Ryan Dastrup

Ryan Dastrup, PhD, is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Sport Management Program. A native of Utah, Ryan received his bachelor's degree from Utah Valley University, a master's degree in sports administration from Ohio University, and a PhD from the University of South Carolina.

Prior to joining SMU, Ryan worked for the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Hockey League (NHL), Repucom/ Nielsen Sports, and most recently with Major League Soccer (MLS). His responsibilities included sponsorship sales, sponsorship activation, chief storyteller, and strategic planning for all business operations (ticketing, sponsorship, naming rights, digital and social media strategies, response management). Ryan has taught various courses such as: Sport Management, Sports Marketing, Intro to Sport Business, Science of Fandom, and Business of Baseball at Grand Canyon University, Columbia University, and University of South Carolina at both the undergraduate and graduate level. The research interest of Ryan include sport fandom and consumer behavior. In particular, the research is focused on team identification and fan avidity and how sport organizations can target different audience segments more effectively. Ryan has presented fandom research at national conferences including: Sport Marketing Association (SMA) Conference and North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM) Conference.