Business Commons^™

The Decision To Play: College Football In The Era Of Covid-19, Jason Tabit

Undergraduate Honors Theses

COVID-19 upended life around the world, including on college campuses across the U.S. where institutions restructured their class modalities, campus life, extracurricular activities, and intercollegiate athletics - including college football. We examine the factors that led universities to make their decisions to play or not play college football during fall 2020, hypothesizing that the decision to play would be consistent with the decision about class modality for health and safety reasons, and that monetary and political motivations would also play a significant role. We collected data for 249 institutions and used logistic regression techniques to test our hypotheses. We ultimately …

Important Factors Influencing Attendance At Northwoods League Games, Ryan Eiche

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the importance of various factors as they related to attendance at Northwoods League baseball games. This league was an ideal fit for the study as little research has been conducted on this level of baseball. A survey was sent out via the Facebook page of the Lakeshore Chinooks to gather responses from fans on what factors encouraged attendance. Fans were asked to then rate how important each factor was on a five-point sliding scale. The research revealed that situational factors such as convenience, day and time, and weather of the game were …

Career Termination And Transition Experiences Of Former Collegiate Student-Athletes In Japan, Junya Adachi

Masters Theses

Athletes are unique groups of individuals who make a career out of sports. They face challenges to get into a sport, to stay in it and to adapt to life after their athletic career. The primary objective of this study was to explore the challenges and experiences that Japanese student-athletes encounter when they terminate their athletic career. More specifically, this study examined personal and sport characteristics, emotional responses, psychosocial support, coping strategies and other variables (e.g., gender, athletic identity) that may have impacted the athlete's reactions to career termination. Participants were 76 former Japanese student-athletes (ages 22-38 years; M= 38, …

Aau Basketball - Participants' Perceptions Of Their Aau Experience, Hakeem R. Willis

Masters Theses

In the United States, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) has become the focal point for college recruiters in searching for top talent amongst middle and high school basketball athletes. Financially, AAU basketball can be expensive, making it difficult for families to allow their children to compete. However, players feel that AAU participation is worth the investment because of the benefits, which includes collegiate exposure. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of former AAU basketball players' experience. The research question used to guide this study was: what are former AAU basketball players' perceptions of academic requirements, time/money, …

The Impact Of Fantasy Football Participation On Ticket Sales, Merchandise Sales And Team Loyalty, Robert H. Smith

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The growth of fantasy football has opened new economic opportunities for a variety of companies (Otto, Mets and Ensmenger 2011) and many have taken advantage of them. The question remains as to the impact of fantasy sports on actual sports leagues that gave rise to the fantasy experience. Drawing on reports from the popular press and academic research on the topic, a series of hypotheses is developed and empirically tested to determine how fantasy sports impacts the ticket and merchandise sales of the sports on which they are based as well as the impact of fantasy sports on the team …

Does Television Impact Attendance At Eastern Illinois University Sporting Events, Gregory N. Powers

Masters Theses

This study tested the relationship between Eastern Illinois University home football and basketball games on television and attendance at these events. Attendance during a ten-year period for both EIU football and basketball games was recorded and dates of these contests were researched to determine if the games were telecast. After categorizing the figures into eight groups, the four pairs were compared using a T-test. The study found televising EIU home football games had no significant impact on attendance at these contests. However, a significant difference was noted between EIU home basketball games televised and those not aired. Attendance actually increased …

Occupational Stress Levels And Perceived Stressors Of College Athletic Directors In The Midwest, Jennifer R. Venzon

Masters Theses

Increasing job responsibilities of athletic directors (ADs) may lead to higher occupational stress (OS) levels, and as a result, increased health risks. Identification of work stressors may help individuals to better prepare for their job requirements and cope with OS.

This study was designed to determine the effects of individual demographics on stress and to identify the perceived OS levels of ADs, their major stress-causing tasks and stressors. Surveys were sent to college athletic directors in the Midwest (N=72); 76.4% of the surveys were received (n=55).

The sample reported high degrees of stress evident in their profession, but indicated low …

Middle School Interscholastic Athletic Handbook, Jim Deremiah

Masters Theses

The major purpose of the Field Experience paper was to provide basic and specific information necessary to deal with matters concerning the middle school interscholastic athletic program. The paper includes a Log of Activities stating where the information was obtained. The Field Experience paper includes a handbook to be used by athletic supervisors as they plan programs of interscholastic athletics for their schools.

The handbook presents administrative information needed by the athletic supervisor as the handbook outlines the role and responsibilities of the athletic supervisor in dealing with matters of finance, budget, hiring of game personnel and officials, and other …