I am an assistant professor in the Sport Management program at Washington State University, where I research and teach at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The courses I teach involve topics in media and communication in sport; I have also taught a course in Sport in American Society, and developed a course entitled, Global Sport Management.
Before joining Washington State University, I worked as a researcher at the Faculty (School) of Sport of the University of Ljubljana between 2005 and 2010. There, I also taught a course in Sport and Media, and co-taught in courses on Sport Sociology and Kinesiology (Basketball).
I have guest lectured at the University of Alabama, University of Ljubljana, and University of Primorska. In spring/summer 2015 I was visiting professor in Sport Journalism at the Beijing Sport University in Beijing, China, bringing to three the number of continents I taught university courses in.
I presented my research findings at conferences in Canada, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, and the United States.
Professional experience
Prior to entering academe, I worked in local and national media. I started as a radio host and DJ at the now-defunct Radio Tartini Piran in 1997. Then, I worked as an intern at TV Koper-Capodistria’s Italian-language sports section in summer 2003. Between 2004 and 2005, I worked at commercial network, POP TV, as Assistant Editor of their evening news program, 24 ur. Between 2004 and 2008, I was also the Slovenian correspondent of the international basketball federation’s website, www.fiba.com.
In 2005, I became a communications manager at the then newly-established Banka Koper Slovenia Open, a WTA Tour women’s tennis event that was held in Portorož, Slovenia. In 2008, I was promoted to Director of Media and Communications, and held the office until the tournament was relocated after the 2010 edition.
I was also involved in the organization of other athletic events and initiatives. I supervised the Media Center at the Gorizia venue at the basketball U20 European Championship for Men in 2007—the first continental basketball event that was held in two countries (Slovenia and Italy). Next year, I joined the organization staff of the Ljubljana Marathon and the Run of Trios, two running events I remained involved with until 2012. In 2010, I acted as Academic Director of I Came to Play, an international basketball-humanitarian camp that is held on Fruška Gora in Serbia. Over the years, I was also involved with a number of other events in various capacities.
In 2012 and 2013, I served as Director of Sports Programs at the Institute for Sport and Events Medvode (now Institute for Sport and Tourism). There, I ran youth sports programs and initiatives (including organizing interscholastic athletic competitions), advised on municipal sports policies, administered public funding of local sports organizations.
Lecturing and consulting
Throughout the years, I have held lectures and workshops on various topics in media, communication, and sports for a multitude of institutions and organizations, including the Olympic Committee of Slovenia, Television Slovenia, Basketball Federation of Slovenia, Slovenian PR Society, Institute for Fair Play and Tolerance in Sport, I Came to Play NGO, Timing Ljubljana, and City Office for Sport in Ljubljana. I have also advised several athletes in Slovenia about their interaction with media representatives.
Media appearances
I was interviewed by or quoted in the following media outlets: Jalka (an Estonian monthly), The Guardian, WikiNews (in English and Ukrainian), Pacific Standard Magazine, Washington State Magazine, Harrisburg Patriot-News (1, 2), KLEW, Lewiston Tribune, WSU News (1, 2, 3, 4), Tennis Italiano, and TV Apolo.
Additionally, I was interviewed by or quoted in the following Slovenian media outlets: Ampak, Delo, Dnevnik, Finance, Primorske novice, Slovenske novice, Sotočje, Večer newspapers, Slovenian Press Agency, MMC RTVSLO (1, 2, 3, 4), Radio Slovenija (incl. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5), Radio Capodistria, Radio Hit, Radio Capris, Radio Sora, TV Slovenija, POP TV, TV Koper-Capodistria, TV Maribor, TV Medvode, podcast Številke.