sports Business Journal.

Nancy Lough In The News

Wallet Hub
Americans spend a lot of money on sports every year. Sports franchises in the U.S. bring in nearly $40 billion in yearly revenue, with money coming from ticket and merchandise sales, media rights, and sponsorship fees. Even with technology making major televised games accessible from anywhere, many serious fans still prefer live action — and the best seats in the house.
SELF
As Serena Williams volleyed back and forth with Ajla Tomljanovic during her final tennis match in September 2022, 4.6 million viewers (an ESPN record for the sport) tuned in. And a bunch of them were watching from the Sports Bra in Portland, Oregon, which grew so silent you could hear a potato chip drop to the floor—despite a crowd that spilled into the street, where fans cupped their hands over the glass windows to watch the action inside.
Deutschlandfunk
Five defeats and no wins - that's how the first professional season for basketball star Caitlin Clark started. She didn't score as she usually does and rarely found a rhythm with her teammates. And the criticism of the 22-year-old player is already piling up - with no grace period: Is she too small for the professional league? Too delicate? Too weak? Can she not handle the pressure of expectations? Is there racism behind all the hype about the white player, which deliberately overlooks black players with greater talent?
Nevada Business
For the longest time, we’ve thought about the marriage between sports and educational institutions on a competitive level. From Friday Night Lights with high school football, to Saturday afternoons in college, to the madness in March with NCAA basketball. The representation of schools in the form of athletic competition has always united student bodies, but even more so, has been an added source of entertainment.

Articles Featuring Nancy Lough

students in spring
Campus News | May 1, 2024

News highlights starring 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ students and faculty who made local and national headlines.

a 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ football helmet placed on the turf with an Allegiant Stadium sign and empty bleachers visible in the background
Campus News | January 31, 2024

As the nation's most-watched sports entertainment event rolls into town, 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ researchers are available to provide expertise.