College of Education and Human Development

School of Kinesiology

People

Mitchell McSweeney

  • Assistant Professor, Sport Management

Mitchell McSweeney, PhD, is an assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology. His research revolves around how sport and physical activity can contribute to development, entrepreneurial strategies in sport organizations, and social change.

    DEGREES
    • PhD, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
      • Specialization: Socio-Cultural Studies of Sport and Health
    • Graduate Diploma in Refugee and Migration Studies
      York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
    • MA, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada 
      • Specialization: Sport Management
    • BSM, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada 
      • Specialization: Sport Management
      AREAS OF INTEREST
      • Sport for development and peace
      • Social entrepreneurship and innovation
      • Participatory action research
      • Institutional theory
      • Postcolonial theory
      • Corporate social responsibility
      • Diaspora
      • Forced migration and sport
        BIOGRAPHY

        Expertise

        McSweeney’s research usually revolves around three guiding questions:

        (1) How may sport and physical activity contribute to or hinder ‘development’ (e.g., gender equality, economic empowerment, etc.) of individuals, communities, regions, and/or countries?

        (2) What entrepreneurial strategies are adopted and implemented by sport organizations, staff, and program participants to achieve sport-for-development goals?

        (3) In what ways do institutions and the institutional environment that organizations and sport-for-development actors operate within and against promote or constrain social change?

        McSweeney seeks to respond to these questions by using an interdisciplinary approach to conduct research in both global North (e.g., Canada) and global South (e.g., Uganda) contexts. He uses theories such as postcolonial management theory and institutional theory while also adopting participatory action research approaches and the use of visual and digital methods (e.g., photovoice, photocollaging, digital storytelling) to collaborate with organizations, communities, groups, and individuals.

        Please reach out to McSweeney to inquire about graduate student applications.

        Awards and Honors

        EASM Best Conference Paper Award, European Association for Sport Management, co-
        authored with Gareth Jones, PhD, and Landy Lu, PhD, 2023

        Journal of Sport for Development Early Career Scholar Award, 2022

        Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand Best Conference Paper Award, 2020

        North American Society for the Sociology of Sport Barbara Brown Student Paper Award (PhD Category) Honourable Mention, 2020

        Canada Graduate Scholarships – Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplements, 2019

        North American Society for Sport Management Doctoral Research Grant, 2019

        Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship Doctoral Award, 2019

        North American Society for the Sociology of Sport Barbara Brown Student Paper Award (Masters Category), 2017

          PUBLICATIONS

          Google Scholar
          UMN Experts

          McSweeney, M., Lu, L., & Jones, G. (2024). The Use of Bricolage in a Resource-Constrained Sport for Development and Peace Organization. Journal of SportManagement, 1(aop), 1-14.

          McSweeney, M. (2024). Constructing Diaspora Space and Consciousness Through Sport and Livelihoods in Kampala, Uganda. Sociology of Sport Journal, 1(aop), 1-10.

          McSweeney, M., Lu, L., & Kikulis, L. (2024). ‘When we meet, we play football, it reminds me of home': emotions, institutional work, and sport-for-development and peace. European Sport Management Quarterly, 24(1), 8-33.

          McSweeney, M. J., Hakiza, R., & Namukhula, J. (2022). Using participatory action research and visual and digital methods with refugee-background people in Kampala, Uganda: Process, ethics, and reciprocity. Sport in Society: Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics, 25(3), 485-505. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2022.2048059

          McSweeney, M. (2023). Sport and social entrepreneurship in the base-of-the-pyramid: The institutional work of refugees and a refugee-led organization in Uganda. Sport Management Review, 26(4), 582-606.

          McSweeney, M., Hayhurst, L. M., Millington, B., Wilson, B., Otte, J., Centeno, L. D. S. C., ... & Bandoles, E. (2023). Bicycles and the Potential of Unstructured Sport for Development and Peace. Leisure Sciences, 1-23.

          Mitchell McSweeney

          • School of Kinesiology
            Cooke Hall
            1900 University Ave SE
            Minneapolis, MN 55455-0376

          • mmcsween@umn.edu