Daniel Durbin teaches courses across a broad variety of subjects, including sports, sports media, the social and cultural impact of sports, social movements, classical and contemporary theories of rhetoric, and fashion and media. Dr. Durbin has published articles in sports, popular culture, and sports media studies.

In July of 2009, Dr. Durbin proposed developing the Annenberg Institute of Sports Media & Society. Since that date, the USC Annenberg School has built academic, professional development, community outreach, and international programs focused on sports and their impact on culture through communication media. The Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism offers an undergraduate minor in Sports Media Studies, a Masters of Specialized Journalism in Sports Journalism and is developing a special emphasis in sports public relations in the Masters of Strategic Public Relations program.

The AISMS also hosts two special Sports and Social Change programs each year in which professionals from the world of sports and sports management are brought together with scholars to discuss important issues of sports and culture. Dr. Durbin currently serves as Director of the Institute.

Dr. Durbin earned his Ph.D. from the University of Southern California and has served on the Hewlett Grant for the Study of Cultural Diversity and Collaborative Learning and was instrumental in developing research on learning disabilities programs in 44 community colleges across the state of California.

AISMS director Dr. Daniel Durbin is a recognized expert on sports and sports media, having appeared on the CBS Nightly News, the NBC Nightly News, CNN International, BBC-TV, CBC-TV, NPR, the NFL Network, HBO-Sports, KCBS-TV, KCOP-TV, KCAL-TV, KFWB-NewsRadio and BBC Scotland.  Dr. Durbin appears regularly on KCBS-Radio and is often quoted in the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Daily News and many other news outlets.