Assistant Professor of Sport Management
Bio
Dr. Ju Young (LJ) Lee is an assistant professor of Sport Management in the Department of Health and Human Performance and director of Sport Management undergraduate and graduate program. Dr. Lee imparts his expertise by instructing courses in undergraduate and graduate Sport Marketing and Communication, as well as exploring specialized topics like eSports marketing and management. His research is centered on scrutinizing the roles of key stakeholders in the sport industry, encompassing athletes, fans, and sport organizations, from a sport marketing and communication perspective. Dr. Lee proudly boasts a trio of degrees from Indiana University, his academic alma mater. He achieved his doctoral degree in Sport Management, a master’s degree in Athletic Administration/Sport Management, and an undergraduate degree in Sport Marketing & Management, all while studying at Indiana University Bloomington. His allegiance to the Hoosiers is unwavering. Before becoming a part of The Citadel’s faculty, Dr. Lee held roles as an assistant professor at Indiana University Kokomo and a lecturer at Texas Tech University. As a lead faculty member in the IU Kokomo Sport & Recreation Management program, he took on responsibilities overseeing the undergraduate program, served as the assessment coordinator, and coordinated the experiential learning program. Dr. Lee has been a member of The Citadel faculty since 2022.
Degrees
- Ph.D. Sports Management (Indiana University, Bloomington, IN)
- M.S. Athletic Administration (Indiana University, Bloomington, IN)
- B.S. Sport Marketing and Management (Indiana University, Bloomington, IN)
Course Taught
- SMGT 302 Sport Communications
- SMGT 304 Sport Marketing
- SMGT 514 Principles & Practice of Sport Management (Graduate Course)
- SMGT 518 Sport Marketing (Graduate Course)
- SMGT 553 Sport Information Management (Graduate Course)
Research Interests
Dr. Lee’s passion lies in conducting high-quality, multi-method research with a primary focus on sport marketing, sport communication, sport sociology, and athlete and audience analysis. Dr. Lee’s explored the online self-presentation of professional athletes through the lens of online self-presentation theory, particularly focusing on social media profile photographs as nonverbal self-presentation cues. Another strand of his research delves into the realm of sports audience behavior, employing the uses and gratification theory to investigate why fans follow athletes on social media and what they expect from these interactions. He has also delved into understanding the motivations of eSports audiences and foreign professional baseball league (such as the KBO League) fans during the challenging COVID-19 pandemic period. His sociological perspective studies encompass diverse areas, from analyzing cultural and social capital among female soccer teams (at both college and national levels) to exploring the civic engagements of mega-event volunteers and fan club members.
Notable Publications
- Lee, J., Gang, A., Kim, D., Park, J., Jo, E., & Park, J. (2022). Effective strategies for system improvement in K-League youth system. International Journal of Human Movement Science, 16(3), 31-44.
- Lee, M., Lee, J., Chung, J., Oh, I., & Lim, C. (2022). COVID-19 as a new chance for a sport league: Motivation behind watching Korea Baseball Organization games amongst U.S. baseball fans. In P. M. Pedersen (Ed). Research Handbook on Sport and COVID-19 (pp. 203-214). Edward Elgar UK.
- Lee, J., & Pedersen, P. M. (2019). Face-ism in sport communication: Examining professional athletes’ Twitter profile photographs. Global Sport Business Journal, 7, 1-18.