The problem addressed by this study was that collegiate student-athletes that participate in marquee sports such as football and men’s basketball are at a disadvantage compared to non-athlete ...collegiate students when it comes to preparation and career transition to the workforce. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to identify the perceived problems that exist within current academic and counseling programs offered to student-athletes of collegiate football and men’s basketball programs. Specifically, the aim was to determine the need for student-athletes to participate in skill-certifying programs alongside traditional academic courses of study for a better preparation and transition of student-athletes to the workforce. Four student-athletes, four academic advisors, and four academic administrators from an NCAA Division I university belonging to a Power Five conference comprised the study’s population. Krumboltz’ learning theory of career counseling served as the foundation of the conceptual framework. Data collected through participant interviews and institutional websites resulted in the formation of seven themes: institutional goals, lack of connection between student-athletes’ interest and studies, a lack of a career plan for student-athletes, reluctance, the value of a CTE, potential opportunities for the institution, and inconsistency with institutional goals. The results of this study illustrated that the current academic offerings for collegiate student-athletes of revenue generating sports are more directed towards obtaining a college degree rather than career development. Findings also indicated that barriers exist in implementing CTE programming into an NCAA Division I university. Data collected shows that the addition of a CTE curriculum to an NCAA Division I institution needs further exploration as a possible option for student-athletes. Future studies may focus on how the implementation of CTE curricula could be accomplished at a four-year NCAA Division I educational institution.
Sport-related drinking is the nexus where sports and alcohol intersect. Prior research has suggested sport fans are more likely to participate in binge drinking, especially younger sport fans and men ...(Cartelli, 2021; Malinowski, 2011; Palmer, 2013a; The Harris Poll, 2016; Wann & James, 2019). However, the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted both drinking habits outside of sports–such as women began drinking more (Davis et al., 2021; Pollard et al., 2020; Rodriguez et al., 2020)–and how people consume sports themselves–such as being forced to watch sports from home. The pandemic has also impacted socialization, which impacts drinking as many people perceive it will help relieve social unease and it impacts sports as many people become sport fans due to its socialization. Due to this shift in consumption, this study aimed to investigate and update who the typical sport-related drinker is, their frequencies of drinking, how social interaction influences their attitudes towards sport-related drinking, and the trends in sport-related drinking based on demographics. To gather this information, the author conducted a quantitative online survey through Amazon MTurk which required participants to be the legal age of drinking–21+ years of age–and to self-identify as a sport fan. The results of this survey found that sport-related drinkers have moved towards a more equal representation of men and women who also drink a similar amount, however, most fans are still drinking at rates considered binge drinking, especially the younger fans. This study also found that sport fans were drinking more while watching on TV than attending, contradicting previous studies. Socialization was found to impact sport-related drinking by sport fans through increased drinking rates and creating stronger agreements that they perceived alcohol did help feelings of unease. Further, sport-related drinking trends were also discovered to vary based on demographics, including but not limited to the level and type of sport preferred. By researching sport-related drinking demographics, trends, and attitudes towards this nexus it has become evident that the type of sport fan and the way they consume alcohol has changed and will continue to change. This study contributes to the literature on the nexus of sport-related drinking and is useful to both academic and practical components of sport management due to its inclusive and current information on sport fans on both who is and how they interact with sport-related drinking.
The study about college football fandom and attendance trends at the University of Missouri is not entirely groundbreaking but is exploring an academic area still in its relative infancy. Sport ...fandom research has not been widely examined, particularly at the collegiate level. The researcher used a modified version of two different surveys, the Fan Identification Scale, a scale already designed to measure football fandom, as well as the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale, an instrument originally designed to measure leisure participation of activities, like golf. In addition to completing questions pertaining to the two modified scales, participants answered questions about their demographic information including age, gender, education level, and marital status. A series of questions asking about experiences and time spent as a Mizzou Football fan were also included. Surveys were distributed through several Mizzou-centric Facebook groups, and the PowerMizzou online forum. The researcher collected 975 usable surveys out of 1150 total submissions from Mizzou Football fans. The information collected yielded significant results from three of the four research objectives. The objectives with significant results were to: Examine differences in attendance trends between alumni and non-alumni; Examine differences in attendance trends stemming from social connections to Mizzou; and examine the correlation between level of fan identification, leisure participation, and social identity. Recommendations for further study were conducting a mixed-methods study to understand fans’ motivations more greatly beyond the limitations of closed-ended questions, as well as adding survey questions that distinguish between a participant’s allegiance to the university compared to the athletic team being measured.
The purpose of this dissertation was to explore innovation in mega-sport event organizing committees. Using an embedded multiple-case study design, the 2024 Paris Organizing Committee for the Olympic ...Games (POCOG), the 2028 Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (LAOCOG), and the 2026 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup host organizing committee (United 26) were analyzed. More specifically, this project advanced three primary research questions: (1) In what ways are mega-sport event organizing committees being innovative? (2) Why are mega-sport event organizing committees innovating? and (3) How do mega-sport event organizing committees undergo the innovation process? Three interconnected studies, each focused on a specific research question, formed the basis of this dissertation.The first study employed the 3D-model of innovation as a framework to identify the multidimensional types of innovative practices pursued by POCOG, LAOCOG, and United 26. Six multidimensional types of innovations were identified: fan experience technical products, commercial technical products, environmental administrative processes, environmental technical products, social administrative process, and organizational administrative processes. This study also highlighted similarities and differences between innovations pursued by contemporary (i.e., Olympic Games) and a more traditional mega-sport events (i.e., FIFA World Cup). Focusing on POCOG and LAOCOG, the second study utilized organizational innovation as a theoretical framework. In doing so, results revealed OCOGs experience various environmental, organizational, and individual drivers toward innovation in addition to barriers (e.g., managing intangible resources and resistance to radical innovation) that hinder implementation of new practices. Using the innovation process as a framework, the third study of this dissertation explored the innovation process undergone by POCOG, LAOCOG, and United 26. Data analysis suggested the innovation process for mega-sport event organizing committees includes four main phases: initiation, adoption decision, implementation, and transfer.Cumulatively, this dissertation extended our understanding and knowledge of sport event management, and more specifically the phenomenon that is sport event innovation. As a result, numerous theoretical and practical implications about innovation in mega-sport event organizing committees are proposed. Moreover, this dissertation also illuminated the abundance of opportunities for meaningful future research pertaining to innovation in mega-sport event organizations.
This study focuses on sports gambling methods and preferences. This study took place in in a sportsbook in upstate New York with a variety of patrons who took part in sports gambling. Over 500 ...participants filled out the survey for this research study and provided insight that we used to determine successful or unsuccessful strategies, popular methods, demographics, and their consistency of gambling on sports. Demographic research agreed with previous studies performed in finding that single men are most likely to gamble on sports, while our study also found dissimilarities compared to other research involving age ranges and race of sports gamblers. This study concluded that about half of the participants reported losing at least $100 dollars on a weekly basis. Statistics revealed that the most popular forms of betting on sports are typically the least successful as well.
In 2018, the United States Supreme Court overturned PASPA, a law which had previously deemed sports betting illegal. Following this ruling, states have already or have begun passing legislation which ...legalizes sport betting. As legalization continues to sweep the nation, an untapped domain of research has emerged. From a sport management perspective, there is a new, highly lucrative sport industry with which there is minimal research. The main purpose of this research project is to examine how bet presentation influences consumer behavior related to sports gambling. Specifically, the role that bet format presentation has on consumers’ willingness to bet and the amount they are willing to bet. Additionally, the potentially mediating effects of numeracy and team identification were examined. Participants (N=703) were recruited from the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, as these locations natively use different forms of bet presentation (American, fractional, and decimal). This study utilized a Latin square experimental design that examined whether participants were willing to bet more money when shown American odds first compared to fractional odds first. Further, evidence was provided demonstrating the positive mediating influence of team identification, and the influence of subjective numeracy. Practically, the results from this study can inform sports betting organizations, sports betting consumers, as well as government and industry regulators. Theoretically, knowledge is contributed to the domains of sport management, behavioral pricing, and appraisal theory literature.
Digital technology transformation within the sports industry has led to increasing attention being given to how digital services can influence fans’ positive psychological perspectives. In ...particular, through this study I aimed to understand the effects of fantasy sports and social media engagement on positive psychological benefits, such as perceived value and flourishing. In the current study, regulatory engagement theory was applied to understand whether the digital engagement of sports consumers is positively associated with perceived value and flourishing as a form of well-being. In the implementation of the pre-, mid-, or post-consumption model, three groups were created based on the participants' habits of using fantasy sports and social media before, while, and after watching television. I then attempted to explore how the aforementioned relations can differ across these three groups. Responses from a total of 629 sports fans were collected via an online Qualtrics panel. Data analysis was conducted using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), structural equation modeling analysis (SEM), multi-group CFA, and multi-group SEM to verify the hypotheses. It was found that engagement in fantasy sports and social media had a positive effect on perceived value and well-being. In addition, perceived value mediated the relationship between fantasy sports or social media engagement and flourishing. The findings of the group comparison showed that there were no differences across the three groups in the effects of fantasy sports and social media engagement on perceived value and flourishing. This empirical study contributed to supporting that digital consumption among sports consumers plays a positive role in their lives, suggesting the need to develop strategic management in the digital sports field. In addition, the digital activity patterns of sports consumers were successfully classified based on game schedules, providing a better understanding of their digital consumption journey in the future.
AimThe aim of this study was to investigate different experiences of retired football players who went through an early specialization, in which way it affected their athletic identity and ...retirement, and how they have dealt with it. The research questions were:What are Swedish footballers' experiences of early specialization in relation to athletic identity?How do early specialized Swedish footballers reflect on athletic identity after career termination?MethodTo answer the research questions, a qualitative method with semi-structured interviews were used. Six male retired football players were recruited through a convenience sample. The participants were between 20-30 years old and have been retired for more than a year. Within this study, an inductive thematic analysis was conducted.ResultsThe interviews and the thematic analysis resulted in four segments, which are part of their football journey. These are: 1) Early specialization- At the start of their career until they reached youth football, 2) Career- from youth football to a senior level, 3) Retirement- Right before and after career termination, 4) Athletic identity- Journey through their careers. Within each segment, there are categorized themes with the participants reflections of their experience throughout football.ConclusionsThe results within this study shows that athletic identity starts growing within the early specialization segment, through the career and gets encountered with complications through retirement within the retired footballer. Early specialized footballers who identify stronger with their athletic-self have a harder time transitioning out of football. Further research should consider studying early specialization's relationship with athletic identity in football since no studies are found investigating the matter.
