Presenting Rodney Fort

Governance of Contractual Relations in Professional Sports:
The Logic of the MLB 1994 and NHL 2004 Lockouts

The Institute for Governance of Private and Public Organizations and the Van Berkom Endowed Chair in Small Cap Equities are pleased to announce the upcoming visit of Professor Rodney Fort Professor of Sports Management University of Michigan on Thursday November 19th, 2009 at 1:30 pm to 3:30pm. The event will be held at Concordia University, 1450 Guy Street, Montreal, MB 6.425, (corner of Guy and De Maisonneuve, 6th Floor), Quebec. Click here to view a map of the location.

Rodney Fort

Rodney Fort is Professor of Sport Management at the University of Michigan and a recognized authority on sports economics and business, both in the U.S. and internationally. In over 90 articles and monographs, and 6 books, his work covers sports topics as diverse as cross-subsidies in U.S. sports leagues, predatory behavior by Major League Baseball toward African American Baseball Leagues during integration, and comparative analysis of North American and world sports leagues. His contributions have appeared in the American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Economic Literature, Economic Inquiry, Scottish Journal of Political Economy, and the Journal of Sports Economics. He also serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Sports Economics, the International Journal of Sport Finance, and the Eastern Economic Journal, and as a vice-president for the International Association of Sports Economists.

Professor Fort is co-author of the books Pay Dirt and Hard Ball, both nominated for national awards, and he also co-edited two volumes, Economics of College Sports and International Sports Economics Comparisons. His best-selling textbook, Sports Economics, is about to enter its third edition.

Rodney Fort has been a keynote speaker at international sports congresses in Cologne, Germany, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Gijon, Spain. He also frequently renders expert opinion in legal cases concerning sports. In addition, Professor Fort has appeared on the CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada and is frequently interviewed on National Public Radio.

Professor Fort is a regular speaker on sports issues and has been a panelist on sports economics issues at various universities, the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, the Independent Institute, the Marquette Sports Law Institute, the Brookings Institution, and the International Center for Sports Studies in Neuchatel, Switzerland. He has testified before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust concerning competitive balance issues in baseball and to the New Zealand Commerce Commission on the establishment of a Premier Division in New Zealand Rugby Union.

Professor Fort will present his paper on “Governance of contractual relations in professional sports: The Logic of the MLB 1994 and NHL 2004 Lockouts.” Coffee and refreshments will be served. Professor Fort will be available to meet with interested students and faculty on Thursday, November 19^th from 10:00 am-12:00 pm in MB 11-369.

For further details, please contact: Dr. Lorne N. Switzer, Associate Dean, Research, Van Berkom Endowed Chair Small-Cap Equities, and Associate Director, Institute for Governance in Private and Public Organizations, John Molson School of Business, Concordia University. Tel: 514-848-2424, ext. 2960; E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .