Clark Haptonstall Ph.D. is the Chair of the Department of Sport Management at Rice University, home of the #1 ranked Sport Management program in the nation. Haptonstall, a Professor in the Practice of Sport Management at Rice, currently teaches Sport Marketing, Sport Ethics, and The Olympic Games.

Before becoming a professor, Haptonstall worked in professional and college sports throughout the 1990s including stops as the Sports Information Director at The Citadel and Marshall University. In 1993, Haptonstall, Bud Bickel and David Wagg created the Frontier League, a professional baseball league. He also worked for the Huntington Cubs minor league baseball team and Furman University.

From 2009-2016, Haptonstall ran his own Sports Marketing and PR firm that specialized in areas such as charity development and oversight, media relations, event management, social media training, website development, content creation, and public relations. Four of his clients were named their team’s top community relations performer, often more than once. Former clients included:

• George Foreman: former two-time heavyweight boxing champion of the world, 1968 Olympic Gold Medalist, King of the Grill, & inspirational/business speaker.
• Brian Ching: professional soccer player, member of the US National Team which competed in the 2006 World Cup, & twice named Houston Dynamo’s Humanitarian of the Year (2010 & 2013).
• Ginny Fuchs: boxer, 2020 Olympian in Tokyo (112-pound weight class).
• James Casey: professional football player for the Houston Texans, Philadelphia Eagles, and Denver Broncos. Was named 2010 Houston Texans Community Player of the Year.
• Tally Hall: professional soccer player who was voted the Most Valuable Player of the Houston Dynamo in 2013.
• Stuart Holden: professional soccer player, member of the US National Team that competed in the 2010 World Cup, & twice named Houston Dynamo’s Humanitarian of the Year (2008 & 2009)
• Brad Davis: professional soccer player, member of the US National Team that competed in the 2014 World Cup, & twice named Houston Dynamo’s Humanitarian of the Year (2011 & 2014).
• Banded Brigade Outdoors: a 501c3 non-profit organization, started by Haptonstall, Tally Hall, & Brad Davis, designed to take wounded military veterans on therapeutic outdoor adventures such as hunting and fishing trips at a private resort. The organization is 100% volunteer.

Haptonstall earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Marshall University and his Ph.D. from Florida State University.