PurposeThis study aimed to investigate the ecological validity of sponsorship effectiveness by examining the visual attention paid to sponsorship at a live sporting event and the subsequent impact of that attention on cognitive outcomes using eye tracking in a natural, real-world environment.Design/methodology/approachTwo logistic regression analyses (i.e. sponsor recall and sponsor recognition) were conducted to evaluate the impact of sponsorship exposure time, fixation duration and fixation frequency on viewer attention.FindingsThe preliminary investigation unveiled that longer exposure, strategic placement and brand repetition led to more frequent and extended fixations. The statistical examination demonstrated that a greater fixation frequency yielded a higher probability of explicit memory. However, the amount of time did not appear to influence viewers’ explicit memory. Further, females exhibited a higher probability of explicit memory compared to their male counterparts. Finally, age emerged as a significant determinant of explicit memory.Originality/valueThe significance of conducting eye-tracking studies within an authentic sport environment enhances ecological validity, leading to the development of practical and realistic approaches to boost consumers' explicit memory of sponsors. Further, the tangible evidence of how sponsorship information is processed can inform and modify sport marketing strategies to enhance the effectiveness of sponsorships.

Salary disparities and their impact on performance have long been a topic of research and debate in both the business and sport sectors. However, no studies to date have examined the impact these disparities have in the collegiate football setting within coaching staffs specifically. The purpose of this study was to determine how intra-staff salary disparity impacts team success, using salary data for the years 20102017 and the Gini index as the measure of dispersion. Results indicated that pay disparity had no impact on wins. Rather, on-field metrics were found to be the primary drivers of success.

The current exploratory study determined the prevalence of the sport management academic degree being offered in top-ranked institutions as based on U.S. News & World Report rankings. A focus on the differences of bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees being offered, or not offered, was placed on national universities and liberal arts colleges because of the prevalence of these institution types and their educational settings. Additionally, the study aimed to determine if relevant indicators predicted a sport management degree being offered at a top-ranked national university and liberal arts college. Results indicated significant differences, with sport management degrees being offered at a higher frequency in national universities than liberal arts colleges. However, the sport management degree was largely not offered by the majority of top-ranked institutions. Notably, ranking, enrollment, and public/private institutional status did not predict sport management degree offerings at a liberal arts college. However, a national university had an increased likelihood of offering a sport management degree as enrollment increased and ranking increased (i.e., moved closer to 150). Altogether, the project highlighted that while the sport management academic discipline has certainly grown since its inception, growth has not really occurred at top-ranked higher education institutions, especially liberal arts colleges.

Persistent evidence of inequitable experiences within collegiate recreation exists. Within the same field are multiple articulations of diversity and inclusion's high significance. The intersection of these contrasting ideas suggests there is a need to expand understanding of the role of diversity and inclusion in collegiate recreation. Exploring germane theoretical conceptualizations may allow for those stated goals to consistently align with practical outcomes, resulting in more equitable experiences for collegiate recreation's multiple stakeholders. Thus, the purpose of this article was to propose the integration of two conceptual frameworks which can be applied by researchers and practitioners to increase the scope and depth of understanding pertaining to engagement with diversity and inclusion.

Purpose Pricing studies have largely focused on sellers' pricing strategies and price determinants. To expand earlier work on sellers' pricing decisions, this study considers time as a major factor driving sellers' ticket prices in the secondary market. Specifically, because most secondary market transactions occur in the last moments before a game, this study considers how resellers adjust ticket prices within a few days prior to a game day including an actual game day. Design/methodology/approach To examine the impact of time on secondary market ticket prices for Major League Baseball (MLB), ticket prices were collected from StubHub (one of the largest secondary ticket markets) four times per game: from 3 days to 1 day prior to a game day and on the actual game day. Additionally, 10 control variables were obtained from previous research on price determinants ( N = 19,155). A multiple regression model was created based on the extant literature regarding secondary market ticket prices. Findings Results indicate the number of days before a game negatively influenced ticket prices: resellers decreased ticket prices consistently during the last few days prior to a game's first inning. Specifically, secondary market ticket prices decreased relatively dramatically on an actual game day. Time had no significant effects on ticket prices 2 days prior to a game day. In addition to the role of time, league affiliation and the number of all-star players were identified as key price determinants in the secondary market. Moreover, changes in weather forecasts and the home team starting pitcher's ERA played significant roles in price changes. Research limitations/implications Despite containing a relatively high number of data observations compared with prior pricing studies, this study's findings were limited to certain teams. Additionally, as only MLB secondary market ticket pricing was considered, different outcomes and implications may apply in other major sport ticket markets (e.g. NBA, NFL, NHL and MLS) featuring distinct league structures, policies and demand. Practical implications This study offers practical guidance for sellers' pricing decisions. Most secondary ticket market sellers lowered their ticket prices relatively dramatically on an actual game day. Reducing ticket prices prior to a game day can lead to greater chances to avoid unsold tickets that compromise revenue management. This study's results also afford professional sport organizations and secondary ticket market consumers a clearer understanding of the factors resellers consider when setting ticket prices. Originality/value Although previous studies have uncovered essential elements influencing ticket prices and consumer demand in the secondary ticket market, little work has examined how time affects sellers' pricing decisions within a few days prior to a game day. Little is known about the elements that significantly influence sellers’ decisions to adjust (i.e. increase or decrease) ticket prices in the secondary market as well. This topic deserves ongoing attention, as new outcomes can supplement previous studies' findings due to changing market environments.

PurposeThis study aims to examine how the partnership between StubHub and MLB affected consumers' perceptions of StubHub. The case of StubHub and MLB was selected based on their partnership history and the reputation of StubHub.Design/methodology/approachA Qualtrics survey panel was used to collect the survey data. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationships between sponsor congruence, brand equity and purchase intention.FindingsSponsor congruence plays a significant role in consumers' perceived quality of StubHub. Additionally, brand equity significantly influenced purchase intention. More specifically, brand loyalty was the strongest indicator of intent to purchase tickets from StubHub. Brand loyalty and perceived quality indirectly affected the relationship between sponsor congruence and consumers' purchase intentions of StubHub.Originality/valueSponsor congruence between secondary ticket markets and sport leagues can provide a competitive advantage, helping create revenue generation and leverage for partnerships. Perceived quality can help facilitate this relationship and increase revenue generation.

With the emergence of demand-based ticket pricing, professional sport organizations and marketers will benefit from a thorough understanding of pricing in the demand-driven secondary market. Ticket pricing studies often take divisional affiliation as a control variable; little research has focused on and examined the importance of divisional affiliation for secondary market ticket prices. Different from work indicating consumers’ preference for divisional games, this study revealed that higher ticket prices (i.e., consumer demand) accompanied non-divisional games. Additionally, the number of years between the away team’s visit to the home team’s stadium and the away team’s current winning percentage each played a significant role (explained by roughly 49% of the variance) in higher ticket prices for non-divisional games in the National Football League.

Intercollegiate athletic market-generating revenue (MGR) is of interest to administrators for increasing institution revenue. The driving factors of MGR (i.e., conference, facilities, and finances) need to be understood to allow target level planning for increasing MGR. Multiple linear regression was used to assess MGR on a sample of U.S. autonomy Football Bowl Subdivision institutions. Per capita attendance by designated marketing area, capacity, and contributions were shown to have a strong, quantifiable influence on MGR. By setting the levels of the facility and financial determinant variables, and adjusting for conference, the MGR may be predicted or targeted for institution revenue goals.

Purpose Due to the increased growth of Internet users, the examination of compelling online shopping behavior has emerged as a vital topic in developing positive consumer behaviors. However, there is a dearth of studies into how consumers of sport merchandise in the online setting spend their time and what types of factors contribute toward their positive shopping experience. To fill this gap, the purpose of this current study is to investigate the impact and complexity of sport commerce websites by providing the precondition of flow (e.g. convenience, content, aesthetics, interactivity and customization), as well as the consequences of flow (e.g. website satisfaction and shopping well-being). Design/methodology/approach This study examines relationships among perceived website quality, flow, web satisfaction, and shopping well-being by using structural equation modeling. This current study is based on online sport fans who have recent online shopping experiences of licensed sport products ( n = 331). Findings Results of this present study show that flow plays a mediating role between perceived website quality and web satisfaction, which in turn is positively associated with consumers' shopping well-being. Originality/value This current study supports a mediating role of flow state in sport consumer perceptions of website quality and satisfaction; it expands existing knowledge through determining the factors that facilitate flow state and website satisfaction in online shopping. This empirical finding offers important implications regarding the function of flow as an essential factor via the optimization of website services and sport consumers' attitudes.

As the sport industry becomes progressively competitive, most professional teams focus on ways to develop a long-term relationship with fans. One such strategy is sport marketing intended to enhance relationship quality between fans and teams, which may be related to high sport consumption. Accordingly, in this study the authors developed a model that explains the antecedents and outcomes of relationship quality initiatives in the context of professional sport. To this end, a sport fan motivation framework and a relationship quality model were used to explain fan behaviors within a professional volleyball league. Results showed that sport fan motives significantly affect relationship quality and behavioral intention regarding sport consumption, with emotional motivation exerting a considerable association. The study also demonstrated that relationship quality mediates the association between emotional motives and behavior intentions. The current research extends the sport management literature by empirically investigating the effects of emotionally driven sport motive on relationship quality and desired relational outcomes.

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of commuter student athletes who were hypothesized to experience a multiplicity of institutional logics while competing at the NCAA Division II level. Second, if multiple competing logics were present, the authors intended to test a theoretical model of logic multiplicity development. Utilizing a case study methodology, the authors collected data from commuter student athletes competing at the Division II level. The study’s findings indicated that commuter student athletes perceived the presence of multiple competing logics and that these logics indicated an aligned or minimally estranged organization. In particular, the high compatibility and high centrality of multiple competing logics signified an organization aligned between academic, athletic, and family values, whereas the low centrality and low compatibility of social identification and societal factors denoted an estranged organization for commuter student athletes. The implications of this research within sport management are presented herein.

Collegiate sports have become increasingly popular in recent years with college football seeing, arguably, the greatest rise in popularity. This has led to an increased number of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) bowl games, which now culminate in a college football playoff. Universities are constantly developing new and innovative ways to increase revenue. One potential solution receiving increased consideration is the option of selling beer throughout stadiums. Previous research has separately focused on aspects of beer consumption and factors that influence collegiate sport attendance, but not in the same study. Thus far, studies focusing specifically on the topic of how beer sales affect attendance have been lacking. The purpose of this study is to examine whether or not the sale of beer inside FBS collegiate stadiums affects attendance. Our results indicate there is a negative correlation between beer availability and attendance. No significant difference was found as to whether or not stadium location, on or off-campus, affects attendance figures.

Coaching salaries within intercollegiate athletics have increased tremendously over the past decade. This has led to continued and increased criticisms of current gender constructs within the NCAA and specifically the way in which coaches are compensated. The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether gender was a significant predictor of compensation for basketball coaches of men's and women's programs at the Division I level, while also assessing a variety of revenue and productivity variables. Results indicated that gender was not a statistically significant predictor of compensation. Rather, a host of revenue-specific variables were found to be the primary drivers of compensation for both male and female coaches.

The focus of this study was to analyse constraint factors affecting non-attendance in sports. Few research studies have investigated the topic of non-attendance, and even fewer have sample representation of respondents who did not attend games. A survey was used to measure the impact of 12 constraint factors (41 total items) on non-attendance at women's college volleyball. The results of a logistical regression indicated that non-attendance of those who had never attended a match was predicted by the factors of financial cost, lack of knowledge, and no interest from others, while non-attendance of those who had previously attended was predicted by other sport entertainment and lack of success. These findings should be used to help marketers of typically lower-attended sports realise in development of strategies to increase attendance, more of a focus should be put towards their core product and enhancement of the event atmosphere, rather than on constraints.

As financial and sustainability pressures placed upon collegiate athletic programs grow, it is important to understand all revenue generation areas, which includes luxury suites. However, while suite finances are readily available on American professional sports, the opposite appears true for collegiate sports. This study aimed to contribute to the limited literature on luxury suites, and help better understand the luxury suite market, as the first empirical investigation on the pricing of college suites. Multiple regression analyses were used to develop two significant models that estimated collegiate football luxury suite price using 16 explanatory variables. The results explained between 65% and 68% of the variation in suite price, highlighted the uniqueness of the college football suite market, and indicated that Conference Affiliation, Suite Capacity, County Income, Tickets Included, College Basketball Competition, and Winning Percentage were positively related to suite price, while County Population had a significant negative impact.

Previous research has identified a mentoring relationship as one of the most critical supporting factors for women’s career success. While the benefits of a mentoring relationship have been well-documented throughout various disciplines, female student-athletes’ mentoring relationships and career development have not been fully examined. Considering the substantial number of female student-athletes in colleges, it is imperative to explore female student-athletes’ career choice and development. The purpose of this study was to explore the roles of mentoring relationships on female student-athletes’ career development and perceived barriers to mentoring relationships. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven female studentathletes in a Division I school. The findings revealed female student-athletes engaged in irregular and informal mentoring relationships and received psychosocial supports from mentors in regard to their careers. The findings also indicated that female student-athletes identified a lack of time as the most significant barrier to mentoring relationships. Findings of this study add to the notion of broaden the understanding of female student-athletes’ mentoring relationships and barriers to mentoring relationships. In addition, findings will be beneficial for advisors, counselors, and coaches to continue to engage in mentoring relationships with female student-athletes.

Claire Monroe was challenged to increase a minor league baseball team’s revenue and was in charge of developing a marketing plan to target female baseball fans. This would be a new target market for the team. The increasing female fan base can create revenue for baseball franchises through ticket, merchandise, and concession sales, as well as connecting with sponsors who specifically target female customers. Although there are many gender similarities in regards to fan avidity, there are important differences between the sexes in terms of motivation, media, and merchandise needs. Claire must research the target audience, analyze marketing research data, and make recommendations to increase female attendance to have those women spend more money on baseball-related items.