This Wednesday, FAU’s College of Business announced the death of professor James Riordan, the Director of the MBA Sport Management Program. Riordan was 61 years old.

Riordan established the MBA Sport Management Program at the university in 2000. Under his leadership, the program earned No. 19 on the 2021 ranking of the world’s Top 40 postgraduate sport management degrees. 

In Riordan’s 21 years of service, the program never finished lower than No. 30 in SportBusiness’ world rankings.

Before his time at FAU, Riordan earned his bachelors and MBA degrees from Saint John’s University in New York and completed his doctorate at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa.

Riordan also served as chair of FAU’s athletic advisory board from 2003-2004, and for two years as NCAA Faculty Athletic Representative for FAU. 

The College of Business also announced they will hold a celebration of life in Riordan’s honor later this semester. 

Cameron Priester is a staff writer for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @PriesterCameron.