Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

Scott Tainsky’s Research Focus Aligns Perfectly With New Falk College of Sport

Thursday, August 7, 2025, By Matt Michael
Share
EsportsExercise ScienceFalk College of SportNutritionresearchSport AnalyticsSport Management
Falk College Senior Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Academic Operations Scott Tainsky at the University of Michigan.

Scott Tainsky (far right), shown here with Detroit Country Day School players and coaches at a University of Michigan summer team camp, is the new Senior Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Academic Operations for the David B. Falk College of Sport.

The earliest memories Scott Tainsky has involve playing sports and watching the golden age of Big East Conference basketball with stars like Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin and Syracuse University star Pearl Washington.

Now, as a father of two children who play youth sports, Tainsky says the “anchor events” in their household revolve around his children’s games and practices, and the sports they watch together on TV. Tainsky built his research career around the idea that sports bring people together, and that’s the focus and sensibility he’s bringing to the David B. Falk College of Sport as its new senior associate dean of faculty affairs and academic operations.

“It’s the same feeling I hope to experience very shortly at the (JMA Wireless) Dome,” Tainsky says. “Being able to come together and root, root, root for the home team with the family was a salient experience for me as I grew up and became an athlete. Then, as a soon-retired athlete, it evolved from me competing to being one of the people either coaching or analyzing what’s going on for others to do their best to compete at the highest level.”

Falk College Senior Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Academic Operations Scott Tainsky.

Scott Tainsky

Tainsky, who started at Falk College on July 1, was previously a professor of management and Director of Sport and Entertainment Management at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, where he was awarded Mike Ilitch School of Business awards for innovative teaching and excellence in research. He’s currently editor in chief of the Journal of Sport Management, the official research journal of the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM) and he has co-authored over 50 journal articles, becoming a NASSM Research Fellow in 2015.

At the core of Tainsky’s research are the decisions made by high-level sports managers and how they impact both organizational performance and the collective well-being of fans.

“Scott’s research interests–economics of sports leagues and teams, player performance analytics, and corporate social responsibility in national and international sports leagues–align perfectly with our vision for creating the nation’s premier College of Sport,” says Falk College Dean Jeremy Jordan. With programs in esports, exercise science, nutrition, sport analytics and sport management, the Falk College of Sport launched July 1 as the first standalone college on a high-research activity campus (R1) to focus on sport through a holistic academic lens.

We connected with Tainsky to learn more about his research and how it will impact the College of Sport.

How did you develop an interest in studying the impact of sport?

My curiosity about the world and trying to incorporate that into my daily life. Being able to better the community that I’m a part of is ingrained by the fact that I grew up in a house where my father (Dr. Michael Tainsky) was a researcher—in his case he was trying to cure cancer and improve people’s lives that way.

Mine was much more social. As a social scientist, I have noticed the way sport can be such a valuable part of people’s lives. My first memory was watching Big East basketball, and I liked math. I try to bring those two worlds together to create the best social experiences for the greatest number of people possible.

One of the College of Sport’s areas of excellence is community sport and wellness, or as Dean Jordan also calls it, “sport for good.” How does your research fit with the uplifting power of sport?

The intellectual side of that is no one has to do sport; it’s an elective part of our lives. Since so many are choosing to spend so much of our attention on this leisure activity, it’s an incredible opportunity to see what people truly value. At the same time, we can provide leadership in utilizing that to help create the most good in the community.

Falk College Senior Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Academic Operations Scott Tainsky with his daughter Shana.

Scott Tainsky with his daughter, Shana, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., after Shana led her club soccer team to the championship of the top flight of the 2021 Women and Girls in Soccer tournament.

We’re here to help round out that part of their choice, to provide the right amount of sport, marketed and delivered in a way that’s consumable and made more efficient, where the product is better and where the athletes are more informed.

Is there a specific theme throughout your research?

If there’s a theme to my research, it’s this idea of positive externalities, and that’s a very technical term of what is being produced can produce additional good captured by others. So, for example, in the latest work that I did with (Sport Analytics Professor) Adrian Simion, we look at how the hotel industry is impacted by college football games. It’s not like Marriot or Hilton does anything different to be able to raise their rates or increase their occupancy rates on home football games. It happens because there’s so much excitement around sport; so much interest in being a part of that experience. So, in that case, we’re looking to quantify the externalities produced by football games.

There are other ways this presents in terms of viewership. When I follow Syracuse basketball and Syracuse basketball is having a good year, you would think that because we only have so much leisure time and I’m watching more of the Orange, it might take away the amount I choose to watch other basketball teams. But in fact, the opposite is true. As I become more deeply connected to Syracuse basketball, I’m actually more interested in some of the rival teams we’re competing against. So, we’re looking for those externalities, quantifying those externalities, and then helping round out the experience with the understanding that those things that may be counterintuitive are in play. How do we capitalize on this knowledge to produce the most good?

What are your impressions of the Falk College of Sport and what it can become?

Falk College and Syracuse University have recognized that there are four legs of the stool, and you can’t get any balance unless all four of them are functioning and working together. You can’t create athletes and have competition at the highest level without understanding the exercise science portion and the nutrition portion of sport. You can’t produce teams and individuals functioning at their highest level without sport management and sport analytics. You can’t appreciate the whole of it unless all of those pieces are talking with one another…and there is not one other place that’s doing what’s happening right now at Falk College. It’s 100 percent the reason I wanted to be a part of this project.

What drew me to Falk College was this vision of what can be if we bring together these disciplines that are often times separated and siloed. It’s such a welcome idea that I expect us to be doing incredible things quickly because of all the support I’m seeing and all of the buy-in for what we’re doing from so many different, important pieces of this puzzle.

  • Author

Matt Michael

  • Recent
  • Point of Contact Marks 50 Years With Landmark Exhibition
    Thursday, August 28, 2025, By Diane Stirling
  • Newly Formed Center for Student Excellence Brings Together, Enhances Student Support Programs
    Thursday, August 28, 2025, By Wendy S. Loughlin
  • New Research From Falk College Quantifies Europe’s Advantage Over USA in Ryder Cup
    Thursday, August 28, 2025, By Matt Michael
  • La Casita ‘Corpórea’ Exhibition Explores Identity, Healing, Human Form
    Thursday, August 28, 2025, By Diane Stirling
  • 2025 Orange Innovation Fund Grants Announced
    Thursday, August 28, 2025, By News Staff

More In Campus & Community

Newly Formed Center for Student Excellence Brings Together, Enhances Student Support Programs

Syracuse University’s new Center for Student Excellence, which launches with the start of the 2025-26 academic year, brings together student support programs from across campus and builds on the synergies between them with the mission of helping students thrive and…

Renée Crown Honors Program Announces New Professors, New Coursework

The Renée Crown University Honors Program provides an innovative community where high-achieving students at Syracuse University can hone their research and academic skills in a challenging yet supportive environment. Through specialized offerings of cutting-edge courses, lectures and opportunities for independent…

Remembering the Legacy of Elizabeth (Liz) DuRoss Liddy

Elizabeth (Liz) DuRoss Liddy, dean emerita of the School of Information Studies (iSchool) and former interim vice chancellor and provost, passed away on Aug. 21. A pioneering scholar and researcher in natural language processing, she was 81. Liddy G’77, G’88…

Navigate Syracuse Like a Pro: Your Digital Toolkit for University Life

Whether you’re a first-year student or returning to campus, staying connected and informed is key to a successful year. From mobile apps that streamline your daily routine to social media accounts that keep you in the loop, this guide highlights…

Chief Facilities Officer Pete Sala Shares What It Takes to Keep Campus Beautiful (Video)

At Syracuse University, the campus doesn’t just look like a park … it’s maintained like one, thanks to a dedicated team of over 50 professionals led by Vice President and Chief Facilities Officer Pete Sala. From daily flower care, landscaping…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.