Victoria Jackson

Victoria Jackson is a sports historian and clinical associate professor of history in the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies at Arizona State University. Jackson writes and speaks about the intersection of sport and society, exploring how the games we play (and watch) tell us much about the communities – local, national, and global – in which we live. Her writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Slate, Letras Libres (Mexico), El Universal (Mexico), Epoca (Brazil), The Independent (UK),The Athletic, and Sportico. Jackson has appeared on 60 Minutes and has testified before Congress about the state and future of both the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement and American college sports. She is a frequent podcast, radio, TV, and documentary film commentator on sport and society. She brings a historian's eye to the project of designing future sports systems that are inclusive, equitable, and just.

Jackson is co-director of a new initiative at ASU called the Great Game Lab. The GGL’s mission is to explore the convergence of global sport, media, and geopolitics, as well as America’s ever closer sporting relationship with the rest of the world as the U.S. prepares to host the shared North American 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup during the nation’s 250th birthday celebration, and Olympic & Paralympic Games in Los Angeles two years later. The Great Game Lab will commission research and commentary, create courses, and convene forums and other programming on ASU’s campuses in metro Phoenix, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and Mexico City. 

Jackson leads the sport humanities at ASU, directs Sports @ Humanities Institute, and teaches a package of sports history courses, which forms part of an interdisciplinary, liberal arts undergraduate certificate in “sports, cultures, and ethics." She is affiliated faculty with the American Studies program in the School of Social Transformation and a Global Sport Scholar with the Global Sport Institute at ASU. She has long been involved with local, national, and international organizations that help girls and women find their power through sport and nonprofits with missions focused on sport and social change. 

Jackson is also co-editor of Power Plays: The New Sports Studies, a new book series at the University of Oklahoma Press.

She holds MA and PhD degrees from Arizona State University, and a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she graduated summa cum laude and joined Phi Beta Kappa. Jackson was also a cross country and track and field athlete for UNC and ASU, Pac-10 conference champion at 5,000 meters, NCAA national champion for the Sun Devils at 10,000 meters, and a professional runner endorsed by Nike. Jackson collaborates with Sun Devil Athletics on a variety of history, education, and leadership initiatives with athletes, coaches, administrators, and the greater Sun Devil community. She would like for her ASU school record in the 5,000 meters to be broken as soon as possible.