Special Advisor to the President – Canada Games, and Associate Professor Sport Management
I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Sport Management at Brock University. I joined the department in July, 1999.
I am currently serving as the Special Advisor to the President – Canada Games, where I am lead on all academic initiatives related to Brock’s involvement with the 2021 Canada Summer Games in Niagara. It is an exciting role for me as I facilitate innovation within three academic areas – research, curricular (teaching), and community engagement. I work with an enthusiastic team of faculty and staff who champion new Brock opportunities related to the Canada Games, and work to support researchers, instructors and students to get involved. Brock University’s partnership with the Games is expansive – as the Special Advisor to the President – Canada Games, my goal is to ensure an academic legacy for Brock that carries beyond 2021!
I also serve as the Director of the Centre for Sport Capacity. I work with passionate colleagues who are committed to research, experiential learning opportunities for students, and practical support for sport organizations. CSC members want to mobilize their research – for example the CSC hosted the 2019 Women in Sport Leadership Forum and facilitates the Active Niagara Network. The CSC members are involved in many initiatives that translate their research into practical application for sport stakeholders across the commercial, non-profit and public sectors.
If you are a student interested in working on a project in the Centre, or an industry/community member in need of research or other types of support, then please visit the CSC’s website for information on how to contact us.
My research interest are expansive and cover both academic and applied realms. My research program addresses both scholarly and pragmatic objectives.
On the academic side, my research areas include:
- Change management: examines change and change dynamics within sport organizations according to various organization theories;
- Organizational theory: explore the design of various forms of sport organizations – the values, structures and systems they encompass within ever-changing sectors and environments
- Organizational capacity: studies types of capacity and capacity-building strategies within several different sport contexts and organizations;
- Contemporary/historical issues in hockey; addresses a vast array of issues related to commercial and cultural aspects of hockey within both the women’s and men’s games, and across various hockey realms within Canada and around the world.
On the practical side, I enjoy collaborating with many different partners on applied research projects and reports. Here is a sample list of partners I have worked with:
- Regional Municipality of Niagara, Economic Development
- Pickleball Ontario
- Hamilton Moves and the City of Hamilton Parks and Recreation
- Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport
- 2017 North American Indigenous Games Host Society
- Community Sport Councils of Ontario
- Venture Niagara – Niagara Cycling Tourism Centre
- Niagara Sport Commission
If you are in need of practical research please feel free to contact me at jstevens@brocku.ca
Scholarly Publications and Conference Presentations
Jurbala, P. & Stevens, J. (2020). A whole new ballgame: an analysis of the context and adoption of long-term athlete development in community sport, Managing Sport and Leisure, DOI: 10.1080/23750472.2020.1789497.
Stevens, J. (2020). Conn Smythe: the complexity and contradiction of a hockey entrepreneur, Sport in Society, DOI: 10.1080/17430437.2020.1723242.
Stevens, J. (2020). Major sport events and environmental sustainability. In G. Dingle & C. Mallen (Eds.). Sport and Environmental Sustainability: Research and Strategic Management. New York: Routledge. DOI: 10.4324/9781003003694.
Pitts, S. & Stevens, J. (2020). An Examination of the Sport Values of Canadian Female Adolescent Hockey Players. The Hockey Conference X: Hockey in a Changing World. June 5-7, St. Mary’s University, Halifax, NS, Canada. ** postponed due to COVID-19 **
Cousens, L. & Stevens, J. (2020). “Exploring Sport Management Students’ Perceptions of the Impact of the Resilience and Empowerment Initiative: Exploring Perceptions of Resilience and Empowering in TCI Schools”. Canada-Caribbean Research Symposium, University of West Indies, February 17-19, 2020, Kingston, Jamaica.
Edwards, J. & Stevens, J. (2019). Institutional maintenance and elite sport: a case study of high-performance women’s ice hockey in Canada, Sport in Society: Sports World III-policy, process and protest in global sports, 22(11), 1801-1815.DOI 10.1080/17430437.
Nickels, W., McHugh, J., McHugh, S., Cossa, R., & Stevens, J. (2019). Introduction to Business (10th Canadian Edition). McGraw-Hill Ryerson, Toronto, Canada.
Taks, M., Stevens, J., Scheerder, J., Lathrop, A., & Bradish, C. (2019). A comparison of Canadian and Belgium youth sport participation profiles. In J. Zhang & B. Pitts (Eds.), Globalized sport management in diverse cultural contexts, pp. 29-52. Routledge, New York.
Stevens, J., Burton, N., Clutterbuck, R., Cousens, L., Fullerton, C., Kerwin, S. (2019). “Connecting Management Concepts to Major Games: new avenues for research”. Symposium delivered at the 2019 Administrative Sciences Association of Canada, May 24-27, 2019, Brock University, Ontario.
Stevens, J. (2018). Hockey’s “innovation crisis” and the need to develop hockey talent for the future: the case of Canadian male hockey”. In S. Altukhov &J. Nauright (Eds.) Innovation for the future of ice hockey around the world: 2017 World Hockey Forum, pp. 321-339. Sport, Moscow, Russia.
Stevens, J. (2018). 30 Years of ‘Going Global’: Women’s international hockey, cultural diplomacy, and the pursuit of excellence. In J. Ellison & J. Anderson (Eds.), Hockey: Challenging Canada’s Games, pp. 147-164. National Museum of History and University of Ottawa Press, Ottawa, Ontario.
Stevens, J. (2018). “Extension or Extinction: How to build brands for non-dominant forms of hockey, 2018 World Hockey Forum, Moscow, Russia, December 14-15.
Moussa, J. & Stevens, J. (2018). An Analysis of the Organizational Design of Canadian Major Junior League Offices. The Hockey Conference: The Multiplicity of Hockey-Delivering New Understandings of the Game, July 5-7, 2018, Edmonton, Alberta.
Eckford, S. & Stevens, J. (2018). Minor hockey officials and organizational support: current trends and future needs. The Hockey Conference: The Multiplicity of Hockey-Delivering New Understandings of the Game, July 5-7, 2018, Edmonton, Alberta.
Jurbala, P. & Stevens, J. (2018). Community Sport Organizations and Innovation: capacity and competition. 11th annual Sport Canada Research Initiative Conference, September 19-20, Toronto, Ontario.
Brooks, D.L., Barnes, M., & Stevens, J. (2017). What happens at the national level stays at the national level: a case study on the values of community curling: a case study. International Journal of Sport Management, 18(1), 65-88.
Stevens, J. (2017). The Emergence and Development of Women’s Hockey Globally. In J. Nauright & S. Altuhkov (Eds.), Strategies of ice hockey development in the global world: 2016 World Hockey Forum Volume. 282-298. Moscow, Russia.
Stevens, J. (2017). Organizational Capacity, Environmental Sustainability and Sport Organizations. In B. McCullough & T. Kellison (Eds.), Routledge Handbook on Sport, Sustainability and the Environment, 99-108, Routledge: New York, NY.
Stevens, J. (2017). “Hockey’s ‘Innovation Crisis’ and the Need to Develop Hockey Talent for the Future”, International Ice Hockey Federation World Hockey Forum, Moscow, Russia, December 14-15, 2017.
Moussa, J. & Stevens, J. (2017). A socio-historical examination of major junior hockey in Canada, 2017 North American Society for the Sociology of Sport Conference, November 1-4, 2017, Windsor, Ontario.
Stevens, J. (2016). Building a Global Game: Institutional change and global women’s hockey. 2016 World Hockey Forum, December 15-17, Moscow, Russia.
Kerwin, S., Warner, S., Walker, M., & Stevens, J. (2015). Exploring Sense of Community among Small-scale Sport Event Volunteers. European Sport Management Quarterly, 15(1), 77-92.
Teaching-Related Scholarly Work and Presentations
Stevens, J. (2019). Podcast Debate Assignment. In R. McGary (Ed.), Democratizing online learning in postsecondary classes: Instructional case studies, eCampus Ontario: Toronto, Ontario.
Stevens, J. (2019). “Experiential Education”. Invited Speaker – Teaching Tomorrow’s Business leaders, Doctoral Consortium, Administrative Sciences Association of Canada Conference, May 24-27, 2019, Brock University, Ontario.
Stevens, J. (2019). “SPMA 1P94 – Sport Industry Professional Development Conference”. Poster and Networking Fair, Experiential Showcase, Centre for Pedagogical Innovation, March 19, Brock University.
Stevens, J. (2019). “2021 Canada Summer Games Curriculum & Course Partnership Opportunities”. Opportunities and Info Sessions, Experiential Showcase, Centre for Pedagogical Innovation, March 19, Brock University.
Stevens, J. Law, M., Yates, E., Salfi, J., Whyte, C., Fucile, B., McClean, C., & Hayward, G. (2018). “What’s my grade? A focus on student assessment in experiential learning”. Paper presented at the Educating for the Future: Learning Outcomes and Experiential Learning Symposium, Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance, October 11-12, 2018, Toronto, Ontario.
Stevens, J., Salfi, J., Law, M., Yates, E., Whyte, C., McLean, C., Fucile, B., Hayward, G. (2018). The triple C effect: An analysis of experiential education and retention among students in the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences. St. Catharines, ON: Brock University Faculty of Applied Health Sciences.
Reportss and Policy Briefs
Stevens, J. (2019). Towards a ‘Made in Niagara” Sport Tourism Model: the case for a sport event office. Regional Municipality of Niagara, Niagara, Ontario.
Charlebois, C. & Stevens, J. (2018). More than Money: Leveraging the benefits of sport hosting in Niagara. Policy Brief #30, Niagara Community Observatory, Brock University.
Popular Press Articles and Media Appearances
Here is a short list of recent examples:
Stevens, J. & Holman, A. (2020, April 15). The NHL put profit ahead of players’ health during last century’s pandemic. Conversation Canada.
Stevens, J., Donnelly, M., Black, Simon. (2019, October 24). “A union of women’s hockey players looking for a league of its own.”, Conversation Canada.
Stevens, J. (2019, Vol 1, Issue 1). “Open for Business? What can sport offer the Niagara Economy?” Reveal: Niagara Business Magazine, p 21-23, The Ownera Group, Niagara Falls, Ontario.
Stevens, J. (2019, June 14). “Raptors win! Does that mean basketball will replace hockey as Canada’s favourite sport?”, Conversation Canada.
Stevens, J. (2019, April 3). “The death of the CWHL presents a new opportunity for women’s professional hockey”, Conversation Canada.
Re-release April 4, 2019. “The death of the CWHL presents a new opportunity for women’s professional hockey”, The National Post.
Change Maker Radio (podcast) – Dave Briglio – Julie Stevens guest – Offside: Challenges faced by women in hockey – December 16, 2019
The Scott Thompson Show – Julie Stevens guest – Radio Interview, CHML900 – February 22, 2018
Stevens, J. (2018, February 6). “Player or pawn: women’s hockey, the Olympics, and the Korean dynamic”, Conversation Canada.
Stevens, J. (2017, April 1). U.S. women’s hockey age deal sets a bar that Canada must match. The Globe and Mail. Available at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/us-womens-hockey-deal-sets-a-bar-that-canada-must-match/article34541467/
My teaching spans both general and specialized subject matter at undergraduate and graduate levels. Below is a list of courses I have taught in the SPMA program. A recent area of teaching interest for me is business communication and I share more details about this course in this list.
- SPMA 1P92 – Understanding Sport Industry Sectors
- SPMA 1P94 – Professional Engagement in the Sport Industry
This business communication course includes a Professional Development Conference Day. Here is a short video and other teaching resources focused upon the course as a whole, the conference and a reflective assignment connected to the students’ experience at the conference. Here is a story in the Brock Press about the 2017 PD Conference Day.
- SPMA 1P94 Professional Development Conference Day
- SPMA 2P00 – Analysis of Professional Sport
- SPMA 2P06 – Sport Policy
- SPMA 3P99 – Special Studies in Sport Management
- SPMA 4F04 – Research Proposal
- SPMA 4F05 – Honours research Thesis
- SPMA 4P97 – Advanced Analysis of the Sport Industry: Hockey
- SPMA 4P99 – Advanced Special Studies in Sport Management
- AHSC 5P03 – Organizational Analysis of Leisure, Sport and Community Based Organizations
- AHSC 5P08 – Critical Analysis of Sport Management Research (formerly Philosophical and Methodological Issues in Applied Health Sciences – Sport Management Seminar)
- 2013 North American Society for Sport Management Research Fellow
