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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- Creators: School of Accountancy
Description
We were driven by the question: what is happening to the popularity of Major League Baseball? In order to answer this question we compared the league structure of Major League Baseball with that of the National Football League. We were able to speak with five former or current members of the respective leagues in order to gain some insight into how the two leagues operate. The main focus of our research was around the payroll structures of the two leagues as well as their revenue sharing policies. In the end, we discovered that Major League Baseball is becoming highly regionalized. The sport is still growing in popularity in terms of revenue and fan involvement, but it is becoming less popular on a national stage. The league is benefitting greatly from factors like the increasing importance of "TiVo proof programming" and a lack of competition. Each league is very different in its own right. While the NFL promotes a perception of competitive balance, Major League Baseball can be plagued by the negative perception it creates surrounding some of its smaller market teams.
ContributorsHeath, Cameron (Co-author) / Linamen, John (Co-author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Mokwa, Michael (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Creating a strong brand enables companies to create a loyal customer base that leads to success and profitability. Companies can acquire this success through the right mix of marketing techniques and company strategies that consumers see as important. They may need to think outside of traditional marketing and focus on how they can create a unique experience that their customer will enjoy and only be able to receive from that specific company. The Starbucks Corporation has been able to create this experience that has created an astonishing customer base and loyalty to their brand. Through the initial research of various marketing and sociological perspectives, an experiment was created that could measure whether consumer loyalty was the driving force behind consumer purchases. In order to measure this, it is necessary to distinguish between a desire for the products and a loyalty to the brand.
ContributorsSinger, Fallon Alicia (Co-author) / Yu, Michelle (Co-author) / Machas, Melina (Co-author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Fey, Richard (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This project is an investigation into the many financial issues professional athletes face. These issues include bad spending habits, poor investments, freeloaders (posses/entourages), and more. Following is an explanation of Financial Planning and Wealth Management, and how the application of these strategies and tactics - specifically the use of Sustainable Withdrawal Rates in a Capital Sufficiency Analysis - can help to avoid such issues. An illustration of these practices "in action" is given through a case study of fictional athletes and portfolios. Lastly, recommendations are given on potential solutions that could help prevent these problems from affecting more athletes.
ContributorsCastellani, Robert Thomas (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Cassidy, Nancy (Committee member) / Judge, Evan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Social media has evolved so quickly in the past two decades and continues to grow and change at a rapid pace. This way of connecting and communicating with others has become so ingrained in daily life and can have a major influence on people's actions. Social media and social networking look vastly different today than it did in the past, and will continue to change for the future. The sports and travel industries are no exception to the integration of social media. Both entities understand the importance of being prominent in the online domain and connecting to the Millennial generation. It is crucial for young people to learn how to positively use social media in the classroom and in the workplace as their lives become consumed by this digital world. The emphasis on social media in different facets of society can bring both positive and negative connotations along with it, depending on how, when, and why people decide to use it. Social media is not meant to replace all interactions and forms of contact, but rather enhance these relationships. By analyzing the history of social media, current trends and effects, this project seeks to forecast the impact that social media will continue to have in the future. In the fast paced world today, social media and other forms of electronic communication will only continue to increase and be intensified. This project explores how social media has impacted society, most importantly, the travel industry and the sports industry. Social media will continue to expand knowledge, connect people all over the world, and enhance experiences as it inevitably becomes even more integrated into everyday life.
ContributorsHomes, Taylor (Co-author) / Larkin, Anna (Co-author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / McIntosh, Daniel (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Our research encompassed the prospect draft in baseball and looked at what type of player teams drafted to maximize value. We wanted to know which position returned the best value to the team that drafted them, and which level is safer to draft players from, college or high school. We decided to look at draft data from 2006-2010 for the first ten rounds of players selected. Because there is only a monetary cap on players drafted in the first ten rounds we restricted our data to these players. Once we set up the parameters we compiled a spreadsheet of these players with both their signing bonuses and their wins above replacement (WAR). This allowed us to see how much a team was spending per win at the major league level. After the data was compiled we made pivot tables and graphs to visually represent our data and better understand the numbers. We found that the worst position that MLB teams could draft would be high school second baseman. They returned the lowest WAR of any player that we looked at. In general though high school players were more costly to sign and had lower WARs than their college counterparts making them, on average, a worse pick value wise. The best position you could pick was college shortstops. They had the trifecta of the best signability of all players, along with one of the highest WARs and lowest signing bonuses. These were three of the main factors that you want with your draft pick and they ranked near the top in all three categories. This research can help give guidelines to Major League teams as they go to select players in the draft. While there are always going to be exceptions to trends, by following the enclosed research teams can minimize risk in the draft.
ContributorsValentine, Robert (Co-author) / Johnson, Ben (Co-author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Goegan, Brian (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
This thesis explores revenue management within the domestic United States airline market from a broad research base including peer-reviewed journals, professional articles, industry studies, government statistics, and consumer surveys. Among other topics, the thesis synthesizes data from these sources to effectively understand how airlines turn a profit in one of the world’s most competitive industries. Within that scope, the thesis explores the history of the industry, how technology affects revenue management strategies, how deregulation affected competition, and how different costs impact an airline’s operations. This is accomplished primarily with the literature review, governmental statistics, and professionals in the field. Moreover, the surveys provide a human element to these numbers. Namely, how does the public perceive the airline industry? Moreover, what drives the decision to purchase a seat on a particular airline over another? The research suggests four main trends in the US’ airline industry: increase in low-density long-range routes, high-density short-range routes, redefining high-density routes’ capacity utilization, and expansion of the Low-Cost Carrier. The former, due to the scope of this thesis, will be diminished in its analysis. The latter three will be expanded upon. A case study of three U.S. airports identified as small, medium, and large is present at the end to expand upon a hypothesis presented.
ContributorsEledge, Andrew (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Mokwa, Michael (Committee member) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor, Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
The Arizona Fall League is a baseball league affiliated with Major League Baseball to provide further development to seven of each MLB team’s top minor league prospects. The games are played at the same stadiums as spring training in Arizona but historically draw a very low attendance in comparison. The marketing strategies currently used to promote and advertise the Arizona Fall League are not sufficient to meet the goal of increased attendance and increased profits as a result. The league currently markets its core product to the customer, meaning the actual baseball game itself along with the highly talented players, rather than the actual product provided to fans, meaning the social utility they gain from their experiences at an Arizona Fall League game along with the game. The league needs to focus mainly on two target markets: men and women ages 18-25 and families with children under 18. In order to shift the focus to the actual product, the league’s marketing staff should run promotions (alongside their current promotions) in association with local sports bars or restaurants and places that provide entertainment, such as Top Golf. They also should revamp their social media accounts to integrate a more fan-focused base for their posts, making fans feel like they are a greater part of the experience. These improvements would drive up attendance and generate more profits for the Arizona Fall League.
ContributorsMcCann, Matthew Donald (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / McIntosh, Daniel (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The purpose of this thesis is to cover the multiple aspects of Major League Baseball Expansion from 30 to 32 teams. The thesis can be divided into two parts with the first being the preparation and consideration for expansion, and the second half is about the execution and implementation of adding two expansion teams to the league.
For years, Commissioner Rob Manfred has hinted and brought about the idea of adding two more teams to Major League Baseball (Mitchell). The growth of the game is of utmost importance, and they have made many changes to try to expand the growth of fans the past few years particularly catered to new and young fans. New rules like a pitch clock and mound visit limitations are examples of in game changes made to speed up the game, but they have also experimented with spring training and regular season games internationally or at new venues. In just the past decade, games have been played or planned (due to COVID-19 cancellations) in Monterrey, Mexico City, London, Tokyo, San Juan, Montreal, Las Vegas, Williamsport, and even Iowa. With the exception of the Williamsport Little League Classic and the Field of Dreams game in Iowa, all these locations had games to see what the atmosphere and logistics would be like with expansion in mind as a possibility in the future. With this in mind, this thesis will analyze and come to a conclusion on the following cities for the best fits for expansion: Monterrey, Mexico City, San Juan, Vancouver, Montreal, Las Vegas, Portland, Nashville, Raleigh, and San Antonio.
For years, Commissioner Rob Manfred has hinted and brought about the idea of adding two more teams to Major League Baseball (Mitchell). The growth of the game is of utmost importance, and they have made many changes to try to expand the growth of fans the past few years particularly catered to new and young fans. New rules like a pitch clock and mound visit limitations are examples of in game changes made to speed up the game, but they have also experimented with spring training and regular season games internationally or at new venues. In just the past decade, games have been played or planned (due to COVID-19 cancellations) in Monterrey, Mexico City, London, Tokyo, San Juan, Montreal, Las Vegas, Williamsport, and even Iowa. With the exception of the Williamsport Little League Classic and the Field of Dreams game in Iowa, all these locations had games to see what the atmosphere and logistics would be like with expansion in mind as a possibility in the future. With this in mind, this thesis will analyze and come to a conclusion on the following cities for the best fits for expansion: Monterrey, Mexico City, San Juan, Vancouver, Montreal, Las Vegas, Portland, Nashville, Raleigh, and San Antonio.
ContributorsLieberman, Jake Robert (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / McIntosh, Daniel (Committee member) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The National Basketball Association is one of the most popular and most profitable sports leagues in the entire world, and with stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokić, and Luka Dončić, it continues to expand its international reach. In the past decade this has meant that the salary cap has continued to increase considerably. From 2013 to 2017 the salary cap increased by about $40.5 million from around $58.5 million to $99 million meaning there was an extra $1.2 billion worth of cap space to fill. All this new cap space created a perfect storm for numerous players to be overpaid. Many saw the performance of these overpaid players as a part of the contract year phenomenon where a player performs better before a new contract and then after receiving their new contract, their performance deteriorates. The purpose of this research is twofold. First, it looks at whether the contract year phenomenon has been present in the NBA since 2015. After that it looks to find what statistics are the best predictors for performance based on their positions. This was done through various statistical analysis techniques such as T-tests and piecewise regression. Box score statistics like point, rebounds, and assists as well as advanced metrics like player efficiency rating, usage percentage, and true shooting percentage were utilized in this study. The results indicated that the concept of the contract year phenomenon was present in the players sampled. However, rather than contract year only being for players who increased their performance in the previous year, it is a more general phenomenon. Also, there was major differences in the statistics that predicted performance. The biggest of these was the importance of usage percentage rather than points and that centers had the least predictors, most likely due to the evolution in the play of centers.
ContributorsUmland, Matthew (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / McIntosh, Daniel (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor)
Created2022-05