Eric Dunning (27 December 1936 – 10 February 2019[1]) was a British sociologist who was Emeritus Professor of sociology at the University of Leicester.
Eric Dunning was a pioneer in the sociology of sport and the founder, with Patrick Murphy and John Williams, of the Sir Norman Chester Centre for Football Research.
He was the author of a number of books and articles on sport and the figurational sociology of Norbert Elias.
Dunning was also a member of the editorial board of the Jornal de Ciências do Exercicio e Esporte, Paraná Federal University, Brazil.
[5] Dunning's supervised PhD students were Joseph Maguire, Dominic Malcolm, Martin Roderick, Yair Galily, Chris Pitts & Andy Smith.