Tenure-Track Assistant Professor, Sports Media

Tenure-Track Assistant Professor, Sports Media

Department of Media and Cinema Studies

The Department of Media and Cinema Studies in the College of Media at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign invites applicants for a full-time (100% FTE) tenure-track assistant professor position. We seek a scholar whose research examines sports, media, technology and culture in a rapidly evolving media landscape. The expected start date is August 16, 2027. 

This search is part of a cluster hiring initiative in the College of Media, with each of its academic department- Advertising, Journalism, and Media & Cinemas Studies- conducting an independent search for an assistant professor whose scholarship and teaching align with the priorities of their respective departments. Ideal candidates for the Media and Cinema Studies position will possess the potential for high-quality research, publication, and teaching in the field of sports and media in US and/or global perspective.  

We are particularly interested in candidates who draw on interdisciplinary bodies of media theory, demonstrate methodological rigor and intellectual creativity, and may engage qualitative, quantitative, historical, interpretive, computational, or mixed-methods approaches. Applicants should demonstrate a capacity for original and forward-thinking research in areas including, but not limited to: 

• Critical approaches to sports and media. 
• Media industries, governance, and political economy of sports and media.
• Sports and digital platforms, social media, streaming, and interactive media. 
• Video games, esports, fantasy sports, and gambling. 
• Fans, audiences, activism, and participatory cultures of sports and media.
• Sports, media infrastructures, and spatial formations, including stadiums, venues, and urban development. 
• Sports media and race/class/gender/sexuality/citizenship. 
• Documentary, nonfiction, and storytelling practices of sports.
• Histories and genealogies of sports media. 
• Production cultures and labor in sports media. 
• Datafication, AI, VR/AR, and emerging technologies of sports and its media.

Successful candidates should demonstrate the ability to teach across multiple media forms, technologies, industries, and cultural contexts, and to contribute to the undergraduate and graduate curricula in Media and Cinema Studies and graduate seminars through the College's Institute of Communications Research. New faculty in the Department of Media and Cinema Studies will have the opportunity to develop teaching and research collaborations within the College of Media and the robustly interdisciplinary
environment at the University of Illinois.

Appointment Information

This is a 100% full-time Academic position, appointed on a 9/12-month basis. The expected start date is August 16, 2027. The salary for this position is $80,000-$90,000. Salary will be competitive and commensurate with the candidate’s qualifications, rank, and experience while considering internal equity. This position is eligible for sponsorship for work authorization, except for sponsorship of a new H1B petition that would incur the $100,000 fee.

Application Procedures & Deadline Information

Applications must be received by 6:00 pm (Central Time) on September 15, 2026. Apply for this position using the Apply Now button at the top or bottom of this posting and upload a cover letter, CV, writing sample of no more than 50 pages (dissertation chapter, conference paper, book chapter, article) that best illustrates research agenda and contributions, and the name and contact information for three academic references who will provide letters of recommendation. Applications not submitted through https://jobs.illinois.edu will not be considered. Full consideration will be given to applications received by September 15, 2026. Applicants may be interviewed before the closing date; however, no hiring decision will be made until after that date. The review will continue until the position has been filled. For further information about this specific position, please contact James Hay at jameshay@illinois.edu.

For questions regarding the application process, please contact 217-333-2137.

Founded in 1867 as Illinois’s flagship public university, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign empowers a global community of students, scholars, and alumni to change the world through bold, innovative research and transformative education. With a land-grant heritage rooted in progress, Illinois faculty drive paradigm-shifting discoveries, mentor future leaders, and collaborate across 15 colleges and instructional units and more than 20 research institutes. The university’s legacy of excellence includes 24 Nobel Prizes and 29 Pulitzer Prizes awar