Estevan Molina

Estevan Molina is originally from Tempe, AZ, and received his BA in Criminology from The Ohio State University. He continued his education at the University of Cincinnati where he received his JD and Miami University where he received his MA in Social Studies Education.

Prior to beginning the PhD in Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis program here at UW-Madison, Estevan was an attorney, college athletic administrator, high school teacher, and wrestling coach.

Estevan is working in the Badger Inquiry on Sport research lab, lead by Dr. Peter Miller and in collaboration with UW Athletics. Estevan’s broad research examines intersections of education and sport, with particular attention to athlete social and educational development. Some of his current projects include approaches to the compensation structure for college athletes and international athlete recruitment, preparedness, and entry to U.S. colleges and high schools.

Publications & Presentations

Molina, E. (2026, Feb. 11). Make American Athletics Great Again? State Governments’ Anti-Immigrant Attempt to Preserve the NCAA-Olympic Pipeline. Applied Sport Management Association Conference, Philadelphia, PA.

Molina, E. & McLeod, G. (2026, Mar. 26) The Evolution of International Migration Patterns in NCAA Division 1 Men’s and Women’s Basketball (2014–2025). College Sport Research Institute Conference, Columbia, SC.

Molina, E. (2025, Mar. 6). Global game plan: The NFL, MLB, and NBA beyond borders. Wisconsin Sports Business Conference, Madison, WI. Badger Inquiry on Sport Seminar, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Levinson, L. & Molina, E. (2025, Feb. 13). AVIPA: A case study on informal school sport participation. Applied Sport Management Association Conference, Cincinnati, OH.

Molina, E. (2025, Mar. 20). Cohesion or Competition: A Theoretical and Conceptual Framework of Pay Dispersion among NCAA Division 1 Teams. College Sports Research Institute Conference, Columbia, SC.

Conferences

Applied Sport Management Conference, 02/11-02/13/2026, presenter.

College Sport Research Institute Conference, 03/25-03/27/2026, presenter.

College Sport Research Institute Conference, 03/19-03/21/2025, presenter.

Applied Sport Management Conference, 02/12-02/14/2025, presenter.

Teaching

General Business 110 – Personal and Professional Foundations of Business (Instructor, Fall 2025).

Sociology/Legal Studies/Chicano & Latino Studies 443 – Immigration, Crime, and Enforcement (Instructor, Spring 2026).

ELPA 752 – Coach as Teacher (Instructor, Spring 2026).

Service

Guest speaker at University of Wisconsin Law School – History and Structure of Immigration Enforcement.

Reviewer for Chicano & Latino Studies Undergraduate Journal.