Sports Studies Commons^™

Rice Decision, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

How surprising was it when the arbitrator in the Ray Rice case ruled that Roger Goodell had acted “arbitrary in his discretion,” and had punished Rice twice for the same offense? In addition when Goodell claimed that Ray Rice misled him about the severity of the incident, the arbitrator found otherwise. Goodell was fully apprised by Rice as to the severity of the incident.

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.

Football And Police, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Over the past few weeks college sport has once again taken over the lead in ink and air time; not actually games, of course, but stories that illustrate the corruption of higher education in America by the presence of intercollegiate athletics on campus, or more precisely football on campus.

Baseball, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

There are many terrific and zany baseball quotations that make there way across the nation at this time of year. Between Dizzy Dean, Yogi Berra, and Phil Rizzuto almost all aspects of the game were covered. Broadcasters too have added to the diamond lexicon. My favorite, however, comes from the former pitcher for the Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals, the incomparable Joaquin Andujar whose most memorable line covers nearly all of the possibilities of the game.

Do Hitters Boost Their Performance During Their Contract Years?, Heather M. O'Neill

Business and Economics Faculty Publications

Each season, baseball fans and journalists alike identify which players are in the final years of their contracts because a lot rides on how the players produce in their “contract year.” Will a player boost his effort and performance in an effort to improve his value and bargaining power? Or will he crumble under the pressure? Or are players’ performances uncorrelated with where they stand in their contract cycles?

Goodell's Press Conference, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

After last week’s debacles in the NFL and Goodell’s retreat into a cave somewhere, I read a number of references to Goodell as a Nixonian figure. These were amusing and vaguely resonant. Then came Friday’s Follies as Goodell surfaced publicly and assured us that he would not resign, that he would get it right, and that the NFL remained a moral leader that America could count on.

Goodell's Quagmire, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The continuing saga of the NFL and Ray Rice has now become basically the Roger Goodell story. The Commissioner has not managed to stay ahead of the news cycle and has failed to cut his losses. Rather than to accept responsibility for his mistakes and missteps he has continued to deal in what now seems to be his only task as Commissioner, to Protect the Shield. And it’s not going well.

Women In Sportsworld, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Roger Goodell is the Commissioner of the most popular professional sports league in the United States. This week he demonstrated just how much he learned at the feet of his predecessors, Paul Tagliabue and especially Pete Rozelle.

Little League, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The Little League World Series is often the occasion for comment but usually it involves subjects such as rabid parents or hyperventilating coaches. This time the comments coming out of Williamsport, where fracking rather than baseball usually dominates the landscape, had a feel good aspect to them.

O'Bannon And The Five Giants, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

At this point in August there are those who think that football season is already in full swing. They are probably deceived into thinking this by the increase in the number of assault arrests being made of both the professionals and the collegians. There seems to be little difference between the two, and indeed the myth of that difference was rejected this week by a federal judge in the O’Bannon Case. As if in anticipation of the decision, the NCAA itself negated its claim of amateurism once again by approving a change in its rules that will allow the five …

Re-Entry And Disorientation, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

I have been out of the country for less than three weeks and it is mid-summer when not much happens of note. The first thing I confronted on returning was a total reorganization of the local supermarket. Under the influence of jet lag I found this quite disorienting. As it turned out, this was only one of many changes that faced me.

World Cup, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

I am not a fan of The Beautiful Game, although I do watch and appreciate its beauty especially when it is displayed by the likes of Lionel Messi. Soccer, as with all games, when played with skill and competence is a beautiful game. The same might be said of hockey, baseball, basketball, or curling. When any skill is combined with artistry, whether in sport or some other human endeavor, it has a beauty worthy of admiration.

Huge Week, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

I’m just now getting into the World Cup as the recent sports calendar has been overloaded with prime events. With the battle for Lord Stanley’s Cup raging on, the NBA Finals testing the bounds of credulity, and the U.S. Open Golf Tournament on the menu, trying to fit the World Cup into my thoughts and my schedule was nearly too much to manage. Perhaps foolishly, I will try to do some justice to each of these penultimate sporting events here.

Triple Crown, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

By late Saturday sportsworld will know if there is a Triple Crown winner for the first time in thirty-six years. The last winner was Affirmed in 1978. No one could have guessed that it would be this long before another horse would accomplish this feat again. After all Affirmed was the third horse of the 1970s to win the Triple Crown. Seattle Slew won the Crown in 1977 and the great Secretariat did it in 1973.

Is The Nfl Responsible For Concussions Sustained By Players?, Lindsey Reid

Masters Theses

National Football League (NFL) players have sustained concussions while playing football (Casson & Viano, 2010). There is a growing controversy between NFL players, their immediate families, and the league regarding alleged claims that management should be held responsible for the physical deterioration of former players including compensatory damages for suffering. Family members of current and past NFL players claim league officials provided inadequate education regarding risks associated with playing professional football. Former players are experiencing health issues such as dementia, early Alzheimer's, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), trouble concentrating and inability to work; in some cases these debilitating life-changing events have …

Acceptable Violence, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

There are times when marginally related events converge and raise questions about issues related to sport. Such a convergence occurred in my corner of sportsworld over the past week.

Golf Tourists At Two Courses In Las Vegas: A Demographic Profile, Brian Milford Jones

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study focuses on the motivations and practices of tourist golfers at two Las Vegas, Nevada area golf courses: Rhodes Ranch Golf Club and Tuscany Golf Club.

Data was collected from tourist golfers at these two results and they report the amounts of money spent on golf, the motivations to visit Las Vegas for golf the amounts of money normally spent to play golf at home. The study also provides evidence regarding other activities of these golf tourists while in Las Vegas, including where they stayed and courses played. This is an exploratory study. However, results show that further research …

Sterling, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

There are times when something happens in the world of sport that is so startling that reactions come hard and fast and seem to overwhelm events. The Donald Sterling soliloquy hit with this sort of force, and the reaction was beyond what could be anticipated but was still more than appropriate. It was required.

The Mediating Effect Of Team Identification On The Relationship Between Social Media Consumption And Intentions, Jaeahm Park

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to (a) identify the motivational factor for subscribing to collegiate athletics' social media (b) analyze the effect of subscribing to collegiate athletics' online social media on team identification (c) analyze the effect of subscribing to collegiate athletics' online social media on behavior intentions mediated by team identification. The study also examined the difference across demographic information which can be used for fan segmentation. By analyzing a total of 146 undergraduate students from University of Arkansas Recreation and Sport Management classes, this dissertation found the following.

This study verified seven motives for subscribing to school …

A Special Week, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It was one of those very special weeks in SportsWorld. At least three things stood out: two in baseball and one in the bizarre world of the NCAA.

Major League Baseball's Antitrust Exemption And The Impact Of The Curt Flood Act, Gina Scalzo

Senior Honors Theses

For many years, professional baseball has enjoyed a privileged antitrust exemption apart from other professional sports. With the passing of the Curt Flood Act in 1998 this exemption was removed; however, the act may not be as influential as it seems. Court rulings were prominent in initiating and maintaining the antitrust exemption for professional baseball. These include the Supreme Court Trilogy, especially the case of Curt Flood, a baseball player who fought against the reserve clause system which limited his and other players’ employment options. Collective bargaining as well as arbitration became dominant in professional baseball labor relations under the …

Masters Golf Tournament, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

On Sunday, as I usually do on Master’s weekend, I turned to CBS to get an overdose of saccharine. Jim Nantz was in fine form developing storylines, both real and contrived, to keep the focus on the players and the natural beauty of Augusta National. The camera guys had all the obligatory shots of the dogwoods and redbud trees, the flaming and cooling azaleas, and to complete the scene, an occasional magnolia. Words like “idyllic” were used with abandon and those close ups of tense competitors nearly made golf look like an action sport.

Nw Case, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

For the first time an official body uttered words that did damage to the term “student athlete.” About a week ago a ruling by the National Labor Relations Board defined a football player as an employee of a university. Football players, it concluded, are not primarily students.

New Media And The Nfl Fan: Determining The Impact Of New Media On Team Identification In Displaced Nfl Fans, Dorothy R. Collins

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Sports team identification, when viewed through the lens of social identity theory (Tajfel, 1978), can be seen as a powerful means of maintaining one's sense of self and feelings of belonging as part of a group. In some cases, team identification has been found to be based on one's feelings of connection with the geographic location of that team (Uhlman & Trail, 2012). Furthermore, prior research has shown that bonds of team identification forged in one's youth are particularly strong (James, 2001). The surge of new media options that have appeared in the last decade are changing the way in …

The Experience Of Former Women Officials And The Impact On The Sporting Community, Jacob K. Tingle, Stacy Warner, Melanie L. Sartore-Baldwin

School of Business Faculty Research

In an effort to explore the shortage of female sport officials, the authors examined the experience of eight former female basketball officials from five geographically diverse states in the U.S. who voluntarily left the role. Specifically, the authors asked former female basketball officials to describe their workplace experiences. Utilizing a phenomenological approach and workplace incivility framework, the results indicated that the felt social inequity for female officials detracted from the participants experiencing a sense of community in the workplace, which ultimately led to their discontinuation in the role. Results indicate four key factors that created this uncivil work environment. An …

Ncaa Madness, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Sitting in the middle of March Madness it is easy to forget that this annual orgy of basketball and money is a relatively new phenomenon. It was the transformation of television with the arrival of cable and all-sports networks that turned the NCAA basketball championship into a national obsession. Whereas in 1960 it was impossible to see the NCAA finals on television outside the major markets, it is now possible to see every game in the six weeks of games involving 68 teams in every market. And if you can’t see it on television you can see it on any …

March Madness, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Sitting in the middle of March Madness it is easy to forget that this annual orgy of basketball and money is a relatively new phenomenon. It was the transformation of television with the arrival of cable and all-sports networks that turned the NCAA Basketball Championship into a national obsession. Whereas in 1960 it was impossible to see the NCAA finals on television outside the major markets, it is now possible to see every game in the six weeks of games involving 68 teams in every market. And if you can’t see it on television you can see it on any …

The Olympics And The American Press, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

With the Winter Olympics finally under way, is it possible that the American journalists, if we can use that term in these circumstances, will be able to write about something other than the failure of Russia to be the United States? Having traveled to Russia multiple times since the collapse of the Soviet Union, I have witnessed the remarkable transformation of this society. Caught in a time warp created by the failure of the Soviet Union, the standard of living of the average Russian trailed behind that of most of Western Europe and the United States. The Soviet Union was …

Russian Olympics, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

With the Winter Olympics finally underway is it possible that the American journalists, if we can use that term in these circumstances, will be able to write about something other than the failure of Russia to be the United States? Having traveled to Russia multiple times since the collapse of the Soviet Union, I have witnessed the remarkable transformation of this society. Caught in a time warp created by the failure of the Soviet Union, the standard of living of the average Russian trailed behind that of most of Western Europe and the United States. The Soviet Union was not …

Super Bowl, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Here we are once again at the most important weekend in American sport. The Super Bowl is Sunday and that means that Americans across the land will create scenes reminiscent of Thorstein Veblen’s classic, The Theory of the Leisure Class. Veblen’s original vocabulary describing the rich of the late 19th century is as appropriate now as it was then. Such phrases as “conspicuous consumption,” “conspicuous waste” and “conspicuous leisure,” seem to have been coined for the Super Bowl.