Stellenbosch University (SU) awarded an honorary doctorate to leading American sports law and sports business expert Prof Kenneth Shropshire at its December graduation. Shropshire, who is from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States, received the degree Doctor of Commerce, honoris causa, on Thursday (14 December 2023) at the graduation ceremony for the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences.
He was honoured for his dedication to the development of sports law and the sports business sector, generously sharing his expertise and knowledge through academia, the media, books and other platforms, and for his visionary leadership and commitment to developing evidence-based solutions to problems of inequitable access.
In his acceptance speech, Shropshire thanked SU and the Faculty for the honorary degree. “I'm honoured to gain this permanent, deeper relationship with the university." He added that it is the first honorary doctorate in his family.
Speaking about his area of expertise, Shropshire said the issues of access to sports, access to power positions, and the transition of athletes from sports to real life are universal. “It doesn't matter where you look at the issues, we need to resolve those and make life better in that way." According to him, SU is a beacon to study these issues in a way that they have not been studied before.
More about Shropshire
Prof Kenneth Shropshire has had a distinguished 40-year career in sport, business and law as a professor, business consultant, author, and attorney. His experience covers a wide range of sports-related issues, such as leading global sporting events, stadium and arena construction and financing, the relocation of franchises, the transition of athletes from the playing field into business, and diversity in sports.
Shropshire is the author of seminal books on race and sports as well as sports agents. He is also the co-author of leading texts on sports business for business schools, and on sports law for undergraduates. Beyond sports, he has applied his business acumen serving on the boards of a publicly traded company, a bank, a for-profit educational enterprise, and several non-profit entities.
Currently, he is the Faculty Director, Wharton Coalition for Equity and Opportunity and David W. Hauck Professor Emeritus at the Wharton School and Africana Studies, having completed a five-year term as founding chief executive of the Global Sport Institute as well as Adidas Distinguished Professor of Global Sport at Arizona State University.
- Photo: Prof Kenneth Shropshire at the graduation: Photographer: Stefan Els
