About The authors
DR. MICHELLE HARROLLE
Michelle Harrolle, director of the Vinik Sport & Entertainment Management Program, teaches courses related to marketing, sales and fundraising in sports and entertainment. Currently, Harrolle serves as president of WISE Tampa Bay. She has spent the past five years at USF dedicated to 100% student residency/fellowship placement. Additionally, Harrolle has published a book on esports and has been published in a number of journals including the Journal of Sport Management.
Her years of experience in the sports industry include being aquatics director at Providence College; swimming coach at Providence College, Florida State University and The Ohio State University. Harrolle was one of three head female collegiate coaches of both men’s and women’s D1 athletics. She was the director of a Tampa Memorial Golf Tournament from 2003-2007. At North Carolina State University, she received highest teaching honor bestowed on a professor, the 2012-13 North Carolina State University and College of Natural Resources Teacher of the Year awards.
Harrolle has served as a member of several professional organizations, including the Sport Marketing Association, North American Society for Sport Management and the National Recreation and Park Association. She has also served as a reviewer for numerous publications and a presenter at various international conferences.
NCAA Women’s Final Four Advisory Committee, 2018–2019
Sales Huddle, LLC, Board of Directors, 2015–present
USF Search Committee member, marketing chair, 2018–2019
Member, USF Search Committee, assistant professor in sports and entertainment management, 2017
Member, USF Muma College of Business Scholarship Committee, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Chair, Sales Education Initiative Development Committee, fall 2015, spring 2016
Faculty adviser, Sport & Entertainment Management Association, 2014–present
Director, USF Online MBA/SEM Program, 2013–2015
Harrolle earned a PhD, master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Florida where she was an All-American Honorable Mention collegiate swimmer.
Well, J. E., & Harrolle, M. G. (2019). The Business of Esports: The Wild Wild West on Fire. Tampa, FL.
Popp, N., Harrolle, M. G., & Wells, J. (2019), “How Major League Teams Hire Entry Level Ticket Sales Sepresentatives: A Qualitative Analysis,” Sports Marketing Quarterly.
Harrolle, M. G. & Klay, M. A. (2019), “Understanding the Motivation of Professional Athletes, Journal of Applied Sport Management. 11(1).
Harrolle, M. G., & Wells, J. E. (2019), “Rivalry Influences on Fan Engagement within Twitter: A Case Study of Manchester United.”
Harrolle, M. G., & Kicklighter, K. (2019), “Women are Sport Fans! An Examination of Female Sport Fandom.” In Business of Women’s Sport. Routledge.
DR. JANELLE WELLS
Janelle E. Wells is an assistant professor in the USF Vinik Sport & Entertainment Management Program. Through her love of sport, Wells earned a collegiate athletic scholarship, progressed into the coaching ranks and then transcended into the private sector and classroom as a professor of practice.
While working full time and serving as the assistant coach for the Florida Institute of Technology volleyball team, she earned an MBA. She went on to coach volleyball at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), while teaching as an adjunct at Butler University. After earning her doctorate at the University of Florida and teaching at Florida State University, she joined the faculty at USF.
As a lifelong learner, Wells’ lived experience stimulated her research in organizational behavior, specifically leadership and career development, which has been published in outlets such as the Journal of Sport Management, the Leadership & Organizational Development Journal, Sport Marketing Quarterly, and the Journal of Intercollegiate Sport. In addition to her 30-plus published articles and book chapters, she recently co-edited the book The Business of Esports: The Wild Wild West on Fire. Putting theory into practice, Wells is the co-founder of WellsQuest, a consulting firm specializing in developing talent to positively disrupt systems, teams and individuals. Most recently, she has partnered with the Tampa Bay Lighting to create the Lightning Leadership Line, a personal and professional development initiative.
Wells is a believer in experiential learning and includes it in each of her courses: Leadership/Management Concepts, Globalization of Sport, Marketing Research in Sport & Entertainment and Social Issues in Sport. Notably, Wells has cultivated relationships across the industry with the National Hockey League (NHL), Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, weCOACH, MiLB, The Identity Tampa Bay, NCAA, Feld Entertainment, Harlequin Football Club, and Special Olympics Florida.
Board of directors, Women’s Sport Museum, 2019-present
Chair, New Tampa YMCA Advisory Board, 2015-present
Co-chair, Women in Sports & Events Tampa Bay (WISE TB) Membership Committee, 2018-present
Founding Steering Committee, WISE TB, 2018-present
Member, Muma College of Business Diversity Committee, 2018-present
Member, USF Title IX Committee, 2016-present
Member, Tampa Metropolitan YMCA Oversight Committee, 2014-present
Wells’ athletic career began as a college volleyball student-athlete and received a bachelor’s degree in management in 2003 and joined the private business sector. While working full-time and serving as an assistant coach for the Florida Institute of Technology volleyball team, she earned an MBA in 2005 from FIT. In 2012, Wells graduated from the University of Florida with a PhD in Health and Human Performance.S
Popp, N., Harrolle, M. G., & Wells, J. E. (2019), “How Major League Teams Hire Entry-Level Ticket Sales Representatives: A Qualitative Analysis,” Sport Marketing Quarterly, 28, 163-174.
Welty Peachey, J., Burton, L., Wells, J. E., & Chung, M. R. (2018), “Exploring Servant Leadership and Needs Satisfaction in the Sport for Development and Peace Context,” Journal of Sport Management, 32, 96-108.
Welty Peachey, J., Burton, L. & Wells, J. E. (2018), Exploring Servant Leadership and Needs Satisfaction in the Sport for Development and Peace Context,” Journal of Sport Management, 32, 96-108.
Wells, J. E., & Kerwin, S., (2017), “Intentions to be an Athletic Director: Racial and Gender Perspectives,” Journal of Career Development, 44 (2), 127-143.
Burton, L., Welty Peachey, J., & Wells, J. E. (2017), “The Role of Servant Leadership in Developing an Ethical Climate in Sport Organizations.” Journal of Sport Management, 31(3), 229-240.