The world of esports is fast becoming a mainstream form of competition and entertainment. While there is debate over whether esports should be recognized as a sport, the emergence of competitive video gaming has seen a rise in many of the problems associated with traditional sport including: doping, gambling-related match-fixing and non-gambling related corruption. Indeed, the esports gambling market has quickly surpassed the total legal sports wagering market in the United States, including daily fantasy sports. This paper examines esports growth and the evolving integrity challenges being faced by players, tournament organizers, gamblers, sponsors, politicians, and fans. Esports, like traditional sports, faces both internal and external corruption-related threats. Internal threats facing competitive video gaming include the use of performance-enhancing drugs and match-fixing. The industry also faces external pressure from a large gambling industry that exists in both regulated and unregulated markets. The entire esports ecosystem is now facing increased scrutiny from various

Collaboration between industry and academia is a subject of great interest to sport management academics and sport industry leaders in the United States. However, there is a lack of research regarding barriers to sport industry–academia collaborations and bridging the gap between sport management research and practitioners. The aim of the study was to explore trends in collaboration barriers among various research involvement levels of U.S. sport firms with sport management academia. Data were gathered from 303 sport managers working for U.S. sport companies. Results indicated several barriers for research collaborations between the U.S. sport industry and academia. Such barriers include transactional barriers, sport industry subsectors, sport organizations’ location, and age and education level of respondents.

Competitive video gaming is rapidly gaining mainstream attention. Major U.S. television networks have commenced broadcasting such competitions. The term esports has been assigned to the practice, but it remains to be seen whether lawmakers and regulators agree that the contests are indeed sports. This paper provides a comprehensive examination, analysis, and application of the tests that have previously been used to determine whether an activity is a sport. We illustrate potential streams of litigation, some of which are specific to activities classified as sport. The emergence of esports in the United States has highlighted the absence of a legal definition of sport. Be it the newest form of sport or not, esports afford a glimpse to the future of creative competition, business innovation, and the related legal, policy, and litigation implications emerging alongside this new (sporting or otherwise competitive) activity.

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The growth of sport management programs housed in (or with formal curriculum-based ties to) a school of business indicates more academic institutions are reconsidering sport management as a business-oriented field. Thus, research is necessary regarding benchmarking information on the state of these academic programs. The purpose of this study is to explore trends on administration, housing, accreditation, faculty performance indicators and research requirements, as well as salaries for faculty and alumni of such programs. Data were submitted by 74 department chairs and program directors employed in U.S. business schools featuring sport management programs. Results indicate that the majority of sport business programs are part of an interdisciplinary department; COSMA accreditation is largely viewed as redundant; and, depending on business schools' accreditation, variability exists concerning faculty performance measures and research impact, as well as faculty and alumni salaries. These findings suggest considerable progress of sport management programs within business schools.

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