We’d like to invite you to the first Steiner Sports Communication Research Conference, held online via Zoom on November 6, 2026, from 1:00-4:00pm (CST). The conference is free, but registration is required (see below). The conference will feature the following sessions and presentations:
Program
BEYOND THE GAME
1:00-1:50pm (CST)
- On Sports as a Conduit to Democratic Emancipation
Alex Volonte, University of Florida - Mark Henry’s Retirement: Breaking Genres and John Cena
Kayla Stanley, Bridgewater College, and Steve Ingham, Colgate University - 24 Years in the Making: Competing Media Narratives of Türkiye’s 2026 World Cup Qualification
M. Ekim Atay and M. Enes Akdağ, Üsküdar University - Game, Set, Engage
Joëlle Lanz, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
- On Sports as a Conduit to Democratic Emancipation
IDENTITY, POWER, AND SPORTS
2:00-2:50pm (CST)
- Disaligning & Disaffiliating with “Recognized” Interviewers in Hockey Interviews
Sarah M. Adams and Chase Wesley Raymond, University of Colorado Boulder - How Sports Organizational Structures Enable and Constrain Female Athletes’ Mental Health Experiences
Lyzbeth Safoah King, Ohio University - Sex Sells: The Perpetration of The Latin Lover Via Fernando Tatis Jr. and The San Diego Padres
Miriam A. Navarro, University of New Mexico - Mamita Querida! Goal Calls Are Not Equal
Sebastian Perez-Navarro, The University of Texas at El Paso
- Disaligning & Disaffiliating with “Recognized” Interviewers in Hockey Interviews
TECHNOLOGY, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND IDENTITY
3:00-3:50pm (CST)
- Strava, Wearable Technology, and Athletic Identity
Hannah Ballowe, North Carolina State University - When Fitness Meets AI: Exploring Social Media Portrayals and Athlete Well-Being
Valerie Gruest, New Mexico State University - Paige Bueckers and the LGBTQ+ Online Sports Fandom
Sarah Cochran, University of North Carolina Wilmington - Self-Presentation of Chinese Female Table Tennis Athletes on Social Media
Xueru Li, Griffith University
- Strava, Wearable Technology, and Athletic Identity
The presentations have been prerecorded and are linked in the conference program, which is only available to registered attendees. We encourage you to watch the presentations before the conference. For more information, including how to register, visit https://www.bradley.edu/steiner-research-conference/
We hope to see you at the event!
Tony E. Adams, Ph.D.
Caterpillar Professor
Department of Communication
Bradley University
1501 W. Bradley Ave., CGCC 300
Peoria, Illinois 61625
