Sean Pradhan, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Sports Management and Business Analytics

“I do believe that one way to bring cultures together, to develop trust between people and countries and religions, is through education. And through music and art and basketball and activities and joys that people share worldwide, regardless of ethnic background or religious orientation.” – Coach Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors

Education

• Ph.D. in Sport Management, University of Michigan
• M.A. in Research & Experimental Psychology, San José State University
• B.A. in Psychology, San Francisco State University

Biography

Dr. Sean Pradhan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management. Born and bred in the Bay Area, Dr. Pradhan earned his Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Psychology at San Francisco State University and his Master of Arts (MA) in Research & Experimental Psychology at San José State University. He attained his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Sport Management at the University of Michigan (Go Blue!).

After completing his doctorate, Dr. Pradhan served as a project associate at NASA Ames Research Center in the Fatigue Countermeasures Laboratory as part of the San José State University Research Foundation – NASA Human Factors Cooperative Agreement. He previously taught sport management and research methods at the University of Michigan, as well as statistics, survey design, and writing at San José State University.

Dr. Pradhan’s research program is founded upon an interdisciplinary approach to sport management. For example, his recent work includes examining the utility of various sports statistics and analytical techniques in player and team evaluation, the influence of athletes on fan behavior, and the effects of sponsorship initiatives in the context of consumption.

Dr. Pradhan is a lifelong Bay Area sports fan. He particularly enjoys watching the Golden State Warriors, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco 49ers, and San José Sharks.

Professional Activities

Courses Taught 

• MTH 251 – Statistics
• SMG 300 – Sports Organization and Business
• SMG 303 – History of Sports
• SMG 307 – Research Methods in Sports Management
• SMG 402 – Marketing and Advertising in the Sports Industry
• SMG 412 – Economics of Sports

Research Interests

• Sports marketing and sponsorship
• Sports analytics
• Consumer behavior
• Social psychology
• Behavioral economics

Selected Publications

• Laraway, S., Snycerski, S., Pradhan, S., & Huitema, B. (2019). An overview of scientific reproducibility: Consideration of relevant issues for behavior analysis. Perspectives on Behavior Science, 42(1), 33-57.
• Pradhan, S. (2019). “Say what?” An overview and proposition of the dissonance-threat model of fan behavior. The International Journal of Sport and Society.
• Kwak, D.H. & Pradhan, S. (2018). Fans’ responses to the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) pilot jersey sponsorship program: An experimental approach. Journal of Sports Analytics, Pre-press, 1-16.
• Hobbs, A., Gregory, K., Parke, B., Pradhan, S., Caddick, Z., Bathurst, N., Flynn-Evans, E.E. (2018). San Francisco Bar Pilot Fatigue Study. NASA Technical Reports Server. Washington, DC: TM—2018–219934.
• Pradhan, S. (2018). Applying grey relational analysis to the fight evaluation of MLB teams: An extension to Chen et al. (2006, 2010). Journal of Statistics and Management Systems, 20(6), 1167-1190. doi: 10.1080/09720510.2017.1406645
• Pradhan, S. (2018). Ranking regular seasons in the NBA’s Modern Era using grey relational analysis. Journal of Sports Analytics, 4(1), 31-63. doi: 10.3233/JSA-160165

Recent Presentations

• Pradhan, S., Snycerski, S., Sadler, K., & Laraway, S. (2019). American sports fans’ perceptions of cannabis use by professional athletes. Paper to be presented at the Tenth International Conference on Sport & Society, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
• Snycerski, S., Pradhan, S., Sadler, K., & Laraway, S. (2019). Fans’ reactions to cannabis use by professional American football players. Paper to be presented at the Tenth International Conference on Sport & Society, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
• Pradhan, S., Gregory, K., Chachad, R., Bathurst, N., & Flynn-Evans, E.E. (2019). “Safe travels”: Investigating travel fatigue among East and West coast teams during the 2017-18 National Basketball Association (NBA) season. Paper to be presented at the Annual North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM) Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana.
• Kwak, D.H., & Pradhan, S. (2019). “If you ain’t first, you’re last!” The impact of losing on sport fans’ identity and consumption behavior. Paper to be presented at the Annual North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM) Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana.
• Jackson, N.C., & Pradhan, S. (2019). Ambidexterity and evidence-based management practice: Cases from Major League Baseball (MLB). Paper to be presented at the Annual Management & Organizational Behavior Teaching Society (MOBTS) Conference, Mahwah, New Jersey.
• Jackson, N.C., & Pradhan, S. (2019). Ambidexterity continuity and shift in EBM: Lessons from Major League Baseball (MLB) organizations. Paper to be presented at Annual Academy of Management Meeting (AOM), Boston, Massachusetts.

 Awards & Honors

• Dean’s Scholarship Award. (2019). Menlo College. Atherton, CA.
• Doctoral Scholar Award. (2017). American Kinesiology Association (AKA). Champaign, IL
• Paul A. Hunsicker Memorial Award. (2017). University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, MI
• Rackham Regents Fellowship. (2015 – 2017). University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, MI.

Areas of Expertise

• Sports marketing and sponsorship
• Sports analytics
• Sports psychology
• Statistics
• Experimental design
• Social psychology
• Consumer behavior