Our Faculty and Staff

Peter Finley, Ph.D.

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Title:

Professor - Management/Sport Management

Department:

Management

College/Division:

H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business & Entrepreneurship

Dr. Finley is a professor of sport and recreation management in the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship.

He has authored numerous scholarly articles on various sport management topics and has been a regular presenter at several major international conferences in the field. Dr. Finley was the recipient of the 2008 Huizenga College Excellence in Teaching Award.

Additionally, Dr. Finley has co-authored three books, including "The Sports Industry's War on Athletes" in which he and Laura L. Finley explore the downside of sports as big business. Included are chapters on drug use among athletes, academic fraud, on-field cheating, weight issues among athletes, playing while injured, and hazing. He also wrote "Sports Scandals", with Jeffrey J. Fountain and Laura L. Finley, which explores over eighty major scandals that had a significant impact on sports in America, including such memorable events as Rosie Ruiz nearly stealing the Boston Marathon, BALCO and designer steroids, Barry Bonds and the asterisk, and Spygate.

Dr. Finley served as Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Affairs at the Huizenga College from January, 2014 to January, 2017 before choosing to return to a full-time faculty post.

In 2017, Dr. Finley was inducted into the Alumni Honor Academy for Western Michigan University's Department of Human Performance and Health Education.

Prior to returning to college to pursue a Ph.D., Dr. Finley was a successful high school teacher and was named an Excellence in Education “Significant Educator” in 1998. He also coached high school track and field, leading eleven athletes to All-State honors over a five year period. Dr. Finley was a member of a National Junior College Athletic Association National Championship cross country team at Lansing Community College in 1991.

Dr. Finley has an undergraduate degree in Physical Education and a master's degree in Educational Leadership (both from Western Michigan University) and a Ph.D. in Sport Administration from the University of Northern Colorado. He also holds a doctoral minor in applied statistics and research methods.

  • Ph.D. - University Northern Colorado - Sports Administration
  • M.A. - Western Michigan University - Educational Leadership
  • B.A. - Western Michigan University - Physical Education

GNST 4901 General Studies Capstone Experience

LED 3000 Introduction to Leadership

SPT 1050 Introduction to Sport and Recreation Management

SPT 2150 Sport in Society

SPT 3150 Facility and Event Management

SPT 5910 Sport Sponsorship Design and Strategies

SPT 5930 Sport Event and Fundraising Strategies and Techniques

Sports Scandals
Greenwood Press 2008
0313344582

The Sports Industry's War on Athletes
Praeger 2006
0-275-99172

An Efficiency Lens on The Power Five Conferences, IABE - 2019 - Las Vegas Conference, 2019, Las Vegas, NV

Cost of athletic success: A longitudinal analysis of financial efficiency in the power 5 conferences, College Sport Research Institute Annual Conference, 2018, Columbia, SC

Exploring College Selection: Do Female Athletes' Values Match the Athletic Departments' Agenda, College Sport Research Institute Annual Conference, 2018, Columbia, SC

Roster survival: An analysis of retention rates of the top recruiting FBS football programs, College Sport Research Institute Annual Conference, 2017, Columbia, SC

College football: The systemic abuse of minority players' rights to a legitimate education, South Florida Diversity Summit , 2011, Davie, FL

An investigation of academic clustering of athletes in BCS athletic departments, Scholarly Conference on College Sports Annual Conference 2010, Chapel Hill, NC

A longitudinal study of academic clustering at a BCS football program, Scholarly Conference on College Sports Annual Conference 2009, Chapel Hill, NC

Academic clustering of minorities in general studies: Is there legal recourse for players? , Sport and Recreation Law Association Annual Conference 2009, San Antonio

Major League Baseball’s future ticket pricing path, Sport Marketing Association Annual Conference 2008, Surfers Paradise, Australia

Talk is cheap, money speaks: An examination of performance-based and academic-based bonuses in contracts of college football coaches in Division I, Scholarly Conference on College Sports Annual Conference 2008, Memphis, TN

When a team and a city collide: An examination of specific performance and the Supersonics’ attempt to flee Seattle, Sport and Recreation Law Association Annual Conference 2008, Myrtle Beach, SC

How much will that ticket cost in the future? An exploration of NFL pricing as it relates to the reduction in fan buying power and the creation of teaching resources for use in an undergraduate sport marketing course., Sport Marketing Association Annual Conference 2007, Pittsburgh, PA

Analyzing Badjocks.com: Media coverage of sexual crimes against children in sport via a popular online news portal, Sport and Recreation Law Association Annual Conference 2007, Chapel Hill, NC

Bursting the online gambling bubble: The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, Sport and Recreation Law Association Annual Conference 2007, Chapel Hill

Academic stacking on low-performing Division I football teams, The Drake Group Annual Conference 2007, Cleveland

An application of means-end theory to analyze the college selection process of female student athletes, North American Society for Sport Management Annual Conference 2006, Kansas City

An analysis of the Jessica Lunsford Act on high school officiating in Florida, Sport and Recreation Law Association Annual Conference 2006, Albuquerque

An analysis of team web site content and college choice factors of NCAA Division III cross country runners , Sport Marketing Association Annual Conference 2005, Tempe

Drug testing in America's public schools: An exercise in alienating America's youth?, North American Society for Sport Management Annual Conference 2005, Regina, Canada

Role engulfment and club sports athletes: A year on the road with a collegiate cycling team, North American Society for Sport Management Annual Conference 2004, Atlanta

Team Web sites as aids in the recruiting process: Exploring the attitudes of NCAA tennis coaches, North American Society for Sport Management Annual Conference 2004, Atlanta

Gambling and the legal issues of fantasy sports, Sport and Recreation Law Association Annual Conference 2004, Las Vegas

Beyond rosters, results and schedules: An analysis of women's cross country Web sites at NCAA schools as aids in the recruiting process, North American Society for Sport Management Annual Conference 2003, Ithaca

Finley, P., Fountain, J. (2021). College Selection of Female Student-Athletes: Are the Factors Stable Over Time? The Sport Journal, 22(2021), 17 total pages.

Jeff Fountain, Peter Finley, & Ravi Chinta (2019). An Efficiency Lens on the Power Five Conferences. Journal of Academy of Business and Economics 19(3), pp. 21-42.

Jeffrey Fountain & Peter Finley (2018). Roster Survival: An Exploratory Study of College Football Recruits in the Power Five Conferences. The Sport Journal 2018(), pp. .

Peter Finley & Jeffrey Fountain (2017). Road racing and youth running: Cross country coaches' perspectives. The Sport Journal 2017(2017/1), pp. 16.

Peter Finley & Jeffrey Fountain (2011). Academic clustering: A longitudinal analysis of a Division I football program. Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics 2011(1), pp. 23-41.

Jeffrey Fountain & Peter Finley (2010). The price of NFL fandom: An exploratory study of the past, present, and future purchasing power of NFL fans.. The Sport Journal 13(4), pp. .

Jeffrey Fountain & Peter Finley (2009). Academic majors of upperclassmen football players in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics 2(1), pp. .

Jeffrey Fountain, Laura Finley, & Peter Finley (2009). Beyond the box office: An analysis of violent and deviant behavior in sport films. Sport Management and Related Topics 5(1), pp. .

Peter Finley & Jeffrey Fountain (2008). An application of means end theory to analyze the college selection process of female athletes. The Sport Journal 11(2), pp. 1.

Peter Finley & Laura Finley (2007). They're just as sadistic as any group of boys! A content analysis of news coverage of sport-related hazing incidents in high schools. Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture 14(2), pp. 197-219.

Peter Finley (2006). Building the recruit-friendly cross country Web site. Coach and Athletic Director (Magazine) 75(10), pp. .

Peter Finley (2006). Title IX and booster club management: Experts' suggestions for managing challenging scenarios. Essays in Education 16(1), pp. .

Peter Finley & Laura Finley (2005). Dunks and drunks: Depictions of drug and alcohol use among high school athletes in film. Essays in Education 12(1), pp. .

Peter Finley & Jason Halsey (2004). Determinants of PGA Tour success: An examination of relationships among performance, scoring, and earnings. Perceptual and Motor Skills 98(1), pp. 1100-1106.

Peter Finley & J Casper (2004). Team Web sites as aids in the recruiting process: NCAA tennis coaches attitudes toward their use. The Sport Journal 7(1), pp. .

Peter Finley & Laura Finley (2003). An analysis of women's cross country Web sites at NCAA schools as aids in the recruiting process. The Sport Journal 6(2), pp. .

Peter Finley & Laura Finley (2003). Club sport cyclists and role conflict. The Sport Journal 6(4), pp. .