Lisa Delpy Neirotti

Lisa Delpy Neirotti

Lisa Delpy Neirotti

Director, MS in Sport Management Program; Associate Professor of Sport Management


Contact:

Office Phone: (202) 994-6623
2201 G Street NW, Suite 301 Washington, DC 20052

Lisa Delpy Neirotti is the director of the MS in Sport Management Program and an associate professor of Sport Management at the George Washington University School of Business (GWSB). She has been a professor of sport, event, and tourism management at the George Washington University for more than 30 years. Dr. Delpy Neirotti has established a strong academic program at both the undergraduate and graduate level and has also helped develop the Sport Philanthropy Certificate, which serves to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of non-profit organizations using sport for social good. She also directs the GW Green Sports Scorecard to help increase the sustainability of sport facilities, organizations and events, and serves on the faculty of the International Olympic Committee’s Executive Master's In Management of Sports Organizations (MEMOS).

Beyond her responsibilities at GW, Dr. Delpy Neirotti works with a number of sport event organizations, sponsors, and professional teams to conduct economic and market research studies including the Olympic Games, World Cup, BNP Paribas Open, Citi Bank Tennis Tournament, Rock and Roll Marathon, Marine Corp Marathon, College Football Bowl Games, among others.

As a pioneer in the field of sports tourism, Dr. Delpy Neirotti founded the annual TEAMS: Travel, Events, and Management in Sports conference. Since 1997, TEAMS serves to define, develop and expand the fast growing field of Sports Tourism. Numerous organizations including USAID have commissioned her to look at sport tourism as an economic development tool.

Dr. Delpy Neirotti co-authored The Ultimate Guide to Sport Event Management and Marketing and serves on the editorial board of SportsTravel magazine. She is also an advisory board member of the Women’s Sport Foundation (WSF), Up2Us, and the Council for Responsible Sports as well as the past president and founder of the D.C. Chapter of Women In Sports and Events (WISE).

Prior to arriving at the George Washington University, Dr. Delpy Neirotti traveled to 56 countries around the world studying the development and organization of the Olympic Movement. Since 1984, she has attended 22 consecutive Olympic Games, 6 World Cups, and hundreds of other major sport events as a consultant, volunteer or researcher. In 2004, she served on the World Cup host committee in Washington, DC.

Born and raised in California, Dr. Delpy Neirotti received her undergraduate degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; a MS in Sport Management from George Mason University, Fairfax, VA; and a Ph.D. in Sport Administration from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Her doctoral dissertation was on the organizational structure and effectiveness of the U.S. national sport governing bodies.


  • Fulbright Specialist
  • Top 25 Innovators and Influencers in Sport
  • Ranked top three in the world in 2019, Sports Business International, Postgraduate Sports Business Courses, Sport Management program
  • GW School of Business Board of Advisors Faculty Award
  • Sports Tourism Innovator Award
  • Outstanding Leadership and Service Award for International Special Events Society
  • Ph.D., University of New Mexico, 1991
  • M.S., George Mason University, 1988
  • B.A., California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, 1985
  • Graham, S., Neirotti, L, and Goldblatt, J. The Ultimate Guide to Sports Marketing. McGraw-Hill, Chicago, IL, 2001.
  • Delpy Neirotti, L. The Globalization of Sport. Power, Politics, Problems, and Policy in Sport, Lee, J. (edited), Carolina Academic Press of Durham, NC, 2015.
  • Delpy Neirotti, L. The Olympic Movement. Power, Politics, Problems, and Policy in Sport, Lee, J. (edited), Carolina Academic Press of Durham, NC, 2015.
  • Teed, K. & Neirotti, L. The Marketing of a NHL Hockey Team. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 2008, Vol. 8  , No. 1.
  • Elliott, S. & Neriotti, L. Challenges of Tourism in a Dynamic Island Destination: The Case of Cuba, Tourism Geographies, 2008, Vol. 10, No. 4.
  • Neirotti, L. & Hilliard, T., Impact of Olympic Spectator Safety Perception and Security Concerns on Travel Decisions, Tourism Review International, 2006, Vol. 10, No. 3, 269-284.
  • Delpy, L., Bosetti, H., Teed, K.,. Motivation to Attend the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 39, No. 3, February 2001
  • Caskey, R., & Delpy, L. An Examination of Sport Websites and the Opinion of Web Employees Toward the Use and Viability of the World Wide Web as a Profitable Sports Marketing Tool. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 1999, Vol. 8, No. 2.
  • Delpy, L. & Li, M. The Art and Science of Conducting Economic Impact Studies. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 1998, Vol. 4, No. 3.
  • Delpy, L. Sport Management and Marketing via the World Wide Web. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 1998, Volume 7, Number 1.
  • Delpy, L.  An overview of sport tourism: Building towards a dimensional framework. Journal of Vacation Marketing, January 1998, Vol. 4, No. 1.
  • Women in Sports and Events (WISE) – President, Washington, D.C. Chapter
  • Master's Executive Management of Olympic Sport Organizations (MEMOS) – Professor
  • Sports Travel Magazine – Editorial Board
  • GW Green Sports Scorecard
  • GW Sport Philanthropy Certificate
  • SOS Outreach Board of Directors
  • National Association of Sports Commissions