DENTON (UNT), Texas--University of North Texas experts are available to discuss cyclist Lance Armstrong’s reputation and image before and after Armstrong’s highly publicized interview with Oprah Winfrey, slated to air Thursday and Friday nights, in which he addresses allegations of using performance-enhancing drugs.

Sam Bufkins, lecturer of strategic communications in the Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism, can address audience reaction on social media during the broadcast of Armstrong’s interview with Winfrey. Bufkins has worked in broadcast television and corporate communications and public relations. She can be reached at samra.bufkins@unt.edu, office: 940-565-2167 or cell: 214-708-5653 and can be found on Twitter: @samjb.

David Strutton, professor of marketing in UNT’s College of Business, is available to discuss the business and marketing impacts the news may have on Lance Armstrong and the Livestrong brand. Strutton can be reached in his office at 940-565-3123 or at David.Strutton@unt.edu. 

UNT experts also are available to discuss how athletes can improve their performance without using banned substances. Trent Petrie, director of the UNT Center for Sport Psychology and Performance Excellence and a professor of psychology, may be reached via e-mail at Trent.Petrie@unt.edu, at his office at 940-565-4718, or at the Center for Sport Psychology and Performance Excellence at 940-369-7767. Dr. Scott Martin, professor of kinesiology, health promotion and recreation in UNT’s College of Education, can be reached at 940-565-3418 or scott.martin@unt.edu.