2026 Annual Conference of the North American Society for Sport History (NASSH)
CALL FOR PAPER AND SESSION PROPOSALS
*Click here for a PDF version of the Call for Papers
- The University of Texas at Austin
- New College on the downtown St. George campus of the University of Toronto.
Participation in NASSH 2026 will be available to both in-person (in Austin, TX, or Toronto, ON) and virtual participants. The intention is to make all conference sessions hybrid. Virtual participants will be able to attend all sessions live via the Ring Central platform. Registration fees will be tiered according to the type of participation and will be the same at both locations.
Key Dates
| Oct. 22, 2025 | Call for papers announced; abstract submission open |
| Dec. 15, 2025 | Deadline for individual paper and complete session abstracts |
| Feb. 15, 2026 | Deadline for notification of acceptance/rejection of submission |
| Apr. 1, 2026 | Anticipated release of draft program |
| Apr.15, 2026 | Deadline for payment of membership dues, to be included in 2026 program |
| May 1, 2026 | Deadline to change location of in-person attendance (Austin or Toronto) |
| May 1, 2026 | Deadline for submission of completed papers to discussants (if applicable) |
| May 1, 2026 | Deadline for submission of pre-recorded presentations (virtual participants) |
| May 10, 2026 | Anticipated release of final program |
Participation Modes
The Program Committee encourages NASSH members and others interested in the scholarly study of sport history to submit proposals and/or participate in one of the following categories:
- Individual papers, with or without discussant (see below)
Proposals for individual 12-15-minute research presentations (in-person or virtual), to be presented in English, which the Program Committee will group into appropriate sessions. NASSH members submitting abstracts will be asked whether they wish to be scheduled in a session that includes a discussant (this is optional). The program committee will endeavor to accommodate all NASSH members who wish to their papers included in such a session. Requesting a session with a discussant indicates that NASSH members agree to submit their completed full paper to the discussant by the May 1, 2026, deadline. - Complete themed panels (3 papers + moderator and discussant)
NASSH members are encouraged to submit complete three-paper themed sessions. Each of these papers should follow the details of individual papers outlined above. Such sessions are strongly encouraged to include a discussant and can include virtual participants. The Program Committee strongly encourages themed panels that explore diverse topics in sport history and whose composition reflects this diversity. - Moderators and Discussants
NASSH members, particularly those who are attending NASSH 2026 but not presenting a paper are encouraged to volunteer to be session moderators and/or discussants. The Program Committee welcomes expressions of interest. Please contact carly.adams@uleth.ca. - A Note regarding Virtual Participation
NASSH members who choose to participate in the conference virtually will have their presentations integrated within the in-person program. Virtual presentations should be pre-recorded and submitted by May 1, 2026. These will be played live during the relevant session. Virtual participants are expected to attend their session and be part of the live post-panel Q-and-A discussion. The Program Committee will endeavor to schedule the presentations of virtual participants at a time that respects the time zones in which they reside, but not all requests can be accommodated.
Abstract/Proposal Submission
All abstracts/proposals should be submitted using the Conftool platform. To submit an abstract, you will need to register for an account using your preferred email and contact information.
A guide to using the submission system is available (https://conference.nassh.org/). Additional questions can be referred to conftool@nassh.org.
- Guidelines for Submitting Individual Abstracts (in-person or remote)
Submit abstracts for individual papers to https://www.conftool.pro/nassh2026/
Required information includes:
- Selecting whether presentation will be in-person or virtual
- Selecting the in-person location (Austin or Toronto), if applicable
- title of presentation
- corresponding author’s name, email address, and affiliation
- if relevant, co-authors’ names, emails addresses, and affiliations
- session topic suggestions/keywords
- abstract (250-300 words)
- Abstracts should include the question(s) addressed in the paper, the evidence used, a statement of the argument and conclusions, and what significance the paper has to our understanding of sport history.
- Guidelines for Submitting Complete Sessions
Submit proposals/abstracts for complete sessions to https://www.conftool.pro/nassh2026/ Required information includes:- title of session
- name of session organizer (including email address and affiliation)
- names of session participants (including email address and affiliation), including an indication of which participants will present in-person (indicating Austin or Toronto) and which will be virtual
- name of discussant and location (Austin or Toronto), if applicable (including email address and affiliation)
- name of moderator and location (Austin or Toronto), if applicable (including email address and affiliation)
- session abstract (250-300 words), which describes the theme of the session, how the individual papers
contribute to a consideration of that theme, and an explanation of the theme’s significance to the study
of sport history - abstracts for each individual paper (250-300 words each)
- Abstracts should include the question(s) addressed in the paper, the evidence used, a statement of the argument and conclusions, and what significance the paper has to our understanding of sport history.
- Decisions on abstract/proposal submission
- Individual authors and session organizers will be notified of the acceptance or rejection of their submission by February 15, 2026.
- The Program Committee will evaluate all submissions according to their individual merit, contribution to the field, and fit within the total program.
- Proposals missing requested information will be returned to the author(s).
Attending NASSH
- Registration and accommodation
Details regarding registration and accommodation will be available soon on the NASSH website (https://conference.nassh.org/).
- First-time attendees
First-time attendees of NASSH 2026 (in-person only) are eligible for a 50% discount on their registration fee regardless of registration category. Use the code FIRSTTIME when registering. - Graduate students
Graduate students who have an in-person presentation accepted for NASSH 2026 are eligible for a grant from the Roberta Park Graduate Travel Fund. (The value of the award for 2026 is TBD, but students should not rely on this award to cover all travel, registration, and accommodation expenses. In 2025, the award was $300 USD) No application is needed; Treasurer Thomas Hunt will distribute checks at the conference. Annual interest from the Park Fund is divided equitably among all graduate students presenting at the conference. Graduate students are encouraged to submit their papers to the competition for the NASSH Graduate Essay Award.
Fine print
Submission of an abstract/proposal for the NASSH 2026 program indicates acceptance of the General Guidelines for NASSH Presentations (found at https://conference.nassh.org/).
To be included on the program for NASSH 2026, presenters must be current NASSH members and registered conference participants, with all relevant fees and dues paid in full no later than May 1, 2026.
The NASSH Program Committee has sole discretion over all decisions related to the content and scheduling of the NASSH 2026 program.
For any enquiries, please contact Carly Adams (carly.adams@uleth.ca).
Additional Context for NASSH 2026:
NASSH Council made the decision to move to a two-location plus online conference in recognition of the challenges posed by the current political climate and by U.S. borders, following concerns that were raised at NASSH 2025 and afterwards.
NASSH Council wants to emphasize the importance of NASSH members’ safety as decisions are made by each of you about whether and how you will participate in NASSH 2026. This includes providing NASSH members with up-to-date information regarding the current political landscape in both NASSH 2026 locations Austin, Texas and Toronto, Ontario. As indicated above, you will be asked to indicate the in-person location you plan to attend (or online option) at the time of submitting an abstract for consideration by the Program Committee. However, you will also be able to change this decision if the need arises before May 1, 2026.
2026 NASSH Program Committee
Carly Adams, University of Lethbridge
Tanya Jones, California State University, Fullerton
Jörg Krieger, Aarhus University
Cam Mallett, The Pennsylvania State University
Sarah Teetzel, University of Manitoba
Dain TePoel, Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania
Diane Williams, McDaniel College