It was only a few years ago that Dr. Tolga Ozyurtcu had a realization: He had become a leading expert in a new field of study.
After identifying a threadline between innovation, his work, technology’s influence in sport, and what he was teaching, associate professor of instruction in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education Dr. Ozyurtcu (M.S. ’11, Ph.D. ’14) pitched UT’s first sport innovation class with a hope of making an impact in sport history.
“It was the moment when I thought, ‘This is what I have been doing,’” Dr. Ozyurtcu said.
For years, the topic of how innovation happens in the world of sports had intrigued Dr. Ozyurtcu. Last month, his academic approach to examining the future of sports led him to work with the Smithsonian National Museum of American History to organize a symposium on sport innovation—from how a new sport is born to advancements in athletic items.
It all began last fall when Dr. Ozyurtcu created UT’s first Sport Innovation course, an undergraduate signature course available for freshmen that explores how the field of sports is evolving. In order to do more research for the class, he traveled to Washington D.C. where the Smithsonian was opening an exhibit on the topic.
During his time at the nation’s capital, he met with the leadership for the museum’s Lemelson Center for Invention and Innovation, who he had previously met at a conference in 2020. His goal was to learn more about what was next for their focus on this subject, but little did he know he would be invited to be a part of the exhibit’s upcoming chapter.
“It got my heart a little bit,” Dr. Ozyurtcu said. “I am a first-generation immigrant kid. The Smithsonian is a big American deal.”
The center’s leaders tasked Dr. Ozyurtcu with helping to recruit academics for a symposium that would happen as part of the museum’s annual New Perspectives series of events on innovation. However, given the momentum that the sports exhibit was gaining, they pictured something bigger: an extended, two-day event composed of multiple interdisciplinary panelists exploring a variety of themes.
Dr. Ozyurtcu recruited the help of Dr. Matt Bowers (Ph.D. ’11), associate professor of instruction in KHE. Together, they put out a call for submissions and received 60 proposals, which they narrowed to a dozen that would be presented over two days.
“It is like a bucket list thing to be able to host an event at the Smithsonian,” Dr. Bowers said. “That just sounded like nerd heaven.”
In true interdisciplinary fashion, the museum welcomed a variety of experts to present, ranging from historians to tech connoisseurs. The topics included everything from the creation of the sport of Quadball to the intersection of sports and policy with innovations in FemTech and the history of Astroturf and its ecological effects.
“It was like when you have a party and you invite different people and you think this could work or totally derail, and it worked,” Dr. Ozyurtcu said. “We were like ‘Look at us, we knew what we were doing.’”
Each session was kept intimate and organizers avoided concurrent sessions to allow for communal support. The sessions drew dozens of members of the public visiting the popular museum each day. Meanwhile, a related evening event, which was combined with the museum’s “Innovative Lives” lecture series and featured Gary Brantly, senior vice president and chief information officer at the NFL, packed a room of more than 200 attendees and extended to over two hours.
“It was pretty ambitious,” Dr. Ozyurtcu said. “I am proud of the group for setting our sights on something big and pulling it off.”
For Dr. Bowers, a highlight was watching his former student, Dr. Ryan Murtha (Ph.D. ’22), now a faculty member at Minnesota State University, present his expert research during the first session of the conference.
“That is why we do this job. That is one of the best things about being a professor,” Dr. Bowers said. “Whether you are working with undergraduate students, master’s students or doctoral students. To be able to play a part in their journey and watch them grow and develop and become leaders is one of the most gratifying aspects of the work that we do.”
Looking back on the event, Dr. Ozyurtcu said he is proud of how far the field of sport innovation has come and the role he and his colleagues at the College of Education have played in paving its path forward. He said although the field of study is respected and supported in the college, it can sometimes face bias in the world of academia, and this is one major accomplishment they can point to in recognition of its importance.
“I think it is a testament to the UT and College of Education brand,” Dr. Ozyurtcu said. “The name is taken seriously and I think it falls on us to do the good work to live up to that. To get there doing sports is pretty wild.”
Now, the goal is to keep the momentum of interest in sport innovation by moving the conversation forward and finding ways to continue engaging the public in captivating conversations concerning the world of sport.
According to Dr. Bowers, that could involve compiling the work already done into a book while continuing to discuss what remains to be researched. Creating new ways to activate and produce events that reach more people and enable more fun conversations between audiences, experts and innovators may lead to future impact.
“We are the College of Education at The University of Texas and what starts here changes the world, so figuring out new ways to make sure we are a part of these conversations that are going on more broadly is always a goal,” Dr. Bowers said.
