Sports Management Commons^™

Beyond Amateurism: Examining The Potential Labor Expenses Of Ncaa Student-Athlete Employment, Alayna K. Falak

Honors Thesis

In light of recent administrative developments urging the classification of student-athletes as employees, litigation challenging the current status of student-athletes, and the Supreme Court’s willingness to tackle National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) issues, many questions surrounding the future of college sports under an employment model have emerged. The authors analyzed key litigation, recent developments from administrative agencies, and academic literature. Then publicly available data was used from the NCAA, the United States Department of Labor (DOL), and other sources to construct two estimates of what it would cost the NCAA member institutions to treat their Division I athletes as employees. …

Point Deductions In World Football: The Issue Of Financial Fair Play, Cooper B. Jones

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

The acronym FFP may not mean much to the casual football supporter, but to front-office officials and owners of football’s richest clubs, these three letters could mean doomsday. Financial Fair Play, FFP, was created by the European Football governing body UEFA to regulate, monitor, and improve the economic and financial capacity of football clubs. John W. Henry, principal owner of Liverpool Football Club and the Boston Red Sox, has been a vocal supporter of FFP since its inception and said the following in an interview with the Tomkin Times, "The mandate of financial fair play in Europe is for clubs …

Biases In The Nba Draft, Shaumik Baki

Major Papers

Drafting in sports is an endeavor in which there is a great degree of subjectivity and value judgement. This requires the individuals responsible for decision making to have sound abilities to evaluate talent. However, each and every draft has a sub-optimal order of drafted individuals. Consequently, there is a need for identification of the biases and systematic errors that take place in the evaluation process.

This paper aims to identify and evaluate the decision making biases commonly present amongst the drafting process and combine them with a data-driven evaluation of the resulting performance of the drafted players. The study will …

Assessing Responses For Hockey Teams Following Team Tragedy, Owen James Bravo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Historically, hockey has been a sport entrenched in a culture of silence rooted in the ideals of hegemonic masculinity and the refusal to show vulnerability. Accordingly, it can be difficult for athletes to receive appropriate care and resources following a team tragedy or crisis. Although there has recently been a greater acknowledgement of the importance of mental health within society, hockey organizations tend to resist change – holding to past patterns. There has been, however, a greater call to action from prominent industry stakeholders to increase mental health resources and provide improved player outcomes. In team-related emergency situations, athletes may …

The Impact Of International Baseball Players On Mlb Organizations: An Analysis Of Performance, Attendance, Revenue, And Valuation, 2012-2022, Aidan Booth

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the impact of international baseball players on MLB organizations. The paper uses the Sean Lahman Database focusing on team-wide statistics including performance metrics, winning percentage, and attendance. Using the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) Regression model, the paper examines the effect of share of foreign-born players on team success, attendance, revenue, and valuation. The dataset controls for a number of variables throughout these regressions including payroll, population, stadium capacity, number of all stars on each team, and the number of competing professional sports teams in the metropolitan area in order to isolate the effect of foreign-born players on …

Sport Facilities Planning, Design, Operation, And Management Trends: An Introduction To The Special Issue, Jeffrey Petersen, Lawrence W. Judge

Journal of Applied Sport Management

The focus of this special issue is to grow the existing academic literature on sport facilities. This is done by presenting a variety of perspectives from established and emerging scholars in the field. The aim of this special issues aligns with the mission of the Journal of Applied Sport Management, which is to publish research and conceptual contributions that bridge the gap between scholarly work and professional practice in sport business. In all, the special issue includes five thought-provoking pieces contributed by 12 authors as well as a practitioner interview with Earl Santee, one of the most acclaimed sport …

Innovation Diffusion In The Sustainable Design Of Sport Venues, Timothy Kellison, Sungil Hong

Journal of Applied Sport Management

Herein, the authors contribute to the sport facilities literatures by discussing the current state of innovation diffusion in sustainable design among sport’s professional arenas, ballparks, and stadiums. Diffusion of innovation theory is reviewed before the authors explore how this theory can be applied to sport facility design and operation.

Modernization And The Contemporary Sport Stadium, Benjamin Downs, Chad Seifried

Journal of Applied Sport Management

The authors add to the conversation about sport facility construction by discussing the U.S. political economy that led to the contemporary standing of sport facilities. They use modernization theory as a lens or sample guide for sport facility managers to consider when attempting to position their facilities to maximize profits while satisfying consumers and partners.

Environmental Sustainability Research And Future Directions For Events And Facilities: An Assessment Of The Field, Brian Mccullough, Anne Dietrich, Rafael Rocha, Yongjoon Bae

Journal of Applied Sport Management

Environmental sustainability among sport facilities and events is the focus of this piece. The authors focus on three areas: (1) the environmental impacts of sport facilities and events, (2) the progress that can be made through strategic initiatives, and (3) how these entities engage fans and the surrounding communities to be more environmentally sustainable. The authors stress how these three aspects must be considered in tandem rather than in isolation as ways to advance the environmental sustainability movement among sport facilities and events.

Venue Safety Strategies: Guardrails And The Line-Of-Sight Exemption, Gil Fried, Aneurin Grant

Journal of Applied Sport Management

This piece represents a focused article on safety issues connected to railings at sporting events and why there needs to be considerable action taken to protect fans. Specifically, the authors believe the current line-of-sight exception (minimum 26") allows for railings that are dangerously inadequate to protect fans. It is argued that if sport facility managers and or venues do not proactively address this railing height issue, then architects, building inspectors, and others should seek to change the building code to eliminate the fans continued exposure to unnecessary hazards.

A New Secret Of The Youth Olympic Games: A Model For Olympic Facilities Reform, Jeffrey Petersen, Lawrence W. Judge

Journal of Applied Sport Management

The authors center their attention on Olympic venues and the Youth Olympic Games (YOG), arguing that a new reform model for Olympic venues should be based on the model of the YOG. Although the focus of the proposed reform model remains on venue reform, the authors also considers all four elements from Müller’s (2015) mega-events definitional model. These elements include visitor attractiveness (tickets sold), mediated reach (broadcast rights fees), cost (total cost), and transformation (capital investment). The reform model is argued to improve the overall cost and long-term impact of Olympic Games infrastructure, making it more manageable and sustainable.

The Past Informing The Future: An Interview With Earl Santee, Populous, Rachel Hickey

Journal of Applied Sport Management

The facility expert in focus is Earl Santee, a senior principal, global chair, and founder at Populous. Populous is the leading architectural and design firm in the sport facility sector. Santee, having been has been recognized for numerous awards, including the Sports Business Journal’s 2019 Class of the Champions: Pioneers & Innovators in Sports Business, is excellently positioned to offer an expert perspective on the past, present, and future of sport facility design

From Andy’S Room To Big City And Nickelodeon: Extending The Brand To New Consumers Through Alternate Broadcasts Of Live Sports Entertainment, Cody T. Havard, Timothy D. Ryan

Findings in Sport, Hospitality, Entertainment, and Event Management

The Walt Disney Company aired the Toy Story Football Funday on Sunday, October 1^st, 2023. A live game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Atlanta Falcons played in London, England aired on ESPN+ while the Toy Story-themed alternate broadcast aired on Disney+. This game followed multiple alternate broadcasts of NFL games by Nickelodeon and an NHL game themed after Big City Greens on the Disney Channel, Disney XD, and Disney+. This analysis paper discusses the use of these alternate broadcasts in an attempt to attract younger viewers and expand consumers for leagues and live sports entertainment. A brief …

The Effect Of Factors And Constraints On Sporting Attendance, Joshua D. Whitlow

Honors Theses

21,625 fans packed the confines of Brooks stadium on September 3, 2022, for a clash between the Army Black Knights football team and the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football team. This was a new record at Brooks stadium, and was followed with just 12,261 the next week vs. Gardner Webb. Meanwhile, a 2022 Coastal Carolina Women’s Soccer game draws in less than 200 spectators. On the surface level, the disparity of these numbers appears confusing and unconnected to one another, however there are a multitude of factors that go into the number of people who show up to a particular sporting …

College Student Attitudes Toward Student-Athlete's Ability To Profit From Name, Image, And Likeness (Nil), Daniel G. Panzano

Honors Theses

Since the recent passing of legislation allowing student-athletes to profit from their own personal brands and sponsorships (Name, Image, and Likeness; NIL), there has been very little research. The purpose of this study was to measure the attitudes and support students have towards the financial compensation of their student-athlete counterparts. The researchers surveyed 67 Coastal Carolina University students. Using a quantitative study, data was gathered pertaining to the opinions toward NIL, feelings of team affiliation, and demographic information. Statistically significant differences were found toward some elements of NIL and gender, major, and academic year. A statistically significant correlation was also …

The Impact Of Covid-19 Pandemic On Fan Attendance In Major League Soccer (Mls) 2018-2022, Benjamin Appiah

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This culminating experience project investigates the impact of the COVID-19- on Major League Soccer (MLS). The research questions are: (Q1) How did the pandemic impact the trend of fan attendance in the MLS during the COVID-19 pandemic? (Q2) What factors impacted fan attendance in MLS games before the COVID-19 pandemic? (Q3) What factors impact fan attendance in MLS games after COVID-19 pandemic? The findings were: (Q1) Average annual fan attendance declined by 93.61% in 2019 and 2020, and an annua l increase of 49.47% between the year of 2020 and 2021. (Q2) The study revealed that 72.9% of the …

Student Perceptions And Preferences Of University-Affiliated Athletic Merchandise And Logos, Robin Hardin, Michelle L. Childs, Kirby D. Simpson

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

College sports are certainly ingrained in the fabric of American society, and a significant aspect of this phenomena is the pageantry associated with college sports. This pageantry includes team logos and official team colors, and both are important aspects of fandom and team identification. Utilizing social identify theory as the theoretical framework for this research, the purpose of this study was to examine students’ university-affiliated athletic merchandise and logo preferences and related behaviors. Two focus groups were conducted with results showing three major themes, where students demonstrated polarizing views and opinions. These themes were (a) fashion and function, (b) orientation …

The Curious Case Of Conference Realignment: A Call To Action For Research, Cody T. Havard, Timothy D. Ryan, Michael Hutchinson, Rhema D. Fuller

Findings in Sport, Hospitality, Entertainment, and Event Management

This topical essay addresses the need for increased research related to the 2022-2023 iteration of conference realignment in college athletics. Namely, the essay provides a brief background on the massive shifts in major conferences beginning in the 2024-2025 school year. It suggests possible areas of inquiry for interested researchers that would provide benefit to academics, practitioners, and stakeholders of college athletics.

An Exploration Of The Correlation Between Students’ Political Orientation And Sport Fandom, Rick Grieve, Jairus Davenport

Findings in Sport, Hospitality, Entertainment, and Event Management

As of late, researchers in the field of sport psychology have made efforts to deepen our overall understanding of sport fandom and what it entails. As a result, there has been a great deal of research conducted that relates directly to the examination of sports watching behaviors, fans’ motivations behind their consumption of particular sports leagues, and team identification, but, at present, there has been minimal research conducted that has examined whether there is a correlation between one’s sport fandom and political orientation. As such, the current study sought to explore the possibility of there being a relationship between college …

Sports Information And Media, Chad Goebert

KSU Distinguished Course Repository

This class is designed to familiarize students with the field of sport information including mass communication, print media, broadcast media, sports news releases, interviewing, and public relations. Emphasis is placed upon the gathering, managing, and delivering information about sport organizations, teams, players, and coaches to the public.