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University of Connecticut Neag School of Education Department of Kinesiology


Photo of Jennifer Bruening

Jennifer E. Bruening

  • Associate Professor
Dr. Bruening has been a part of the Sport Management program at the University of Connecticut since January of 2002  after spending eight years as an athletic administrator and volleyball coach at Kenyon College in Ohio, including two years as athletic director. She serves as the Director of the Laboratory for Sport Management.

Dr. Bruening’s research line has focused primarily on barriers and supports for women and minorities in sport.  She is a research fellow with Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society and the North American Society for Sport Management. 

Dr. Bruening is also the program founder and director for Husky Sport.  Husky Sport has both a program and a research component.  The program provides mentors (UCONN students) as planners of sessions at community sites in Hartford, CT that emphasize exposure and access to sport and physical activity, and advocate good nutrition and healthy lifestyles.  Research has focused specifically on the impact of such a program on pre-adolescent females and the impact of involvement in such a program on the college student mentors.  For more see www.huskysport.uconn.edu
  • Contact Information:
  • Office:
    • Location: Gampel 211
    • Hours: T/Th 9-11am and by appointment
  • Mailing Address:
    • 2095 Hillside Road
    • Storrs CT 06269-1110
  • Areas of Expertise:
    • Youth Fitness
    • Gender and Race in Sport
    • Sport Management
    • Qualitative Research
  • Currently Teaching:
    • EKIN 3300W and 5315: Sport in Society
    • EKIN 3547, 3547W and 5518: Introduction to Sport Based Youth Development
    • EKIN 6300: PhD Seminar, Organizational Theory in Sport
    • EKIN 6310; PhD Seminar, Organizational Behavior in Sport
    • EKIN 6315: PhD Seminar, Current Research in Sport Management
  • Honors and Awards:
  • In the News:
  • Associations/Organizations/Outreach:
    • Husky Sport
    • Journal of Sport Mangement, Editorial Board
    • Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal, Editorial Board
    • Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics, Editorial Board
  • Educational Background:
    • University of Notre Dame-BA English
    • Morehead State University-MA English
    • The Ohio State University-PhD Sport Management
  • Selected Publications/Presentations:
    • Andrassy, E & Bruening, J.E. From Rhetoric to Reality: NCAA Division I Athletic Department MissionStatements and Student-Athlete Community Service Efforts. Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics, 4, 271-288 271
    • Dixon, M.A. & Bruening, J.E. Youth and Community Sport. In P. Pederson, J. Parks, J., Quarterman, & L. Thibault, Contemporary Sport Management, Fourth Edition. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics
    • Bruening, J.E, Madsen, R.M., Evanovich, J.M & Fuller, R.D. Discovery, Integration, Application and Teaching: Service Learning through Sport and Physical Activity. Sport Management Education Journal, 4(1), 31-48.
    • Bruening, J.E., Dover, K.M, & Clark, B.C.Pre-Adolescent Female Development through Sport and Physical Activity: A Case Study of an Urban Afterschool Program. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 80, 87-101
    • Bruening, J.E. & Dixon, M.A. Situating Work-Family Negotiations within a Life Course Perspective: Insights on the Gendered Experiences of NCAA Division I Head Coaching Mothers. Sex Roles, 58, 10-23.
    • Bruening, J.E. & Dixon, M.A. The Quest for Work-Family Balance: Managing Role Conflict. Journal of Sport Management, 21, 377-406.
    • Dixon, M.A. & Bruening, J.E. The Quest for Work-Family Balance: A Top-Down Perspective. Journal ofSport Management, 21, 471-496.
    • Bruening, J.E. & Cunningham, G.B. Students’ Perceptions of Barriers and Supports in Sport and Leisure Careers. International Journal of Sport Management, 7(4), 445-458.
    • Cunningham, G.B, Bruening, J.E., & Straub, T. The under-representation of African Americans in NCAA Division I Head Coaching Positions. Journal of Sport Management, 20, 387-413.
    • Bruening, J.E. Academic Stereotypes of African American Female Student-Athletes: A Qualitative Study. Academic Athletic Journal, 18 (1), 22-35.