Education

Ph.D., Florida State
M.S., Florida State
B.S., Erskine College

Background

Sam Todd became vice provost and associate vice president of global affairs / senior international officer for the University of South Carolina in February 2024. Previously, Todd served as the associate dean for faculty, operations and international partnerships for the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management. Todd came to USC in 2017 as an accomplished administrator with senior level exposure to a vast array of university matters. He has been instrumental in a number of valued, strategic achievements within the college. As a scholar, he writes primarily in the areas of human resource management and organizational behavior, with particular concentration to people working, or aspiring to work, within sport organizations. His published works have appeared in some of the world’s best journals and been presented internationally at noteworthy academic meetings.

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In the Media

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2024

Appointments: Times Higher Education

Honors / Awards

• Georgia Southern University Excellence in Research Award in 2010, given to two faculty out of 850 each year. Recipient delivers a “Focus on Research” lecture to a University audience every fall
• Recipient of county-level teaching award (inclusive of K through 12, and University level) in Bulloch County, GA (Bulloch County “Best of the ‘Boro” Best Teacher, 2010)
• Recipient of the Georgia Southern “Unsung Hero” award in 2007 for excellence in mentoring of undergraduate students, given to one faculty member out of 850 each year 
• Doctoral Student Research Award for the North American Society of Sport Management in 2003, given to one doctoral student (sport management discipline) in North America each year. Recipient gives the keynote presentation at the president’s luncheon during the annual meeting of the society every year

Teaching

• SPTE 450 – Sales in Sport and Entertainment Business
• SPTE 801 – Doctoral Seminar in the Management of Sport

Research Overview and Publications

One of the few scholars in the world who studies the attitudes and perspectives of job seekers and existing employees in the sport industry, Sam Todd’s research was among the first to explore the effects of passion, pride and organizational identity in the people who work in sport (or wish to). Current projects involve investigating the way in which job seekers in sport are impacted by prestige and arousal when exploring the opportunities available. Since there are more than 20,000 advertised job openings in the sport industry each year, and very high demand for some in particular, it is important to understand such pervasive industry mechanics and the impact they have on an organization’s ability to attract, recruit and select high quality talent.

Selected Research Publications

Qi, J. C., & Todd, S. Y. (2023). Industry interactions and their influence on dreams, goals, work interests and vocational attitudes of sport industry job seekers. Journal of Applied Sport Management, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.7290/jasm153900

Swanson, S., Todd, S., Inoue, Y., & Welty Peachey, J. (2022). Leading for multidimensional sport employee well-being: The role of servant leadership and teamwork. Sport Management Review, 25(5), 748-770. https://doi.org/10.1080/14413523.2021.2014225

Magnusen, M., & Todd, S. Y. (2021). A fistful of NIL: Have we entered a “Wild West” recruiting era? Journal of Applied Sport Management, 13(2). https://doi.org/10.7290/jasm133hgx

Gao, F., Heere, B., Todd, S. Y., & Mihalik, B. (2020). The initial intentions for social leveraging of a mega sport event among stakeholders of a newly formed inter-organizational relationship. Journal of Sport Management, 34, 147-160. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2018-0026

Sato, S., Gipson, C., Todd, S. Y., & Harada, M. (2018). The relationship between sport tourists’ perceived value and destination loyalty: An experience-use history segmentation approach. Journal of Sport & Tourism, 22(2), 173-186. https://doi.org/10.1080/14775085.2017.1348967

Todd, S. Y., Magnusen, M, Lachowetz, T., & Jones, A. (2016). Knowing your fans: A case study of survey research in a collegiate ticket office. Case Studies in Sport Management Journal, 5(14). https://doi.org/10.1123/cssm.2015-0043

Magnusen, M., & Todd, S. Y. (2016). Welcome to the arena: An introduction to the special issue on power and politics in sport. Journal of Applied Sport Management, 8(3), 1-5. https://trace.tennessee.edu/jasm/vol8/iss3/13

Magnusen, M., & Todd, S. Y. (2015). Coming soon to an entertainment organization near you: Video realistic job preview as a way to increase the quality of applicant pools. Sport & Entertainment Review, 1, 51-56.

Ketchen, D., Jr., Crook, T. R., Todd, S. Y., Combs, J., & Woehr, D. J. (2015). Managing human capital: A meta-analysis of links among human resource practices and systems, human capital, and performance. In M. A. Hitt, S. E. Jackson, S. Carmona, L. Bierman, C. E. Shalley & M. Wright (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Strategy Implementation (pp. 283–310). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190650230.013.19

Todd, S. Y., Magnusen, M., Andrew, D. P. S., & Lachowetz, T. (2014). From great expectations to realistic career outlooks: Exploring changes in job seeker perspectives following a realistic job preview in sport. Sport Management Education Journal, 8, 58-70. https://doi.org/10.1123/smej.2014-0005

Stalcup, L., Deale, C., & Todd, S. Y. (2014). Human resources practices for environmental sustainability in lodging operations. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, 13, 389-404. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332845.2014.888508

Todd, S. Y., Crook, T. A., & Lachowetz, T. (2013). Agency theory explanations for self-serving sales forecasts inaccuracies. Business and Management Research, 2(2), 13-21. https://doi.org/10.5430/bmr.v2n2p13

Todd, S. Y., Christie, I., Magnusen, M., & Harris, K. J. (2012). A case study of diversity and leader member exchange in intercollegiate athletics. Case Studies in Sport Management, 1. https://doi.org/10.1123/cssm.1.1.18

Walker, M., Hall, T., Todd, S. Y., & Kent, A. (2011). Does your sponsor affect my perception of the event? The role of event sponsors as signals. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 20(3), 138-147. https://www.proquest.com/docview/902126870

Crook, T. R., Todd, S. Y., Combs, J., Woehr, D., & Ketchen, D., Jr. (2011). Does human capital matter? A meta-analysis of the relationship between human capital and firm performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(3), 443-456. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022147

Andrew, D. P. S., Kim, S., Stoll, J. A., & Todd, S. Y. (2011). To what extent does transformational leadership affect employees? An exploratory analysis of a collegiate athletic department. Applied Research in Coaching and Athletics Annual, 26, 178-207.

Todd, S. Y., Andrew, D. P. S., &, Lawrence, A. (2010).  Person-environment fit and employee attraction in intercollegiate athletics: A case study.  Sport Management Education Journal, 4(1), 93-102. https://doi.org/10.1123/smej.4.1.93

Lachowetz, T., Dees, W., & Todd, S. Y. (2009). Savannah Sand Gnats: Challenges in a tourism and entertainment market. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 18(4), 219- 224.

Lachowetz, T., Todd, S. Y., & Dees, W. (2009). Marketing a collegiate baseball program within resource constraints: A special case of volunteerism. Journal of Sport Administration & Supervision, 1(1), 65-74. https://bit.ly/3wAeU5R

Todd, S. Y., Harris, K., Harris, R., & Wheeler, T. (2009). Career success implications of political skill. Journal of Social Psychology, 149(3), 179-204. https://doi.org/10.3200/SOCP.149.3.279-304

Todd, S. Y., & Harris, K. J. (2009). What it means when your work is admired by others: Observations of employees of professional sport organizations. Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management, 10(3), 377-395. https://doi.org/10.21818/001c.17266

Todd, S. Y., Andrew, D. P. S., & Sowieta, S. (2009). A personnel management case study in a Canadian National Sport Organisation. Sport Management Review, 12(1), 49-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2008.09.005

Todd, S. Y., & Kent, A. (2009). A social identity perspective on the job attitudes of employees in sport. Management Decision, 47(1), 173-190. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740910929777

Andrew, D. P. S., Todd, S. Y., Greenwell, T. C., Pack, S. M., & Cannon, C. (2008). Perceived organizational prestige and collegiate athletic department employees. In J. H. Humprey (Ed.), Contemporary Athletics Compendium (Vol. 2). Nova Science Publishers.

Todd, S. Y., & Andrew, D. P. S. (2008). An exploratory investigation of sport management students’ attraction to jobs in sport. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 4(4), 323-337. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJSMM.2008.022374

Deale, C. S., Stalcup, L., Todd, S. Y., & Earnhardt, D. (2008). The use of exit interviews in the U.S. lodging industry. FIU Hospitality Review, 26(2), 1-9. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/hospitalityreview/vol26/iss2/1

Crook, T. R., Ketchen, D. J., Combs, J., & Todd, S. Y. (2008). Strategic resources and performance: A meta-analysis. Strategic Management Journal, 29, 1141-1154. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.703

Todd, S. Y., & Lachowetz, T. (2008). Personality is a factor in the success of salespeople in the sport industry (La personalita: Fondamentale per un venditore nelle societa sportive). Giganti Del Basket, 5, 54-55.

Todd, S. Y., Andrew, D. P. S., Lachowetz, T., & Purcel, B. (2007). Exploring the ways trait competitiveness differentiates salespeople in professional sports. International Journal of Sport Management, 8(4), 372-387.

Andrew, D. P. S., & Todd, S. Y. (2007). Segmenting collegiate football fans by team identification: The relationship between motives and merchandise consumption. In J. James (Ed.), Sport Marketing Across the Spectrum: Selected Research from Emerging, Developing, and Established Scholars (pp. 115-126). Fitness Information Tech.

Andrew, D. P. S., Todd, S. Y., Greenwell, T. C., Pack, S. M., & Cannon, C. (2006). Perceived organizational prestige and collegiate athletic employees. Journal of Contemporary Athletics, 2(2), 163-174. https://bit.ly/3XJtgNe

Todd, S. Y., & Andrew, D. P. S. (2006). The role of satisfying tasks and organizational support in the job attitudes of sporting goods retail employees. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 1(4), 378-389. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJSMM.2006.010568

Todd, S. Y., & Kent, A. (2006). Direct and indirect effects of task characteristics upon organizational citizenship behavior. North American Journal of Psychology, 8(2), 253-268. https://bit.ly/3HeMd38

Todd, S. Y., Crook, T. R., & Barilla, T. (2005). Hierarchical linear modeling of multi-level data. Journal of Sport Management, 19, 387-403. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.19.4.387

Professional Affiliations and Consulting Experiences

• North American Society for Sport Management
• Society for Human Resource Management
• Previous consulting / specialized research projects: BB&T Atlanta Open tennis tournament, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, Major League Soccer, Norfolk Tides Minor League Baseball Club, Pittsburgh Pirates, Georgia Southern Athletics, Orlando Magic, and Work in Sports job board.