Matthew Atencio, Ph.D

Expertise

Action or Lifestyle Sports, Youth Sports, Skateboarding, Physical Education, Outdoor Education, Qualitative Research, Educational Research

Unique experiences

Worked in Australia, Singapore, United Kingdom and United States; Played semi-professional soccer in Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, United Kingdom and United States.

Biography

My research and teaching is underpinned by academic experience working in various international educational contexts, including Australia, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. I am interested in contemporary issues within Physical Education, Outdoor Education, and Sport Sociology. In both research and teaching, I place great emphasis on the versatile nature of Kinesiology as a field that can be relevant to the needs of our society. Kinesiology provides a unique context that can align with the diverse backgrounds and life trajectories of our students.

In The News

• Understanding sport off the field: Two Cal State East Bay Professors contribute to “Sociology of Sport”

  Matthew Atencio, Co-Director of the Center for Sport and Social Justice, and Becky Beal contributed to the newly released 12th edition of Sociology of Sport.

  February 15, 2023

• Bay Area rapper performs at Game 1 halftime show of NBA Finals, highlights AAPI representation (ABC-7)

  Professor Matthew Atencio of the Center for Sport and Social Justice discusses the significance of the rapper’s invitation to perform at the high-profile event.

  June 2, 2022

• Professor, Students Discouraged By ‘Pay-To-Play’ Mentality In College Admissions (KPIX)

  “This reminds me of pay-to-play gone haywire,” said Matthew Atencio, an author and professor at Cal State University East Bay. Atencio said he was surprised at the extent of the scandal and how deep it runs within the admissions systems at elite schools. “We aren’t thinking about the ethics or broader social implications of this kind of mentality, but is about cultivating my own individual child and, in this case, it’s gone nuts,” he said.

  March 12, 2019

• Is Skateboarding the New Soccer? (East Bay Today)

  Cal State East Bay professors investigate one of the fastest-growing youth sports in America.

  February 7, 2017