Biography

Scott Bukstein has been a faculty member within the UCF College of Business since January 2010. He is Senior Instructor with the Sport Business Management Program.

Bukstein oversees the daily administrative operations of the sports business minor and manages business relationships with sport and entertainment organizations to establish volunteer, internship and job opportunities for students in the program. Bukstein also serves as the faculty academic advisor for all undergraduate sports business management students as well as the Sport Business Club at UCF.

Bukstein teaches (or has previously taught) the following undergraduate courses: Introduction to Sport Business Management, Business Law in Sport and Entertainment, Event and Facility Management in Sport, Business Analytics in Sport, and Diversity and Social Issues in Sport.

Bukstein teaches (or has previously taught) the following graduate courses: Sport Law, U.S. Sport Industries: Challenges and Opportunities, Event and Facility Management in Sport, Professional Selling in Sport, and Sport Business Analytics.

In addition, Bukstein is an Adjunct Instructor within the College of Business at the University of South Florida where he teaches a graduate level sports and entertainment law class. Bukstein also currently serves as a lecturer and research advisor during the annual summer Business of Sport Program at the University of Colorado. Bukstein also taught a class on the business of sports as an Adjunct Instructor at UCLA in 2020. He also taught classes as an Adjunct Instructor within the Graziadio Business School at Pepperdine University in 2018. Bukstein similarly taught classes as an Adjunct Assistant Professor within the Goizueta Business School at Emory University from 2013-2015.

Bukstein continues to add value as a consultant and researcher for the National Football League (NFL). He collaborates with his colleague/mentor Dr. C. Keith Harrison to advise the NFL on various matters related to occupational mobility patterns of leaders within the NFL as well as on female spectators and influencers of the NFL brand. Examples of research reports co-authored by Harrison and Bukstein for the NFL are available at operations.nfl.com.

From 2021-2022, Bukstein advised National Basketball Association (NBA) league office basketball operations executives on various consulting projects concerning career opportunities for NBA coaches and leaguewide hiring trends.

Bukstein also served as a consultant for the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE), which is a not-for-profit organization founded by Miami Dolphins team owner Stephen Ross. Bukstein and Harrison developed and implemented a comprehensive academic curriculum focused on diversity, inclusion, respect and equality in sport.

Bukstein has also served as a researcher, consultant, and/or project manager for the Minnesota Vikings, Harvard University Athletics, PAC-12 Conference, the Global Sport Institute at Arizona State University, Florida Citrus Sports, and Pepperdine University.

Before joining the faculty at UCF, Bukstein was an Adjunct Instructor at Saint Leo University. He taught Legal Issues in Sport and Risk Management in Sport courses.

Bukstein earned a bachelor’s degree in Sport Management and Communications from the University of Michigan. He received his law (juris doctorate) degree from the University of Minnesota Law School.

Prior to becoming a college professor and administrator, Bukstein worked as a corporate attorney at Faegre & Benson LLP (now Faegre Drinker) in Minneapolis, where he represented clients in a wide variety of transactional matters, including public and private mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and securities, venture capital financing and general corporate counseling. He provided legal counsel to several sport organizations, including negotiating the Naming Rights Agreement for Target Corporation’s sponsorship of the new Minnesota Twins baseball stadium and representing the Minnesota Hockey Ventures Group in its sale of the Minnesota Swarm lacrosse team. He is currently a licensed attorney in the State of Minnesota.

Bukstein’s research focus is on the intersection of sport and the law, collective bargaining in professional sport, intellectual property and brand development, business analytics in sport, the business of collegiate athletics and professional sports, technology innovations in sport, the perceptions and academic performance of college student-athletes, mobility patterns and career paths of coaches and other executives, marketing to female sport consumers and influencers, and leadership and diversity/inclusion issues in sport. He has published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles as well as book chapters.

Bukstein is the author of Bubble City: The Impact of the Global Health Pandemic on the Business of Sports. Bukstein is also the author of the book Intellectual Property in Sports & Entertainment: Leveraging Trademarks and Copyrights to Increase Brand Value. Bukstein is the author of another recently published book Collective Bargaining in Professional Sports. Bukstein also wrote a book on college athletics titled The Business and Governance of College Sports. Bukstein is also the lead author and co-editor of Sport Business Analytics: Using Data to Increase Revenue and Improve Operational Efficiency.

In addition, Bukstein is writing a book titled “DisastroWorld: Learning from the Music Festival Tragedy,” which is scheduled for publication in 2023. He is also working on a book titled “The Sports Business Metaverse Evolution: Digital Collectibles (NFTs), Blockchain Technology & Additional Fan Engagement Innovations,” which is scheduled for publication in 2023. Bukstein is also writing another book titled “Believe in Yourself & Always Stay Humble: Optimizing Your Personal, Academic, and Career Potential,” which is scheduled for publication in 2024.

Bukstein served as a member of the Editorial Review Board for the Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics (JIIA) from 2010-14, and currently serves as a member of the Editorial Review Board for the Journal of Higher Education Athletics & Innovation (JHEAI).

Download CV