The Olympic Games have always been about more than medals or athletic glory.
Behind every opening ceremony and photo finish is a global enterprise that brings together business, technology, media, public policy, sustainability and international diplomacy on one of the world’s biggest stages.
Now, Arizona State University is taking a closer look at that complex ecosystem through research and education in its recently launched Center for Olympic Studies.
ASU is now only the third university in the United States to receive a formal designation as an International Olympic Committee Olympic Studies Centre.
The center will bring together faculty and students from various disciplines, including sports business, journalism, data science and public policy, to study not only athletic performance but also the evolving forces shaping the Olympic movement.
As anticipation builds for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, students will also have opportunities to connect classroom learning with real-world experiences through research, industry partnerships and behind-the-scenes access.
The center marked its launch with the release of its inaugural Olympic Insights Brief, examining several forces transforming the Olympics and offering insights into how organizations, athletes, sponsors and host cities can prepare for the future. The report concludes that future Olympic success depends less on size or scale alone than on how effectively systems, partnerships and technologies work together. Learn more on the center’s website.
Daniel McIntosh, a teaching professor in the Department of Marketing at the W. P. Carey School of Business and the center’s founding director, has spent years studying how the Olympic movement is evolving. His research explores topics ranging from sponsorship and artificial intelligence to athlete development and the organizational systems that help nations succeed on the world’s biggest sporting stage.
Here, he explains why the Olympics have become a living laboratory for researchers, what fans often miss behind the spectacle, how ASU hopes to help shape the future of global sport and why LA28 could become a once-in-a-generation classroom experience for Sun Devil students.
Note: Answers have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Question: Why did ASU create the Center for Olympic Studies, and what will be its primary role?
Answer: ASU’s mission is rooted in academic excellence, societal impact and broad access through cutting-edge research, innovative teaching and meaningful global engagement. We see the Center for Olympic Studies as a natural extension of that mission.
The Olympics are a natural fit because they’re much more than a sporting event. They represent one of the world’s most complex global enterprises, bringing together business, technology, marketing, media, public policy, logistics, sustainability and international collaboration on an unparalleled scale. That makes the Olympic movement a living laboratory where students and researchers can better understand how organizations operate, innovate and collaborate under extraordinary circumstances.
Yet only a handful of academic centers study the Olympic movement through this interdisciplinary lens.
What’s especially exciting is that we’re not starting from scratch. The center builds on Olympic-related work already underway at ASU, bringing together expertise in sports business, marketing, journalism, public policy, data science, history, health and sport performance into a coordinated effort.
Q: You describe the Olympic movement as being in a period of structural transition. What’s changing behind the scenes that most fans probably don’t notice?
A: Most people experience the Olympics through the competitions, but behind the scenes, the Games are undergoing a transformation. They’re becoming increasingly data-driven, technology-enabled and partnership-oriented. Success now depends on how well technology, partners, athletes, media, host cities and governing bodies work together behind the scenes.
Artificial intelligence is influencing broadcasting, athlete performance analysis, logistics, judging and even how fans interact with Olympic content in real time. These technologies are making the Games more efficient while fundamentally changing how they’re produced, experienced and managed.
Beyond technology, broader shifts are reshaping the Olympic movement. Countries are rethinking how they develop elite athletes, women’s sports are receiving greater attention and investment, and host cities are becoming platforms for global storytelling rather than simply venues for competition.
Q: Your research suggests Olympic success isn’t just about money or population size but also about how systems are designed. What can the United States learn from countries like Norway, a perennial heavyweight in winter sports?
A: Norway, with a population of about 5.5 million people, has led the Winter Olympic medal count for three consecutive Games. Consider that eight U.S. cities have larger populations than the entire country of Norway; that tells us something more than size or resources is at work — it’s how those resources are organized and aligned.
Norway demonstrates the importance of system design. Its model emphasizes broad participation, long-term athlete development, accessibility and a culture centered on the joy of sport. The United States has a very different system, one driven by winning at every level from youth sports and private clubs to schools and universities. That approach has produced extraordinary athletes and tremendous Olympic success, but it also presents challenges related to cost, access and early specialization.
Ultimately, our research suggests Olympic success comes from aligned systems, where athletes, schools, governing bodies, communities and private organizations all work toward common goals. That’s a lesson that extends well beyond sport and applies to leadership, education and organizational performance.
Q: You’ve written that Olympic sponsorship is shifting from simple brand visibility to long-term partnerships. How are companies measuring success today, and what does that mean for the future of sports marketing?
A: For decades, sponsorship was measured by visibility. Companies asked: How many people saw our logo? How many impressions did we generate? What was our media value? Those questions still matter, but they no longer tell the whole story.
Today’s Olympic partners measure success by the value they create through fan engagement, technology innovation, operational support, sustainability initiatives and long-term relationships that extend across multiple Olympic cycles. Rather than simply buying exposure, companies are becoming integrated partners that help deliver the Games. Success isn’t determined by how much a company spends but by how well its strategy aligns with its business objectives.
I think this reflects the future of sports marketing more broadly. Brands increasingly want authentic partnerships where they can contribute expertise, technology and innovation — not just place a logo on a venue. The Olympics are one of the best examples of this evolution because many partners provide essential services, from payment systems and cloud infrastructure to communications technology and logistics, that make the Games possible.
Q: Your students had the opportunity to study the Milan Winter Games from the inside, meeting with global partners and experiencing the Olympics up close. What did they learn that couldn’t be taught in a classroom?
A: There’s no substitute for being immersed in the Olympic environment. In the classroom, we can teach sponsorship strategy, operations, consumer behavior and global business frameworks. At the Games, students see how those concepts come together in real time. They also realize the people who run these massive events are just that — people. We watched students go from feeling intimidated in a room with senior executives to thoughtfully and respectfully evaluating their ideas and asking probing questions just a week later. They realized they belonged in those conversations, and that’s a tremendous boost to their confidence and professional development.
One of the biggest learning lessons was understanding the sheer complexity of the Olympic ecosystem. Students quickly realized the Olympics aren’t simply a collection of independent events. They’re a highly coordinated global system involving governments, organizing committees, corporate partners, media organizations, technology providers, volunteers and athletes, all working together toward a common goal.
The experience also accelerated their professional development. They weren’t just observing the Games — they were asking questions, analyzing business decisions, interacting with senior executives and navigating an international environment where English wasn’t always the dominant language. That combination of academic preparation and real-world experience helped them connect theory to practice in ways that aren’t possible in a traditional classroom.
Q: As director of ASU’s Center for Olympic Studies, what excites you most about the years leading up to LA28, and what role do you see ASU playing in shaping the future of the Olympic movement?
A: What excites me most is that the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games will be unlike any Olympics our students have ever experienced. For the first time in more than 30 years, the Summer Games will be in the United States, and for ASU, they’re essentially in our backyard. That proximity creates opportunities that simply don’t exist when the Games are held halfway around the world.
I also believe ASU can play an important role in helping people understand the broader changes shaping the Olympic movement.
Ultimately, I hope LA28 becomes more than an event for our students. I hope it becomes a living classroom. Years from now, I’d love to see ASU alumni leading organizing committees, global brands, governing bodies and sport organizations, pointing to LA28 as the moment they realized what was possible. If the center can open those doors, provide experiences that shape careers and contribute meaningful research that advances the Olympic movement, then we’ll have accomplished exactly what we set out to do.
