SMA welcomes the submission of abstracts for its 13th SMA Annual Conference to be held at the JW Marriott Atlanta Buckhead in Atlanta, GA, on October 28-30, 2015. To submit an abstract to this year’s conference, please read and follow the submission guidelines below.
Abstract Categories
Authors may submit abstracts for one of the following categories:
- Oral presentation (25 minutes, including questions)
- Panel discussion, symposium, or roundtable (75 minutes)
- Poster presentation
Author Categories
Authors should submit abstract(s) under one of two categories:
- Professional
- Student (Authors must be current students; any professionals can only be on paper as advisor.)
Submissions can be conceptual or empirical in nature, and do not need to be completed at the time of submission. However, for any work in progress, there needs to be assurances that the research will be completed in time for the conference presentation should it be accepted.
To be considered for the prestigious award of SMA Conference Best Professional Paper, studies will need to have been completed at the time of submission. Furthermore, to be considered for the SMA Conference Best Student Paper, abstracts must feature only one student author—any professional authors must be clearly identified as advisors.
Key dates
Authors should be mindful of the following key dates when preparing and submitting their abstracts (please note that official submissions are effective as of this announcement provided authors abide by the guidelines provided:
- Submission Deadline: April 3, 2015 (11:59 PM)
- Notice of Acceptance: May 29, 2015 (11:59 PM)
Abstract Submissions
Submissions must conform to format instructions. Please keep an exact version for future reference. Submissions will be subjected to blind peer review. Authors will be notified of acceptance, rejection, or suggested modifications as soon as the review process is completed. Please see key dates below for submission and revision deadlines. It is a condition of acceptance that at least one author attend the conference and present the research.
The abstract submission process includes a maximum 1200-word competitive submission explaining the proposed presentation in detail. Abstract formatting and references must conform to APA Style (6th edition) in the event your submission is accepted and published in the 2015 SMA Conference Proceedings (published by Fitness Information Technology; note authors will retain copyrights so the submission can be published elsewhere). Below are bulleted instructions detailing the correct format that authors must use for abstract submissions:
- 1200-word maximum submission
- List of references (not included in 1200-word count)
- Single-spaced (required for publishing the SMA Conference Proceedings)
- Times New Roman; 12-point font
- 8.5 x 11-inch page size
- 1-inch margins on all sides
- APA Style (6th edition)
Abstracts must be submitted by e-mail to smaoffice@mountunion.edu using the subject 2015 SMA Abstract Submission (LASTNAME, FIRSTNAME). Authors are to include two Word documents as e-mail attachments:
- Cover sheet (presentation title; list of names, affiliations, and contact for all authors; keywords)
- Abstract (presentation title; abstract body; references; APA Style; no identifying information)
Before submission, files should be named using the name of the first author such that the cover sheet is named LAST_FIRST_COVER.docx, and the abstract named LAST_FIRST_ABSTRACT.docx. In the event a first author is submitting two abstracts, additional files for a second submission should be attached as follows: cover sheet file named as LAST_FIRST_COVER 2.docx and the abstract file named as LAST_FIRST_ABSTRACT 2.docx.
Number of Submissions
There is a limit of two presentations per listed author regardless co-authorship or presentation type. Exception to this limit will be given for advisors to current students, in which case advisor positions must be clearly designated in the author section of the submission.
Reviewing Submissions
The reviewers for the SMA Annual Conference will judge all abstract submissions on the basis of their contributions to the development and advancement of theory or practice in the field of sport marketing. All submissions will undergo a double-blind review and will be judged on their overall quality and contribution to the SMA Annual Conference.
Abstract submissions should not be concurrently submitted for consideration to another conference and must not have been previously presented at another conference. In addition, submissions should not be of work published or in press prior to the abstract submission deadline (April 3, 2015).
Conference Information
The hotel for year’s SMA Annual Conference is the JW Marriott Atlanta Buckhead in Atlanta (click here). Details concerning hotel promotional pricing and travel accommodations once in Atlanta will be provided closer to the date of the conference. To register for the conference, please visit this page.
Questions/Contact
Any questions or comments about the abstract submission process can be sent directly to Dr. Khalid Ballouli, Vice President of Academic Affairs for the SMA, at ballouli@sc.edu.
