From left to right: (Back Row) Dick Hecock, Sam Catanzaro, Johanna Haas, Dagmar Budikova, Melissa-Dougherty O’Hara, Curtis Russel, Chenay McDaniels. (Front Row) Mary and Katherine Rooney, Sandra Rooney and John Rooney, Jr.
The Department of Geography-Geology was proud to participate in the formal induction ceremonies for Dr. John F. Rooney Jr. into the College of Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame on March 22, 2008 for his exemplary professional accomplishments. Dr. Rooney obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Geography in 1961, followed by an M.S. in Geography in 1962. Dr. Rooney visited our department on October 12, 2007 as the Deparment’s Homecoming Speaker. His visit activities included a presentation entitled: “Sport and American Culture: A Geographic Perspective” and a visit with our geography students upon whom he made a lasting impression.
John F. Rooney Jr. is an author, professor, and sports consultant. He is currently regents professor emeritus of geography at Oklahoma State University, Executive Director of the North American Culture Society, President of Rooney and Associates, Inc, CEO of Longitudes Group LLC, and the President of Rooney Golf Group LLC and Rooney Development Group LLC. Rooney earned his B.S. in Geography with a minor in economics and his M.S. in Geography from Illinois State University. He also holds a Ph.D. in Geography from Clark University. He pioneered the geographic analysis of sport and wrote the first book on the subject: The Geography of American Sport (Addison Wesley, 1974). He authored The Recruiting Game (1980, 1987), based on intercollegiate football and basketball recruiting during the past three decades. Rooney also edited This Remarkable Continent: An Atlas of U.S. and Canadian Society and Culture, in 1982. His most recent book, An Atlas of American Sport, examined the regional consciousness of sports in America. He has written numerous articles dealing with the cultural and economic geography of the United States. He was the publisher of Sport Place International, a quarterly sports research magazine, from 1987-2002.
He is a consultant to Golf Digest/Tennis, Business Week, and a variety of sports organizations. Much of Rooney’s recent work has focused on golf. He has analyzed the evolution of golf facility development, real estate golf, contemporary supply and demand patterns, and future golf target marketing strategies. Rooney is a noted public speaker and has given lectures at over one hundred universities in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. He has been interviewed on CNN, ESPN, NPR, and a host of television and radio programs throughout the United States. Rooney has worked, since 1989, with the Golf Digest Companies on the development of the Data Base of Golf in America. The DBGA combines golf supply and demand variables at all geographic levels from five-digit zip codes, counties, and MSAs. He is also working on the development and application of a U.S. geo-demographic data base focusing on the socio-economic behavior of American consumers. As President of the Rooney Golf Group LLC he has been involved in the construction of eight golf facilities located in Michigan, Virginia, and Oklahoma. He is currently working with his son, Captain Daniel Rooney, on the construction of The Patriot Golf Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma (Deborah Fox CAS, 2008).
Congratulations, John!
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