Publications

Copeland, A. A., & Babiak, K. (2026). From Play to Policy: Examining Rule Modifications in Sport Through Organizational Learning and Performance Feedback Lenses. Journal of Sport Management, 40(1), 17-29. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2024-0370

Analyzed 10,277 NFL rules spanning 2001 to 2022 using statistical models (zero-inflated negative binomial and mixed-effects logistic regression) to explain the patterns behind when and why the league changes its rules. This is the flagship quantitative and computational-text-analysis credential, and the direct seed of the Rules of Sport Database.

Paulsen, R., Copeland, A. A., & McLeod, C. (2026). A Critical Examination of Outcomes for College Graduates Working in the U.S. Spectator Sport Industry. Sport Management Education Journal (online ahead of print). https://doi.org/10.1123/smej.2025-0012

Used regression analysis on American Community Survey wage and employment microdata to show that college graduates working in spectator sport earn less than similar graduates in other fields, a measurable wage penalty for working in the industry.

Copeland, A., & Heinze, K. L. (2025). An Examination of Competitive Rule Evolution in the National Football League. Managing Sport and Leisure, 30(5), 1144-1160. https://doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2024.2369323

A qualitative study tracing how NFL rules evolved from 1980 to 2020, built on inductive analysis of four decades of rule books.

Rorke, T., & Copeland, A. (2017). Athletic Disobedience: Providing a Context for Analysis of Colin Kaepernick's Protest. Fair Play: Journal of Philosophy, Ethics and Sports Law, 10(3), 503-509.

A conceptual and philosophical analysis situating Colin Kaepernick's protest within the ethics and history of athlete dissent.

Babiak, K., Copeland, A., & Yang, D. (2022). Corporate Social Responsibility and Digital Transformation in Professional Sport. The Routledge Handbook of Digital Sport Management (1st ed., pp. 100-115). Routledge.