Understanding Rivalry and Its Influence on Sports Fans

Cody T. Havard, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Sport Commerce and the Coordinator of Research in the Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality and Resort Management (KWS) at The University of Memphis. He is the Director of the Bureau of Sport and Leisure Commerce and the KWS Coordinator of Research at The University of Memphis. Dr. Havard researches the rivalry phenomenon in sport, and developed the first scale to measure fan perceptions of rival teams, the Sport Rivalry Fan Perception Scale. He also developed the phenomenon Glory Out of Reflected Failure and validated a scale to measure the fan outcome. He is the founder and managing editor of www.sportrivalry.com, which provides historical and current research on rivalry in sport. He is the producer of the Sport Rivalry Man comics and cartoons, and the Adventures with Sport Rivalry Man stories. Dr. Havard was named the 2015 Emerging Scholar in Sports Marketing by the Sport and Special Event SIG of the American Marketing Association. He organizes and hosts the online Forum on Sport Rivalry that features US and global academics researching the rivalry phenomenon. Dr. Havard has published more than 20 articles in journals such as Sport Management Review, Journal of Sport Management, Sport Marketing Quarterly, and Journal of Sport Behavior, and his work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and the book The Secret Lives of Sports Fans: The Science of Sports Obsession. He is the co-Editor of the Journal of Amateur Sport, and serves on the editorial boards for Journal of Applied Sport Management and Sport Marketing Quarterly. He has worked with organizations such as the United States Olympic Committee, United States Tennis Section – Texas Section, FedEx St. Jude Classic, and the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators.