David P. Hedlund, PhD, is the chairperson of the division of sport management at St. John's University, where he is also a faculty expert and faculty leader on research and topics related to esports. Dr. Hedlund earned his PhD in sport management and a certificate in measurement and statistics from Florida State University. He has more than 20 years of domestic and international experience in sports, esports, coaching, business, education, and analytics. He has published more than 60 journal articles and book chapters on related topics. He has worked with the International Esports Federation, the United States Esports Federation, and the Esports Research Network. In recent years, Dr. Hedlund has also acted as a consultant for dozens of domestic and international high school, college, and professional esports teams as well as business and entrepreneurial ventures, including speaking at the World Cyber Games and the Global Esports Executive Summit. Seth E. Jenny, PhD, is an associate professor teaching esports courses within the department of exercise science at Slippery Rock University (SRU) of Pennsylvania. He serves as a founding board member of the Esports Research Network, associate editor of Journal of Electronic Gaming and Esports, and faculty advisor to the SRU Esports Club. As an active scholar and researcher, Dr. Jenny has provided more than 100 professional presentations and published over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles in the research areas of esports, motion-based video gaming, instructional technology, and distance running. He is the lead author of the Human Kinetics textbook Technology for Physical Educators, Health Educators, and Coaches and senior editor of Routledge Handbook of Esports. Dr. Jenny was a 2024 finalist for National Association of Collegiate Esports’ Scholar of the Year Award and 2025 finalist for Scholastic Esports Awards’ Research Excellence Award. Dr. Jenny has been teaching full time in higher education since 2010 and previously taught within the department of health, exercise, and sports sciences at the University of New Mexico and in the department of physical education, sport, and human performance at Winthrop University. He has also worked as a U.S. Air Force exercise physiologist and K-12 health and physical education teacher. As an athlete, Dr. Jenny captained the SRU cross country team and track and field team, was an Academic All-American steeplechaser, thru-hiked the entire 2,174 mile Appalachian Trail, and holds a marathon personal best of 2:48:30. He cofounded and is president of the nonprofit Grove City Athletics Club in Grove City, Pennsylvania, where he volunteer coaches elementary cross country and track and field. Gil Fried, JD, is a professor at the University of West Florida (UWF) and chair of the administration and law department, which encompasses legal studies, construction management, sport management, and public administration. He started at UWF in 2021. Prior to his appointment at UWF, Fried was a professor in the Pompea College of Business at the University of New Haven for 21 years before retiring with the designation of professor emeritus in 2021. Fried is a specialist in sport law, sport finance, and sport facility management. He received his master’s degree in sport management and his law degree from The Ohio State University. He has taught courses and written numerous books and articles on sport risk management, sport facility management, sport analytics, esports, and sport finance. Fried speaks throughout the United States on issues such as building and financing facilities as well as dealing with risk management concerns.
