ABSTRACT
Sports economics is firmly established as a legitimate field of economics. Given the apparent acceptance of sports economics, one might expect this would translate to academic self-respect and respect among ones peers. However, this appears not to be the case for those who study the sports industry. This chapter provides some evidence that sports economics is a thriving and respected field of economics and that it has potential for continued growth. The brief literature review provided in the chapter shows that any prejudices do not compose a significant barrier to publishing sports-related research. On the contrary, sports research can be published in top-quality economics journals, whether it is a sports-microeconomic or a sportometric study. The chapter argues that sports economics has had its largest and most important impact in the classroom. This can be seen in the proliferation of sports economics courses at universities throughout the world.
