Sports Management Commons^™

Reflection, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

As I prepare to leave England and return to Florida and as the end of the year approaches, I have thought about writing an end of the year summary piece. Thinking about that I decided that what I only would reflect upon the last six or seven weeks of this year, weeks that have turned out to be most remarkable in content and emblematic of the past year.

Similarities In Fan Preferences For Minor-League Baseball Across The American Southeast, Tyler Anthony, Tim Kahn, Briana Madison, Rodney Paul, Andrew Weinbach

Rodney J. Paul

Three Minor League Baseball leagues across the Southeastern United States are studied in order to determine what drives fan attendance. Individual game attendance and game characteristics are examined for three leagues located in the American southeast, the Florida State League, the Southern League, and the South Atlantic League. Despite the three leagues encompassing different levels of play (from A to AA), the determinants of attendance are similar across leagues. Factors affecting attendance such as winning percentage, weather conditions, local income and population, and individual game promotions, such as fireworks, are explored.

Similarities In Fan Preferences For Minor-League Baseball Across The American Southeast, Tyler Anthony, Tim Kahn, Briana Madison, Rodney Paul, Andrew Weinbach

Falk College Research Center

Three Minor League Baseball leagues across the Southeastern United States are studied in order to determine what drives fan attendance. Individual game attendance and game characteristics are examined for three leagues located in the American southeast, the Florida State League, the Southern League, and the South Atlantic League. Despite the three leagues encompassing different levels of play (from A to AA), the determinants of attendance are similar across leagues. Factors affecting attendance such as winning percentage, weather conditions, local income and population, and individual game promotions, such as fireworks, are explored.

Thanksgiving, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

(As with all American traditions if it happened once or twice it is one. Therefore I present my traditional Thanksgiving piece) The History of Thanksgiving and of Football both go back into the Middle Ages, and so it may not be so strange that the two would become intertwined in modern America.

Ua12/2/1 Topper Extra - Basketball Season Preview, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Archives Records

Topper Extra magazine, includes articles:

• Claybourn, Cole. This Season’s Toppers a Young Defensive-minded Team – Basketball
• Claybourn, Cole. Upperclassmen Ready to Teach Newcomers
• Preseason Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Poll
• Preseason Sun Belt Conference Women’s Basketball Poll
• Stephens, Brad. Mary Cowles Hopes Young, Old Take WKU Back to NCAA Tournament
• Stephens, Brad. LaTiera Owens Becoming Vocal Leader for Lady Toppers
• Stephens, Brad. Micah Jones, Jalynn McClain Link with WKU Women

Al Davis, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Over the past weekend news came of the death of Al Davis at the age of 82. It did not make the nightly news in France or the newspapers that I saw. It was not until returning to England on Monday that I, really by chance, stumbled across the news of Davis’ death. I can say I was surprised and somewhat taken aback by the possibility that I might have missed the death of such an important figure in the history of sport in America, particularly the history of the National Football League.

Regional Differences In Fan Preferences For Minor League Hockey: The Ahl, Rodney Paul, Robert Chatt

Falk College Research Center

Regional differences in fan preferences for minor league hockey in the United States are explored using simple linear regression models. The top-level minor league for the NHL, the American Hockey League (AHL), was studied for the 2008-09 season. Key attributes with respect to attendance are studied for hockey including population, income per capita, promotions, scoring, and winning percentage. In addition, a key socio-economic variable, fighting is also investigated. Major differences are found for fan preferences across geographic regions in relation to population, income per capita, a variety of promotions, and team success. In addition, fan reaction to fighting tends to …

Baseball's Night, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It was approximately 12:45 a.m. in London when Mark Teixeira’s bases loaded blast reached the seats in The Can, and the Yankees added four runs to the one they were gifted in the first inning. It was 5-0. David Price had very little, and I turned off my computer and went to bed. At the time the Braves were 1-1 with Philadelphia, the Red Sox and O’s were scoreless and that seemed not to matter at that point. The Cardinals and Astros had not yet begun.

Penn State, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The world of intercollegiate athletics, particularly the world of elite football and basketball programs, is a world unto itself. It has a connection to reality analogous to that of Disney World, and is shrouded in a veil of secrecy rivaling that of the CIA. Those who run these programs live in a paranoid environment that sustains a bunker mentality, while at the same time is invested with a sense that the rules, of any world beyond their offices, do not apply to them. They are vigilant in maintaining their splendid isolation in a vacuum of privilege.

College Football, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Staged events are seldom convincing and often offensive. About two weeks ago the President of THE Ohio State University, Gordon Gee decided to stage a public apology for his comments several weeks earlier in which he used the Little Sisters of the Poor as a punch line for criticism of scheduling by lesser football teams than his group of tainted national champions.

London, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

As some of you know I am now in London where I will spend the fall semester teaching at the Florida State University London Centre. I am not certain how this will affect my general view of the American sports scene, but I can tell you that the riots of this week have affected my ability to concentrate on sport and the issues that have arisen over the past two weeks.

Nfl, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Today was Day 129 of America Held Hostage. No, the Ayatollah Komenhi and his band of fanatical hostage takers have not returned. This is not the ABC television news mantra that was featured during the Iranian Hostage crisis and spawned “Nightline” and made a celebrity out of Ted Koppel. This was something far more significant.

World Cup, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Do you believe in miracles? Since it was first used by Al Michaels on the ABC telecast during the final seconds of the U.S.–Soviet Hockey game at the 1980 Olympics, this line has been quoted countless times by American sports fans. Watching the totally unexpected play or the remarkable outcome to some game, fans have often turned to this phrase to express their wonder.

Addressing Information Needs In Sport Management, An Interdisciplinary Field, Kendra Spahr, Stephanie Wiegand

University Libraries Faculty Publications

Sport management as a scholarly discipline is relatively new, and very few students who earn doctorates in this field go into academia, instead choosing to go into practice where salaries are much higher. Due to these circumstances, literature research in sport management is difficult for students as well as librarians, as very little primary research exists in published journals and books. This poster reviews challenges for librarians, the best information resources to support academic sport management programs, common student questions, and tangential research areas that support research in this discipline.

Monopsony And Salary Suppression: The Case Of Major League Soccer In The United States, John Twomey, James Monks

Economics Faculty Publications

Top tier professional soccer in the United States is operated by Major League Soccer (MLS). The MLS was established and operates under a single entity structure, such that all players negotiate and sign contracts with the league rather than with individual teams. This monopsonistic structure was designed to eliminate competition for players across teams within the league and thus allow the league to suppress player salaries. This paper investigates how effective the MLS has been in achieving this goal and finds that the MLS devotes only about 25 percent of its revenues to player salaries, compared to 50 to 60 …

Organizational Centralization As Figurational Dynamics: Movements And Counter-Movements In The Gaelic Athletic Association, John Connolly, Paddy Dolan

Articles

In this paper we develop aspects of Elias’s figurational approach within organisational studies by using some of the core theoretical constructs as a model to explain organi­sational change through an empirical investigation of the dynamics of centralisation–decentralisation processes in an Irish sports organisation. Based on historical analysis, the paper documents the expanding interdependencies, figurational dynamics and shifting power balances which led to a gradual, non-linear movement towards greater integration and centralisation within the organisation.

Do Major League Baseball Hitters Come Up Big In Their Contract Year?, Heather M. O'Neill, Matthew J. Hummel

Business and Economics Faculty Publications

In sports, especially baseball, there is a lot of talk about contract year performance. Beginning in spring training and continuing throughout the season, sports journalists and fans converse about how players in the last year of their contract will perform. Experts in the media, often ex-baseball players themselves, speculate contract year players will have break-out seasons in order to secure a better contract in upcoming contract negotiations. This leads to the question: do baseball players increase their effort and performance during their contract year to increase the value of their next contract?

Purposeful Engagement Of First-Year Division I Student-Athletes, Keith Harrison

Dr. C. Keith Harrison

This study examined the extent to which transitioning, first-year student-athletes engage in educationally sound activities in college. The sample included 147 revenue and nonrevenue first-year student-athletes who were surveyed at four large Division 1-A universities. Findings revealed that revenue and nonrevenue first-year student athletes differed regarding their academic and athletic identities. Transitioning revenue student-athletes rated themselves as having slightly higher athletic identities, yet lower academic identities compared to their nonrevenue counterparts. The findings from this study also indicated that the kinds of effective educational practices that first-year student-athletes engage in have a positive influence on their academic self-concept. These findings …

Regional Differences In Fan Preferences For Minor League Hockey: The Ahl, Rodney Paul, Robert Chatt

Rodney J. Paul

Regional differences in fan preferences for minor league hockey in the United States are explored using simple linear regression models. The top-level minor league for the NHL, the American Hockey League (AHL), was studied for the 2008-09 season. Key attributes with respect to attendance are studied for hockey including population, income per capita, promotions, scoring, and winning percentage. In addition, a key socio-economic variable, fighting is also investigated. Major differences are found for fan preferences across geographic regions in relation to population, income per capita, a variety of promotions, and team success. In addition, fan reaction to fighting tends to …

A New Solution For Salary Disputes: Implementing Salary Arbitration In The National Basketball Association, Scott Bukstein Jd

Scott Bukstein JD

White College Students' Explanations Of White (And Black) Athletic Performance: A Qualitative Investigation Of White College Students, Harrison

Dr. C. Keith Harrison

No abstract provided.

A Conceptual Model Of Academic Success For Student-Athletes, Keith Harrison

Dr. C. Keith Harrison

Concern over the academic talent development of Division I student–athletes has led to increased research to explain variations in their academic performance. Although a substantial amount of attention has been given to the relationship between student–athletes and their levels of academic success, there remain critical theoretical and analytical gaps. The purpose of this article is to develop a conceptual model to understand and explain the cumulative processes and characteristics—as a whole and in stages—that influence academic success for Division I student–athletes. Research on student–athletes and academic success is reviewed and synthesized to provide a rationale for the basic elements of …