Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
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Description
A look at COVID-19 as a disease and how it affected the United States and Arizona in 2020. An analysis of decisions by surrounding states and health and government officials is used to comprise a return to play plan for Arizona high school athletics.
ContributorsHite, Mackenzie Elizabeth (Author) / McIntosh, Daniel (Thesis director) / Lee, Christopher (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
A look at COVID-19 as a disease and how it affected the United States and Arizona in 2020. An analysis of decisions by surrounding states and health and government officials is used to comprise a return to play plan for Arizona high school athletics.
ContributorsHite, Mackenzie Elizabeth (Author) / McIntosh, Daniel (Thesis director) / Lee, Christopher (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
Basketball is considered one of the most progressive and innovative sports in the world. As such, the NCAA, NBA, and G League are constantly searching for ways to increase their global reach and increase their viewership. With the telecommunications industry seeing a decrease in overall customers who pay for monthly or yearly cable services, the sports industry is feeling pressure to keep viewers in a culture where “cutting the chord” is becoming a trend. However, the sports industry is one field that continues to drive viewership through their live cable broadcasts each year. All three leagues, which represent the college level, the minor league level, and the professional level, look to differentiate their broadcasts in the marketplace and experiment with different elements to attract new viewers and engage existing viewers. In the past, leagues and networks have experimented with streaming services, camera angles, mic’d up players and coaches, and augmented reality to demonstrate offensive and defensive sets. While both the college level and professional level have had limited issues in developing a loyal broadcast audience and attracting new viewers, the minor league (commonly known as the G League) has faced more challenges to grow. The problems the G League face with building their digital audience include competing seasons with both College Basketball and the NBA, disparaging perceptions that the games and players are not as interesting to watch, limited and expensive cable broadcast availability, and lack of fan affinity. Although these are challenges that the G League faces, the upcoming league has experienced success with year-over-year growth since its birth in 2001. Each year, the G League has increased the number of games broadcasted on traditional cable networks, and as a result, increased viewership. The blossoming league has a lot of potential, especially now that players can enter the G League directly out of high school, so capitalizing on opportunities to not only differentiate itself amongst other minor leagues, but also amongst other basketball leagues will be imperative to increase its fan base.
The purpose of this research is three-fold: to understand how people consume sports broadcasts, what levels of basketball they watch most frequently, and what elements of a sports broadcast they prefer or wish to implement. Aside from understanding consumption behaviors, this research further explores specifically how the G League can increase viewership, whether it’s experimenting with rule changes, implementing new broadcast elements, or creating off-court content that develops interest and affinity for players in the league. What the data and statistical tests concluded was that people who were classified as ‘G League Fans’ are generally fans of all levels of basketball, but that people who were classified as ‘College Basketball Fans’ or ‘NBA Fans’ were not necessarily fans of the G League. Based on this finding, the thesis provides recommendations for how the G League can increase viewership amongst basketball fans, as this will be its most receptive and impressionable group. For those unfamiliar with what the G League is, the thesis also provides a brief history and who the players are that make up the league.
The purpose of this research is three-fold: to understand how people consume sports broadcasts, what levels of basketball they watch most frequently, and what elements of a sports broadcast they prefer or wish to implement. Aside from understanding consumption behaviors, this research further explores specifically how the G League can increase viewership, whether it’s experimenting with rule changes, implementing new broadcast elements, or creating off-court content that develops interest and affinity for players in the league. What the data and statistical tests concluded was that people who were classified as ‘G League Fans’ are generally fans of all levels of basketball, but that people who were classified as ‘College Basketball Fans’ or ‘NBA Fans’ were not necessarily fans of the G League. Based on this finding, the thesis provides recommendations for how the G League can increase viewership amongst basketball fans, as this will be its most receptive and impressionable group. For those unfamiliar with what the G League is, the thesis also provides a brief history and who the players are that make up the league.
ContributorsWhisler, Melanie Joy (Author) / McIntosh, Daniel (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Major League Baseball (MLB) is home to the oldest sports fans out of the top major sports with 50% of their viewers 55 or older (Paul, 2017). To try and reverse this trend, the MLB has been experimenting with advanced technology to create various ticket programs that appeal to younger people; one of them being the Summer Pass. The pass has allowed casual and die-hard fan groups to purchase a monthly/season long subscription to attend as many home games for one flat rate. While current fans praise the concept of the Summer Pass, teams need to find a way to expand their fan base by influencing young, non-sport fans to start showing up to games. It is imperative for teams to expand their fan base by converting non-fans to fans, especially to a younger generation because of the customer lifetime value (CLV) they can bring to the team. According to Qualtrics, CLV is a measurement of how valuable a customer is to your company with an unlimited time span as opposed to just the first purchase (Qualtrics, 2019). Converting non-fans to fans at a younger age will improve the fan base by maintaining a stream of loyal fans. The Arizona Diamondbacks are fortunate enough to play in a city next to one of the largest college’s in the nation. Unfortunately, college students attending Arizona State University aren’t baseball fans. The Student Pass could be a cheap, efficient way to influence college students to attend Diamondbacks games in their free time.
To see what will influence people who aren’t fans of the Arizona Diamondbacks to start attending games, data was collected from students attending Arizona State University and they were categorized into different clusters based on their fan status. These clusters were analyzed based on the different levels of fandom each student identified as. The analysis found that students who aren’t sports fans are disinterested in purchasing the Student Pass to attend Diamondbacks games. Including Student Pass bundles with either a t-shirt, food credit voucher, or collectible/bobblehead will not influence their decision to attend Arizona Diamondbacks games. Implications of this study provide the next possible steps for the Arizona Diamondbacks and other MLB teams to use alternative measures that could potentially influence non-fans to attend games in hopes of them becoming a fan.
With hopes of increasing attendance rates through college students, a survey was created to target students at Arizona State University to determine how aware students are of the D-Backs Student Pass; and to offer a solution of how to increase attendance by penetrating Generation Z. The results from this study are intended to identify the different fan types at Arizona State University. A summary of key findings says:
1. Including ticket bundles as options for the Student Pass will not influence non-sports or Diamondbacks fans to attend games
2. Diehard Devin are willing to spend more on ticket bundles than the other fan groups that attend Diamondbacks games
3. The most popular ticket option is a $2 ticket to a Friday game
To see what will influence people who aren’t fans of the Arizona Diamondbacks to start attending games, data was collected from students attending Arizona State University and they were categorized into different clusters based on their fan status. These clusters were analyzed based on the different levels of fandom each student identified as. The analysis found that students who aren’t sports fans are disinterested in purchasing the Student Pass to attend Diamondbacks games. Including Student Pass bundles with either a t-shirt, food credit voucher, or collectible/bobblehead will not influence their decision to attend Arizona Diamondbacks games. Implications of this study provide the next possible steps for the Arizona Diamondbacks and other MLB teams to use alternative measures that could potentially influence non-fans to attend games in hopes of them becoming a fan.
With hopes of increasing attendance rates through college students, a survey was created to target students at Arizona State University to determine how aware students are of the D-Backs Student Pass; and to offer a solution of how to increase attendance by penetrating Generation Z. The results from this study are intended to identify the different fan types at Arizona State University. A summary of key findings says:
1. Including ticket bundles as options for the Student Pass will not influence non-sports or Diamondbacks fans to attend games
2. Diehard Devin are willing to spend more on ticket bundles than the other fan groups that attend Diamondbacks games
3. The most popular ticket option is a $2 ticket to a Friday game
ContributorsBurton, Amani (Author) / McIntosh, Daniel (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
In order to establish sustainable parity in competition year over year, all four major professional sports organizations in the United States have established a first-year draft with an order decided or influenced by their Win-Loss record the previous year. The assumption is that this draft structure should keep all teams competitive. Rather, there is an overwhelming shift to analytical problem-solving that suggests building a winning team requires a period of losing and collecting young talent. The separation has become so apparent that it has been referred to as, “Twelve teams a-tanking.” (Boras, 2018) The trend was so pronounced this last season that the seven worst teams that held their own pick all lost by more than 15 points in the span of two days.(Sheinin, 2018) This leaves the ratio of games with a 15 point or more point differential to that of less than 15 points was 8:9 on the date described by Sheinin, as opposed to the usual ratio of 2:5 for the rest of the season. This stretch of games occurred during a pivotal time in the season and should have garnered high interest for entertainment as teams grapple for playoff position heading into the post season. Instead, viewers were treated to seven blow-out games. In this thesis, the effects of tanking will be studied as it pertains to the NBA, as a whole, losing attendance in multiple aspects. This applies directly to the value of sponsorships in the NBA. In short, this thesis will answer three of questions; (1) How does expected point spread, which is highly affected by tanking, affect NBA attendance, of all teams, down the stretch of games? (2) How can the NBA protect its sponsors from the effects of tanking? (3) How can NBA sponsors protect themselves from the effects of tanking?
ContributorsThomas, Isaiah (Author) / McIntosh, Daniel (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The National Hockey League is the highest league of hockey in the world. They have the highest attendance percentage out of the four major sports in North America (National Football League, National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball). However, the NHL is lacking insurmountably in the media rights revenue space compared to these other three major sports leagues in the United States. This paper is designed to find innovative solutions to remedy this problem, by incorporating the new Puck and Player Tracking technology into the television and streaming broadcasts. We first identified the core values of fans and their consumption habits and behaviors. We obtained an interview with the Senior Hockey Writer for ESPN, Greg Wyshynski, on the development and implementation of Puck and Player Tracking technology. From there, we created a survey to gauge the consumer perception of the Puck and Player Tracking technology, which allowed us to perform analytical tests to determine the best possible implementation strategy for the PPT technology into broadcasts. Using statistical testing methods, we identified that survey respondents found the least invasive augmented broadcast element was a small, gray puck trail displayed on the ice. From these findings, we proposed that the ideal implementation of the Puck and Player Tracking technology into television broadcasts should feature this element in all future traditional NHL television broadcasts and the player statistical broadcast should be offered as a second screen streamed broadcast. This implementation, compounded with other factors in the upcoming NHL media rights negotiations, creates a more valuable television product, which in turn will lead to a more competitive media rights deal.
ContributorsDiluchio, Ryan Patrick (Author) / McIntosh, Daniel (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Sports have always incited an emotional response in fans unlike anything else and creates a special relationship between fans and their favorite sports team. However, in the current age, attendance numbers have started to fall, due to games being available on multiple platforms for viewers to watch in their own homes, along with the increased competition in the entertainment industry. Teams are seeking new ways to leverage that relationship with their fans in order to draw fans into their games. This study will look at the history of fandom and reasons why people remain loyal to “their team” year after year. In turn, fan loyalty and increased attendance translates to increased revenue for teams across all sports. As part of this study, existing literature was reviewed covering the following areas of fandom: fan loyalty, memory association, and team actions that will impact fans. This research will aid in developing hypotheses to test on why fans remain fans and how their fan dedication develops. A questionnaire was then developed to find the reason why a fan is so dedicated to their favorite team. Respondents are asked to self- identify as a fan type in order to quantify the label of “fan” and build a deeper analysis within the questions being asked. The three fan options are diehard, casual and social fans. The following analysis explored why people are fans and what factors influence their level of fan loyalty. From that, recommendations were developed for professional sports teams to take advantage of the factors found in the analysis. The hope is that they will be able to translate psychological factors and an emotional connection into a concrete strategy to drive ticket sales and revenue.
ContributorsTassinari, Isabella (Author) / McIntosh, Daniel (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The NBA has shown to have immense popularity on social media, but has struggled recently in traditional TV viewership. Research has shown that NBA fans skew young, as the youngest fan base of the four major North American sports leagues, and that the fandom of NBA teams can be highly volatile. Research has also shown that sports fans are inclined to cheer for and identify with the team who is not favored to win in a game that they are unfamiliar with. This study aims to understand NBA fan loyalty that leads to fans tuning into NBA broadcasts, and the factors that influence both player and team loyalty among fans. By understanding what factors lead to an NBA fan watching a game on TV, there will be an increase in the number of fans who are consistent viewers of games. The question being asked is: Are NBA fans more inclined to watch games because of their favorite team or their favorite players, and what factors influence their loyalty to team and their loyalty to player?
Based on research conducted on social media usage and fan identification, an online survey was created and distributed. Respondents who identified as NBA fans answered questions regarding social media usage, live sports TV viewership, and more questions regarding presumptive factors leading to NBA game TV viewership. Analysis of the responses found that loyalty to team was a bigger factor than loyalty to player in getting NBA fans to watch games on TV. Results also indicated that loyalty to team increased based on an increase in live sports TV viewership per week, loyalty to player increased based on an increase in national TV NBA game viewership, and die-hard fans are more likely to watch NBA games for their favorite team and players than casual fans. Based on these results, it is recommended that the NBA markets their games towards casual fans, with player-focused marketing for their national TV games.
Based on research conducted on social media usage and fan identification, an online survey was created and distributed. Respondents who identified as NBA fans answered questions regarding social media usage, live sports TV viewership, and more questions regarding presumptive factors leading to NBA game TV viewership. Analysis of the responses found that loyalty to team was a bigger factor than loyalty to player in getting NBA fans to watch games on TV. Results also indicated that loyalty to team increased based on an increase in live sports TV viewership per week, loyalty to player increased based on an increase in national TV NBA game viewership, and die-hard fans are more likely to watch NBA games for their favorite team and players than casual fans. Based on these results, it is recommended that the NBA markets their games towards casual fans, with player-focused marketing for their national TV games.
ContributorsBogoshian, Matthew William (Author) / McIntosh, Daniel (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This thesis project is designed to provide brands and prospective sponsors with information about the habits and tendencies of different segments of eSports fans in order to better assist them in making decisions regarding sponsorship deals and sponsorship activation. This thesis has been based off of “The World of Games: eSports” and “the eSports Playbook” studies conducted in 2017 by Goldman Sachs and Nielsen respectively. The goals of these studies were to:
1) provide a clear and coherent picture of different eSports demographics
2) understand the consumption habits and psychological tendencies of these groups
3) use data to create marketing strategies tailor made to each cluster group.
These studies were used as a basis to create personas encompassing the traditional sports affiliations eSports users have, as well as their attitudes towards different types of advertisements.
The goal of this project is to create marketing strategies for different types of brands tailormade to specific groups of eSports fans based on their traditional sports fandom. By testing the fandom overlap of the most popular traditional sports with the most popular eSports games, useful connections that tie both fandoms together can be made for brands. Certain endemic and non-endemic brands can use this data to help decide which industry is a better fit financially and demographically. Other brands will be able to use this data to create strong marketing campaigns that span both eSports and traditional sports leagues, delivering a clear and succinct message across multiple platforms.
1) provide a clear and coherent picture of different eSports demographics
2) understand the consumption habits and psychological tendencies of these groups
3) use data to create marketing strategies tailor made to each cluster group.
These studies were used as a basis to create personas encompassing the traditional sports affiliations eSports users have, as well as their attitudes towards different types of advertisements.
The goal of this project is to create marketing strategies for different types of brands tailormade to specific groups of eSports fans based on their traditional sports fandom. By testing the fandom overlap of the most popular traditional sports with the most popular eSports games, useful connections that tie both fandoms together can be made for brands. Certain endemic and non-endemic brands can use this data to help decide which industry is a better fit financially and demographically. Other brands will be able to use this data to create strong marketing campaigns that span both eSports and traditional sports leagues, delivering a clear and succinct message across multiple platforms.
ContributorsStrauss, Logan James (Author) / McIntosh, Daniel (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This thesis takes a look how international baseball players are assimilated into Major League Baseball. It discusses the struggles they face in assimilating and what resources teams, in particular the Arizona Diamondbacks, provide these players with to aid in their acculturation, before concluding with four proposals to improve the assimilation process for these international players.
ContributorsMedina, Chloe Grace (Author) / McIntosh, Daniel (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12