Wayne State University

Warrior strong
Login
Search

College of Education College of Education

Scott Hirko

Scott Hirko

Assistant Professor of Teaching in Sport Administration and Management

313-577-2211

ho5453@wayne.edu

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-hirko-sports/

 Tuesdays, 10:30-11:00, 2:30-3:30, or by appointment

 2160 Faculty Administration Building

Scott Hirko

Degrees and Certifications

Ph.D., Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education, Michigan State University
M.A., Sport Administration, Central Michigan University
B.S., Political Science/Social Science, Michigan State University

Responsibilities

I am a professor of Sport Administration and Management in the Division of Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies, a division of the College of Education.  

Academic Interests

My academic interests include:  intercollegiate athletics, college sports finances, sport management leadership and decision-making, higher education policy, sport communication, and the identity and development of college athletes.

Biography

 I am a passionate educator with more than 25 years in the sport industry, creating an inclusive environment to teach sport management leadership, finance, policy, and communication. I emphasize a teaching style of an inclusive environment to welcome dialogue, the use of technology to enhance student engagement and to put knowledge to practice.

My industry experience includes helping to create/lead a nationally respected database (http://KnightNewhouseData.org) for the Newhouse School at Syracuse University and for the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. In addition, I served for 15 years as a consultant to the Knight Commission on issues that impacted financial decision-making for intercollegiate athletics programs.

I have a periodic newsletter, "The Wide World of College Sports" published on LinkedIn.  You can learn more about me on my LinkedIn profile and on Wix.com 

Area of Expertise

Finances of intercollegiate athletics; policy and decision-making in college sport administration; sport leadership; sport communication; and sport  marketing; HTML and web project management.

Research Interests

 Finances of intercollegiate athletics; policy and decision-making in college sport administration; well-being and educational development of college athleties.

Presentations

  • Hirko, S. & Tsuryleva, M. (2022). Football and financial (in)equality: Comparing salaries of football, men’s and women teams' coaches within Division I-FBS. To be presented at the Association for the Study of Higher Education annual conference, November 2022, Las Vegas, NV.
  • Upton, J., Hirko, S., & Tsuryleva, M. (2022). At All Costs: Does Big-Time College Athletics Fund Men’s and Women’s Teams Equally? To be presented at the American Educational Research Association annual conference, 2023, Chicago, IL.
  • Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. (2020, September 30). "Session 2 – A New Analysis of the D-I Revenue Distribution Formula Inequities." Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. https://youtu.be/kAAvfu4B0GY
  • Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics (2020, September 16). "Session 1 – Follow the Money: Breaking Down D-I Finances." Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. https://youtu.be/dblcYRlYnCU
  • Hirko, S. (2019, November 14). NCAA Division I college sports finances: Where the money comes from and where the money goes. Keynote speaker. Presented at the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Portland, OR. https://www.ashe.ws/athleticsprecon
  • Hirko, S. (2019, November 2). College sports finances: Where the money comes from and where the money goes. Presented at the National College Media Convention, Washington, DC.
  • Hirko, S., Upton, J., & Barron, D. (2019, June 15). Changes in college sports and the NCAA. Presented at the annual conference of Investigative Reporters & Editors, Inc., Houston, TX.
  • Hirko, S. & Upton, J. (2019, March 9). College sports finances: Where the money comes from and where the money goes. Presented at the Computer Assisted Reporting conference, Newport Beach, CA.
  • Hirko, S. (2018, October 26). Division I college sports finances: Where the money comes from and where the money goes. Presented at the National College Media Convention, Louisville, KY.
  • Sweitzer, K. & Hirko, K. (2016, March). Athletic conference realignment: What about the college athlete? Presented at the annual conference of the American College Personnel Association, Montreal, Canada.
  • Hirko, S. & Suggs, W. (2015, April). Out of their league: Subsidizing athletics in the age of conference realignment. Presented at the American Educational Research Association annual conference. Chicago, IL.
  • Hirko, S. (2014, October 3). Financial trends in NCAA Division I athletics. Presented to the CMU College of Health Professions College Advisory Board.
  • Hirko, S. (2014, November 13). NCAA Division I Academic & Athletic Spending database. Presented to the Faculty Athletics Representative Association annual conference. New Orleans, LA.
  • Hirko, S. (2014, November 19). NCAA Division I Academic & Athletic Spending database. Pre-conference session at the Association for the Study of Higher Education annual conference. Washington, DC.
  • Comeaux, E., Abercrumbie, J., Cooper, J. Griffin, W., Hirko, S., Hoffman, J., Snyder, E., & Raphael, V. (2014, November 22). NLRB Ruling: Understanding College Athletes’ Rights and Well-Being. Symposium at the Association for the Study of Higher Education annual conference. Washington, DC.
  • Snyder, E., Bell, L., Hirko, S., Comeaux, E., Navarro, K. Brown, A., Sieben, N. (2014, April 3). Career development outlets for aspiring scholars and practitioners in athletics and education. Symposium at the Association for the Study of Higher Education annual conference. Philadelphia, PA.
  • Hirko, S. (2014, April 3). Investing in the future: Does academic support in athletics provide a model of the usefulness of responding to a national academic policy with financial support for more staffing? Presentation at the American Educational Research Association annual conference. Philadelphia, PA.
  • Hirko, S. (2014, March 31). Investing in the future: Comparing athletic academic support staff budgets to the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate. Presentation at the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, IN.
  • Hirko, S., Suggs, W., Orleans, J. (2013, April 27). Athletics in the academic marketplace: Using revenue theory of cost to compare trends in athletic coaching salaries and instructional salaries and tuition. Research presentation at the American Educational Research Association annual conference. San Francisco, CA.
  • Hirko, S., Mrozek, L., Houston, D., Gurley, N., Stark, C. (2013, March). Impact of NCAA legislation on the non-athletic college campus community. Research presentation at the American College Personnel Association annual conference, Las Vegas, NV.
  • Hirko, S. (2012, November). Can institutions buy better graduation rates for athletes? Investigating investments in staff of academic support services for intercollegiate athletics. Poster presentation at the annual conference of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Las Vegas, NV.
  • Hirko, S. (2011, April 9). Comparing academic performance with revenue distribution from the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament championship. In R. Flowers (Chair), Reimagining the possibilities of research on education and sport, part I. Symposium at the American Educational Research Association annual conference. New Orleans, LA.
  • Stolz, K., Hirko, S., Watson, J. (2011, March 29). Writing the dissertation: Sharing strategies for submitting, defending, and finishing. Presentation at the American College Personnel Association annual conference. Baltimore, MD.
  • Hirko, S.. Chichester, B., Edwards, M., Blumenthal, K., McWilliams, M. (2011, March 28). Exploring evidence and improvement issues in campus recreation and athletics. In K. Hill (Chair), ACPA Commission for Recreation & Athletics convention institute: Evidence and improvement in campus recreation and athletics. Panel presentation at the American College Personnel Association annual conference. Baltimore, MD.
  • Hirko, S. (2010, November 18). Stakeholder interactions in academic policies and decision-making in NCAA Division I-FBS athletics. In J. Minor (Chair), New perspectives on research, policy, and reform in intercollegiate athletics. Symposium at the annual conference of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Indianapolis, IN.
  • Stolz, K., Watson, J., Fochtman, M. and Hirko, S. (2010, March 23). Writing the dissertation: How to navigate the final stretch. American College Personnel Association annual conference. Boston, MA.
  • Hirko, S. (2010, March 22). Considering student learning and development through campus recreation and intercollegiate athletics. American College Personnel Association annual conference. Boston, MA.
  • Hirko, S. (2010, February 20). Stakeholder influence on academic policies and proposals at NCAA Division I institutions. Graduate Research Colloquium at the Michigan State University College of Education, East Lansing, MI.
  • Hirko, S. (2009. March 20). Athletics as a tool for institutional multiculturalism. Poster presentation at the Council of Graduate Students Academic Conference, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.
  • Hirko, S. (2008. November 7). Intercollegiate athletics research in higher education: A missed opportunity. Research paper presentation at the annual conference of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Jacksonville, FL.
  • Hirko, S. (2008. February 15). Intercollegiate athletics research in higher education: A missed opportunity. Graduate Research Colloquium at the Michigan State University College of Education, East Lansing, MI.
  • Hirko, S. (2007. November 9). Athletics as a tool for institutional multiculturalism. In J. Thelin (Chair), Intercollegiate athletics and the academy: Benefits, risks, and rewards. Symposium at the annual conference of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Louisville, KY.
  • Hirko, S. (2007. November 2). Making the student-athlete whole: College athletics, multiculturalism, and cognitive development. Paper presentation at the annual conference of the North American Society for Sociology in Sport, Pittsburgh, PA.
  • Hirko, S. (2007. February 17). Perceptions of racial diversity among college athletes in Michigan. Graduate Research Colloquium at the Michigan State University College of Education, East Lansing, MI.
  • Hirko, S. (2006. December 8). A measured response to “The Future of Higher Education.” Policy analysis report at the Michigan State University College of Education, East Lansing, MI.
  • Hirko, S. (2006. November 3). Perceptions of racial diversity among college athletes in Michigan. Poster presentation at the annual conference of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Anaheim, CA.
  • Hirko, S. (2006. May 18). Higher education in a flat world. Higher Education Leadership Forum on Policy in Contemporary Society, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.

Publications

  • Hirko, S. (March 2022). Foreword. In Lebar, J. and Paul, A. College sports on the brink of disaster: The rise of pay-for-play and the fall of the scholar-athlete. (pp. 2-4). New York: Skyhorse Publications. https://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/9781683584483/college-sports-on-the-brink-of-disaster/
  • Hirko, S. (July 2021). Business of professional soccer. In K. Weaver (Ed), Sport Finance. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall Hunt Publishers.
  • Hirko, S. & Weaver, K. (July 2021). Business of college sports. In K. Weaver (Ed), Sport Finance. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall Hunt Publishers.
  • Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. (2020). Transforming the NCAA D-I model. Miami, FL: Knight Foundation. https://www.knightcommission.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/transforming-the-ncaa-d-i-model-recommendations-for-change-1220-01.pdf
  • CliftonLarsonAllen. (2020). An assessment of Football Bowl Subdivision factors on National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I 2018 revenue distribution. Greenwood Village, Colorado: CliftonLarsonAllen. https://www.knightcommission.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/kcia-cla-report-revenue-distribution-impact-fbs-football-factors-093020-01.pdf
  • Hirko, S. & Sweitzer, K. (2015). The business model of college sports: The Haves vs Have-nots. In Comeaux, E. (Ed). Introduction to athletics in American higher education. p 147-162. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
  • Hirko, S. (2013). Using sanctioned athletic programs to understand stakeholders' perceived influence in decisions at major research universities. Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics Leadership Working Paper Series, University of Washington Center for Leadership in Athletics.
  • Hirko, S. (2010). Inspiring inclusion. NCAA Champion. Fall 2010, p. 8.
  • Hirko, S., Clark, K., Fulford, M., Byrne, D., Harmon, N., Hill, K., & Rutledge, P. (2010). A campus student affairs perspective on NCAA Proposal 2009-100. [White Paper ]. American College Personnel Association Task Force for Recreation and Athletics.
  • Hirko, S. (Winter 2009). Intercollegiate athletics and modeling multiculturalism. In J. D. Toma & D. Kramer (Eds), The Uses of Intercollegiate Athletics: Opportunities and Challenges in Positioning the University. New Directions for Higher Education, 148, p. 91-100. Cited in amicus brief to U.S. Supreme Court in Fischer v. University of Texas (2016): http://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/11-345-respondent-amicus-basketball.pdf
  • Hirko, S. (Spring 2009). Sport on campus: The ACPA’s new Task Force for Recreation and Athletics. ACPA Developments.
  • Hirko, S. (September 2008). Book review: The American crusade: Sport and American imperialism by Gems, G. Sociology of Sport Journal, 25, p. 402-404.
  • Minor, J. & Hirko, S. (2008). Book review: New game plan in college sport by Lapchick, R. Review of Higher Education, 31(3), p. 370.

Courses taught by Scott Hirko

Winter Term 2025 (future)

Fall Term 2024 (current)

Spring-Summer Term 2024

Winter Term 2024

Fall Term 2023

Spring-Summer Term 2023

Winter Term 2023

Recent university news spotlights

← Return to listing