Sports Management Commons^™

The National Basketball Association’S (Nba) Digital Transformation: An Explanatory Case Study, James Santomier, Harald Dolles, Reinhard Kunz

WCBT Faculty Publications

Purpose. Digital transformation in the global sport industry has resulted in digitally focused business strategies, innovative business models, targeted social media marketing strategies, increased consumer, and sponsor demand, accelerated growth in women’s sports, and streaming media (OTT) worldwide. This paper aims to study the case of the U.S.-based National Basketball Association’s (NBA) digital transformation, including multiple interactions of actors in the digital transformation process. A key aim is understanding the synergies resulting from the league’s integration of digital technologies, its business strategy, the evolution of its hybrid business model and the increase in revenue and global branding.

Design/methodology/approach. An explanatory …

Ua19/16/2 Basketball Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Archives Records

Press releases and game statistics for WKU men's basketball team from January to July 2023.

Analysis Of Collegiate Athlete Social Media Engagement On Instagram, Noelle Magann

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2023

Since its founding in 2010, Instagram has developed into one of the world's largest social media platforms. In 2022, $33.3 billion was spent on instagram advertising by companies, firms, etc. Additionally, almost $5 billion was spent on Influencer marketing in 2022, a 27.8% increase from 2021 and a 34.7% increase from 2019. These statistics show the vast importance influencers have on marketing in today's business world and society as a whole. For this project, I looked into the engagement rates of SunBelt Football athletes. I used at least 2 athletes from each university that had over 1,000 followers on instagram, …

Ua19/16/2 Women's Basketball Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Archives Records

Press releases and game statistics for WKU women's basketball team from January to July 2023.

Analyzing The Impact Of Salary Discrepancies Between Professional Sports Organizations, Benjamin R. Garner

Senior Theses

While it has long been theorized by sports fans that an organization’s salary influences the success of the team, this thesis will look to examine if the supposed correlation is accurate. This thesis compiles existing research regarding current salary cap systems in American professional sports leagues and examines league-wide methods employed to maintain competitive balance. The discussion then shifts to consider the additional governing factors that determine organizational success, such as team cohesion, the rise in international players, and the increased player movement via free agency. The research then shifts to examine two specific professional sports leagues: Major League Baseball …

Consumer Decision-Making On Golf Equipment: Impact Of Emerging Strategic Organizational Goals And Supply Chain Intricacies, Faith A. Hopkins, Ismet Anitsal, Melek Meral Anitsal

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2023

The game of golf is incredibly historic and enjoyed by many people from numerous different age groups across many parts of the world. The research involving the game of golf is often limited to the topics of golf club engineering and injury prevention within the game. The consumer decision-making process for golf equipment has been primarily under-researched. This study explores the consumer decision-making process involving golf equipment and provides propositions to achieve strategic organizational goals. Propositions are made concerning supply chain intricacies containing the inclusion of personalization and customization and including women's equipment displayed in marketing activities. There is room …

The Perceived Impact Of The New Rules Regarding Name, Image, And Likeness (Nil) In Intercollegiate Sports, Sam Fullerton, Ron Wade, Ronald Dick, Michael Mccall

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2023

New rules allow college athletes to earn significant income from a multitude of activities common among professional athletes. These activities include allowing athletes to profit from the sale of intellectual properties that bear their name, image, or likeness (NIL); additional opportunities include blogs, social media posts, camps, and autograph sessions. Early perceptions of the impact of these new NIL rules have been far from unanimous. A sample of 404 students from five American universities provided feedback regarding their perceptions of nine NIL-related considerations: the impact that the new NIL rules have had on college sports, if the athletes benefit, whether …

An Examination Of Celebrity Product Involvement And Endorsement Effectiveness, Eric Nichols

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate celebrity product involvement and its relationship with endorsement effectiveness. Due to the increased leverage in creating their own brands, celebrity athletes are increasingly engaging in entrepreneurial endeavors such as collaborations on product development, an investment relationship, and outright ownership and creation of a brand or product. This paper also studied the extent which parasocial interactions and athlete identification may moderate endorsement effectiveness in the form of brand attitudes as well as what role product congruence may play.

Participants were recruited to complete an online survey that exposed them to manipulations of narrative …

The Career Transitions Of High-Profile Student-Athletes: Identity, Role Engulfment, And Psychological Well-Being, Claire C. Zvosec, Nathan Baer, Maya Hughes, Brent Oja, Minjung Kim, Sean Dahlin, Steve M. Howell

Journal of Athlete Development and Experience

The purpose of this study is to build upon previous literature on the stages of career preparation of college student-athletes by examining identity, role engulfment, and psychological well-being as it relates to preparation for ‘post-playing days’ life. More specifically, the authors endeavored to examine the relationship between role engulfment and psychological well-being and how it affects post-athletic career transitions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 former Division I college football student-athletes who were previously student-athletes at 14 different Division I institutions. Utilizing identity, role engulfment, and psychological well-being as conceptual frameworks, this study discusses the how and why behind the …

Perceived Effectiveness Of Study Skills Training For Division Iii College Athletes: A Pilot Program, Jill W. Lassiter, Amanda L. Campbell

Journal of Athlete Development and Experience

College athletes experience high levels of stress and academics is one of the primary causes. This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a study skills training workshop designed around the theory of Multiple Intelligences. The pilot-workshop was developed with minimal resources, tailored to college athletes, and focused on helping them adopt personally meaningful active study strategies. An inductive, naturalistic evaluation approach was used to analyze the qualitative responses of 55 athletes who participated in the workshop. Findings showed that those who adopted active study strategies experienced benefits in the areas of decreased stress, perceived effectiveness, perceived efficiency, greater …

“You Need To Allow Yourself To Grieve That Loss And That Identity.” College Athletes’ Transition To Life After College Sport.”, Clare Manthey, Jimmy Smith

Journal of Athlete Development and Experience

Only a small percentage of collegiate athletes compete at the professional level of sport after they graduate, leaving most athletes to transition out of a life involved in sport. Research reviewing life after competitive sport for college athletes and the consequences associated with such a transition is plentiful, however, additional research also argues that life transition research is necessary to maximize the understanding of such a phenomenon. A case study approach used Schlossberg’s Theory of Transition (2011) to research recently retired collegiate college athletes and their time transitioning away from competitive college sports. Several themes emerged from the qualitative results …

The Production Of Docility In Professional Ice Hockey, Andre Michael Andrijiw, Luke Jones

Journal of Athlete Development and Experience

The social relations and practices that imbue the sport of ice hockey have prompted several limiting and problematic outcomes for athletes. Concerned by such outcomes, and informed by the anatomo-politics of French poststructuralist philosopher Michel Foucault (1991), an examination into the relations of power that govern North American professional ice hockey was undertaken. The examination revealed that athletes were routinely subject to disciplinary power and a commonplace set of practices that closely resemble Foucault’s (1991) ‘means of correct training’: managers, in partnership with coaches under their remit, choreographed and engaged in constant supervision (e.g., scouting and monitoring), organized highly ritualized …

2023 Sport Science Forum Abstracts

Findings in Sport, Hospitality, Entertainment, and Event Management

The Sport Science Forum is hosted by Dr. Frederick G. Grieve and Western Kentucky University. This is a collection of abstracts from the Forum in order of presentation.

The Culturally Intelligent Leader, Sean F. Daly

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Research has shown that a culturally intelligent (CQ) leader will have a positive impact on organizational culture, satisfaction, productivity, and retention. Moreover, data shows that CQ has a strong positive relationship with job satisfaction and perceived transformational leadership.

This training program is designed to help leaders develop a greater awareness of their motivation and understanding of cultural intelligence while also helping them to develop strategies and an action plan around improving their level of CQ. The suggested audience for this are experienced managers who have had some interaction with a culturally diverse population and want to serve their population better.

Industry Interactions And Their Influence On Dreams, Goals, Work Interests, And Vocational Attitude Of Sport Industry Job Seekers, Jiayao C. Qi, Samuel Y. Todd

Journal of Applied Sport Management

The sport industry is filled with passionate job seekers (e.g., Todd & Andrew, 2008) who often craft lofty future work desires and idyllic dreams (Odio et al., 2014). But little is known about how these are shaped over time. Previous studies noted how plans of sport job seekers often change after encountering realistic information about the actual work in sport (Koo et al., 2016; Todd & Magnusen, 2014). This urges a closer examination of the way in which sport job seekers interact with the industry in a continuous, iterative way, and how that impacts vocational attitude and imaginations. Findings …

Ace! How The Waste Management Phoenix Open Rose From The Ash Heap To Become A Sponsorship Exemplar, Lee P. Mcginnis, Keevan Statz

Journal of Applied Sport Management

Waste Management leverages the PGA TOUR’s so-called “People’s Open” in a manner that is unparalleled in the sport industry. The Waste Management Phoenix Open (WMPO) is not only a zero-waste event but also utilizes activation tactics that maximize this value proposition for consumers through sponsored activities that engage fans of all ages, backgrounds, and motivations. After an extensive analysis of the event and what makes it distinct, we propose a framework that we term ACE (Activation optimization, Cohesive value propositions, and Experientially focused programs), which can serve as a three-pronged test that event/property owners and sponsors alike can use to …

Building Upon The Foundation: Mentoring And Service In The Applied Sport Management Association, Jeffrey C. Petersen

Journal of Applied Sport Management

The Applied Sport Management Association’s Distinguished Service & Mentorship Award was initiated in 2022 as a renaming and repurposing of the ASMA Scholar Lifetime Achievement Award presented from 2009 to 2020. This service and mentorship award recognizes an ASMA member who has exhibited continued, exemplary service to ASMA, who connects sport management research with practitioners in an applied manner, and who demonstrates dedication to students and mentorship within the ASMA. Recipients of this award provide a keynote address to the ASMA membership at the annual conference. The content of this address is published in the Journal of Applied Sport Management …

The Real-Time Classification Of Competency Swimming Activity Through Machine Learning, Larry Powell, Seth Polsley, Drew Casey, Tracy Hammond

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Every year, an average of 3,536 people die from drowning in America. The significant factors that cause unintentional drowning are people’s lack of water safety awareness and swimming proficiency. Current industry and research trends regarding swimming activity recognition and commercial motion sensors focus more on lap swimming utilized by expert swimmers and do not account for freeform activities. Enhancing swimming education through wearable technology can aid people in learning efficient and effective swimming techniques and water safety. We developed a novel wearable system capable of storing and processing sensor data to categorize competitive and survival swimming activities on a mobile …

Building A Platform For Advancing Women's Engagement In Sport, Swarali H. Patil

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Women are active participants in sport, as administrative leaders, coaches, and elite athletes, and it is important to understand and continue to advance their engagement and experiences in that realm. Women have made gains in leadership but their actual progress towards such roles continues to be slow-paced (Burton & Leberman, 2017), indicating that additional action is still needed. Further, women’s experiences in sport roles are critical to their performance in, and for the organization, and to their personal job satisfaction (Kanter, 1977, 1993). Yet, they may face several challenges in their work, that may reduce their autonomy in relation to …

A Content Analysis Examining The Nfl's Social Media Communications In A Global Market, Lauren Cavanaugh

Honors Theses

To better connect with the potential fan base in the United Kingdom, the NFL created another Instagram account, separate from their main “NFL” account, with the username “NFLUK”. In this thesis, I conducted a content analysis comparing a selection of posts made during the 2021 NFL season for each account, “NFL” and “NFLUK” to examine how the NFL modified their posts and communication for their new target audience. The posts were examined through the perspective of two different communication theories: The Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion and the Adaptation versus Standardization Model of International Marketing. The goal was to determine …

Causes Of Burnout And Job Dissatisfaction Among Marketing And Communications Intercollegiate Athletics Employees, Ricky L. Ray

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to better understand the role burnout plays in turnover intention and job dissatisfaction among marketing and communications employees in intercollegiate athletics. A secondary aim was to identify to what extent were job requirements, compensation, and expectations of administrators and coaches driving burnout in these employees. Study participants came from those currently working in marketing and/or communications at various levels of intercollegiate competition. The study used the Oldenberg Burnout Inventory, as well as specific questions related to the profession to uncover major causes of burnout in this particular occupation. Findings from this study supported the …

Analyzing The Correlation Between Offensive And Defensive Efficiency In The Nba, Elijah Mckim, Jax Werner, Kade Werner

Sport Management Student Projects

Throughout the paper, the authors investigate the correlation between offensive and defensive efficiency in the NBA over the past 20 years. This includes things such as shooting percentages, new rules implemented into the league, and advances in technology.

Is There A Relationship Between Sport Gambling And Fandom?, Jacob Stonick, Sean Callahan, Caleb Terry

Sport Management Student Projects

Our group looked into the relatioship between sport gambling and the impact it has on the experience of viewing an event.

Does Technology Have A Relationship In The Number Of Injuries Within Youth Sport?, Javan Johnson, Danny Walter, Jack Mulkey

Sport Management Student Projects

This research paper sought to answer if the improvement of technology in sports equipment is helping to reduce injuries in youth sports.

Ua19/16/2 Baseball Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Archives Records

Press releases and game statistics for WKU baseball team in 2023.

Evaluating The Effect Of Nil Laws On College Athletic Department Revenue, Dylan C. Cherullo

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

This paper examines the impact of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) laws on revenue for public Division I universities' athletic departments, challenging the long-standing debate within the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). Utilizing panel data from the Knight Commission on College Athletics, which encompasses over 350 public Division I universities from 2002 to 2021, this study employs a difference-in-differences model. The model investigates state-level changes in university athletic department revenue from sponsorships (sponsrev), with special focus on the post-NIL law era. The analysis is bolstered by controls for various factors including ESPN’s FPI data, coach and equipment expenditures, and COVID-19 …

Adaptation To Sport Retirement In Division I Student-Athletes, Andrea Cota Powell

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation utilizes a mixed-methods design to explore adaptation to sport retirement among Division I student-athletes. Sport retirement is a major life transition that can elicit changes in support systems, identity crises, and feelings of loss, failure, and grief. Transitioning out of sport is a phenomenon that over 90% of collegiate student-athletes experience when their four years of NCAA eligibility expires. It is a phenomenon that all athletes experience at some point in their lives. To transition out of sports, one must adapt to post-sport life. Study one of this dissertation explored the phenomenon of occupational retirement through concept analysis …

Factors Influencing Hard Running Distances In Ncaa Division I Female Soccer Players, Isaac A. Sam

Dissertations and Theses

As the total distances covered in soccer games have remained relatively constant, the hard running distances covered by players have shown varying changes due to the higher physical demands and dynamics of team running performances. Although factors affecting the total distances covered in a match are multifactorial, no study has specifically examined match performance indicators (MPI) that impact hard running distances (HRD). Consequently, the purpose of this study was to better understand how MPI (hard running efforts, turnovers, minutes played, duels won, duels lost, and pass completions) are associated with HRDs and to investigate how each variable contributes to HRDs …

Ua19/16/2 Tennis Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Archives Records

Press releases and match statistics for WKU tennis team in 2023.

Ua19/16/2 Volleyball Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Archives Records

Press releases and game statistics for WKU volleyball team in 2023.