Adam Houston

Adam Houston is from Yadkinville, NC, a small town about an hour north of UNC Charlotte’s campus. He graduated from Surry Community College in 2021 before transferring to Appalachian State University, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics in 2023 and an MBA in 2024. In August 2025, he received his first publication after “Competitive Recruiting Imbalances Between National Collegiate Athletic Association Conferences” was accepted into the Journal of Sports Economics. The project originated while he was still a student at App State. He had the opportunity to work alongside two former professors, Dr. Pete Groothuis and Dr. Dennis Guignet to get the paper ready for publication.

His research interests are rooted in Sports Economics and Behavioral Economics. He grew up as a sports fanatic, playing just about anything that he could participate in and following his dad around as he worked as a journalist for NASCAR and the NCAA. He also grew up as the son of a District Court Judge and a twin brother of an individual on the Autism Spectrum. These experiences gave him an increased interest into why people behave and make decisions in the ways that they do.

Outside of the classroom, he keeps himself quite busy to say the least! Just a month ago, he had the opportunity to marry his beautiful wife, Mackenzie! He recently got appointed to serve on the Board of Directors of his local Arts Council, where he also serves as the director for various theatrical productions throughout the year. He also enjoys watching and talking about any and all sports. He’s also an avid disc golfer and is quite excited to explore more of the courses around Charlotte while at UNC Charlotte.