Ming Li is the Director of the School of Recreation and Sport Sciences at Ohio University and a professor in sports administration. Before joining the faculty at Ohio University, he taught at Georgia Southern University for eleven years.

Dr. Li‘s teaching and research interests are in financial and economic aspects of sport, international sport management, and research methods in sport management. He received his bachelor's degree in education from Guangzhou Institute of Physical Culture (PRC), his master's degree in education from Hangzhou University (PRC), and his Doctor of Education from the University of Kansas in Sport Administration. His professional affiliations include: American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM), Sport Marketing Association, and International Council for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport and Dance (ICHPER.SD). He has held offices as Member-at-Large on the Executive Council of NASSM, Chair of the Sport Management Council of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), and Director of the Sport Management & Administration Commission of ICHPER.SD. He was the recipient of the 1999 Taylor Dodson Award given by the Southern District AAHPERD. The award is presented annually to a young professional who has demonstrated strong leadership qualities in the field of health, physical education, and dance. Currently,

Li is President of NASSM. He has actively participated in the NASPE-NASSM Sport Management Program Review process. In 2001, he finished his three-year term serving on the Sport Management Program Review Council (SMPRC). He has served as a consultant to several institutions in program evaluation and development in sport management. Li has memberships on the editorial boards of several professional journals, including Journal of Sport Management, International Journal of Sport Management, and Sport Marketing Quarterly. In 1996, he worked for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) as an Olympic Envoy.

The Envoy appointment was awarded as a result of Li's leadership ability, decision making and communication skills, and ability to work in a multi-cultural environment. For the contribution he has made to his profession, the institution, and the community, he was given the 2000-2001 Award for Excellence in Service by Georgia Southern University. Li has published more than 25 articles in refereed journals, two books (Economics of Sport and Badminton Everyone), and a number of book chapters. Presently, he is working on a book project, International Sport Management as a co-editor. In addition to publications, Li also made numerous refereed presentations at state, national, and international conferences. He is an Honorary Guest Professor of two institutions in China, Guangzhou Institute of Physical Education and Sun-Yat Sen University.