Contemporary Issues in Sports Sociology

Andrew Yiannakis, PhD, is currently the professor and director of the Laboratory for Leisure, Tourism and Sport at the University of Connecticut at Storrs.

Yiannakis was cofounder and the first president of the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport. He is also former president of the Sport Sociology Academy of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD).

He has authored numerous articles on a variety of topics in the field and was the senior editor of four editions of the popular text Sport Sociology: Contemporary Themes. He is also senior editor of Applied Sociology of Sport, a book of readings explicating the relationship between theory and application. He currently resides in Coventry, Connecticut, with his wife, Linda. He enjoys horseback riding, reading historical novels, and teaching and participating in jujitsu.

Merrill J. Melnick, PhD, is a professor of physical education and sport at the State University of New York College at Brockport. In 1998, he was awarded the university's prestigious chancellor's award for excellence in teaching.

Melnick is a founding member of the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport and a former president of the Sport Sociology Academy of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education. He has published more than 80 articles and presented both nationally and internationally in the area of sociology of sport. He coauthored the book Sport Fans: The Psychology and Social Impact of Spectators and also coresearched and coauthored three national studies for the Women's Sports Foundation.

Melnick lives with his wife, Shoshana, in Brockport, New York. He enjoys vegetable gardening, camping, canoeing, and playing tennis.