Office Space: Michael Mudrick (Associate Professor, Sport Management)
Office Space: Michael Mudrick (Associate Professor, Sport Management)
January 20, 2022The way a person decorates can say a lot about them. In the Office Space series, we go beyond the résumé and get to know York College faculty and staff members through the objects they like to keep close.
Dr. Michael Mudrick loves sports. As a professor in the Sport Management program, he’s able to bring that passion into his classroom every day—and students who pop in for a visit during office hours will see it, too. Here are just a few of the treasured objects you’ll find in Dr. Mudrick’s office.
1. 2018 Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl Parade Photo
Mudrick says, “As my students and colleagues know, I'm not only proud of my background (born and raised in Philadelphia), but I'll use examples of my fandom for sport behavior discussions often in class, while then connecting it to other students' fan experiences. The Eagles parade was certainly one of the highlights of my fandom in life. Sport fandom is more than just rooting for a team. It’s really about identity management based on the groups that we associate ourselves with.”
2. Bobblehead Collection
“I discuss these in class when talking about game promotions and event experiences.” His row of bobbleheads that includes Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Charlie Manuel, Bruce Arians, a 76ers rally towel. “These are some artifacts that not only represent my fandom, but are things that I'll use for discussion in class on what makes for a good promotion at a sporting event, and also how to embed sponsorship opportunities with game promotions.”
3. 2010 Travelers Championship Winner, Bubba Watson, Signed Poster
“I worked for the 2010 and 2011 Travelers Championships, a PGA TOUR event in Connecticut. I was an assistant in media and marketing. These practical experiences have been invaluable for class discussion, whether it's in Sport Marketing, Communication in Sport, Public and Media Relations in Sport, or our Sport Industry Senior Seminar course. In fact, students will tease me, at times, saying they didn't know that I worked in golf because I reference those experiences so much.”
4. Philadelphia Inquirer Articles Portfolio
“When writing feature stories for our Communication in Sport class, there are times when I'll refer to articles that I wrote during my time as an intern for the Philadelphia Inquirer. I have a portfolio of some of my work in the office, which I use at times to show as examples for critiquing purposes.”
5. Dallara Indycar Factory Photo
“In November 2016, myself and a colleague, Molly Hayes Sauder, took a group of students to Indianapolis for the 2016 Sport Marketing Association Conference. Students participated in a case study competition and did a research poster presentation. One of the highlights of the conference was an event at the Dallara Indycar Factory, where we got to ride in Indy cars. This photo is especially poignant because the experience was great for our students, to not only gain the experience at the case study competition, but for their networking opportunities, as well. Several used the connections that they made for future opportunities.”
Michael Mudrick (PhD, MA, University of Connecticut, BA Temple University) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sport Management and Media. He has been at York College of Pennsylvania since 2015. He has taught many courses in the program’s curriculum, including Communication in Sport, Introduction to the Sport Industry, Practicum 1, 2, and 3, Public & Media Relations in Sport, Sales and Ticketing in the Sport Industry, Sport Finance, Sport Industry Senior Seminar, Sport in Society, and Sport Marketing. He also teaches Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences outside of the Sport Management program. His research interests include sport consumer behavior and perceived credibility of sport media. He has been a co-author of two Best Paper Awards in sport management: Sport Marketing Association (2014) and the Sport Management Education Journal (2018).
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