Galen Trail, PhD

Galen Trail

PhD, Sport Management, Ohio State University
MA, Education, Whitworth College
BA, Psychology, University of Puget Sound

Professor Emeritus, Department of Marketing

Teaching Areas

  • Marketing Strategy
  • Sport Consumer Behavior
  • Data Analytics for Sport Consumer Research
  • Brand Communication Strategies and Analytics for Sport Organizations
  • Corporate Partnerships

Personal Bio

Dr. Galen Trail joined the faculty at Seattle University in the fall of 2008. He was on the faculty at The Ohio State University, the University of Florida, and Iowa State University over the previous 11 years. He has taught classes in sport consumer behavior, data analytics for sport consumer research, sport marketing, brand communication strategies and analytics for sport organizations, corporate partnerships, sport business/finance, sport management, legal aspects of sport, research methods and evaluation, among others.

Dr. Trail has worked as a consultant in the area of sport consumer behavior for professional teams such as the Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies, Seattle Storm, Seattle Reign, Washington Stealth, Baltimore Orioles, and Sporting Lisbon. He has also consulted with the Circuit of the Americas, the Champions Tour, the McDonalds LPGA classic, the Boeing Classic, and many NCAA Division I athletic departments (University of Florida, Iowa State, Ohio State, University of Texas, University of Delaware, among others). He is currently doing pro bono work for the Special Olympics USA Games and Special Olympics Washington.

His main area of research focuses on consumer behavior in sport and he has published over 75 books, book chapters and articles in journals such as the Journal of Sport Management, Sport Management Review, International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, International Journal of Sport Management, International Journal of Sport Communication, and Sport Marketing Quarterly. His work has been cited over 6200 times, with an h-index of 35 and an i10-index of 49. In the last several years though, he has applied his expertise (over 20 years) as a researcher and as a consultant in sport consumer behavior/marketing to a new endeavor: Assisting sport organizations to help their fans, spectators, or participants improve environmentally sustainable behaviors both at the event and at home. This focus on marketing sustainability through sport has led to multiple research projects over the last several years working with sport organizations to improve their sustainability marketing and communications. This has led to the publication of a book, several book chapters, and research articles. Dr. Trail is on the editorial board or is a reviewer for multiple journals.

Dr. Trail earned his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in 1997.