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- All Subjects: sports
- Creators: Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
- Resource Type: Text
Description
Sports teams are an integral part of a city. They attract revenue to the area around the stadium and they also give a city a sense of pride. The aim of this study was to determine what makes a team successful in the area of attendance using four factors (Bernthal & Graham; Jensen; Kim, Trail & Magnusen; Edensor & Millington; Clowes & Tapp; Greenhalgh & Greenwell; Denaux & Yalcin; Paul & Weinbach & Robbins; Levin & McDonald; Lee & Kang; Drayer; L'Etang; McDonald & Rascher; Armstrong; Ross): the history of the team, the location and population of the city where the team plays, the social media following of the team and the promotional giveaways the team uses to attract fans. Using these four factors, a comparison was made among the Arizona teams and the top performing team in attendance in the respective leagues during the 2013 season. The Arizona Diamondbacks are compared with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Diamondbacks were not as equipped as the Dodgers in any of the categories. There is a more storied history for the Dodgers, the Dodgers play in Los Angeles - a significantly larger city that Phoenix, where the Arizona Diamondbacks play, they use social media more frequently and more effectively, and they offer more promotional giveaways than the Diamondbacks. The Phoenix Suns are compared to the Chicago Bulls. The Suns history competes with the Bulls, but they lack in the other three categories. The Bulls have a better location in Chicago, their stadium is located in the downtown area; they have a massive social media following and their promotional giveaways are more substantial. The Phoenix Coyotes are compared to the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks exceeded in all of the categories, while the Coyotes were poor performers in each of the four factors. The Blackhawks have a storied history, they share a stadium with the Bulls, they have a great social media following and they give promotional items away 30 of the 41 home games. The overall recommendations for the teams are to win, in order to help build their locations and make it fun to be near the downtown area, to use social media effectively and engage with their audience, and finally to provide more promotional giveaways to attract people to the games.
ContributorsDugan, Abby Leigh (Author) / Wu, Xu (Thesis director) / Matera, Fran (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Hugh Downs School of Human Communication (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
When I was unsure of what my thesis project would be, the professor of my thesis prep class, Jill Johnson, recommended that I choose a topic that I am passionate about. Immediately, my mind went to basketball and the NBA, the business and operations side of things to be specific. Initially, this research paper was going to look into market size and how those teams in a smaller market made their money and ran their teams. It was to focus on some of the more successful franchises that come from smaller markets, as well as those franchises that have been historically unsuccessful. However, the kind of data that I was looking for on market sizes was not very available. So I ended up focusing almost exclusively on the operations side of things. I wanted to see if there was one strategy for building a team that had proven to be more successful than others. I was not sure what sort of answers I would find, but I knew that there had to be some useful data that had yet to be discovered. I settled on researching the success of teams that build primarily using players they drafted versus teams that were built primarily through trades and free agent signings. I also wanted to illuminate the difficulties that front offices, particularly those in smaller markets, face when building a franchise. I chose to focus on things such as the luxury tax and betting on the wrong players. This paper went a lot of different directions before it became what it did. I want to thank all of those who helped me, particularly my director Tim McGuire, my second reader Peter Bhatia and Jill Johnson for helping me get started on the most intimidating, yet rewarding, project that I have ever been a part of.
ContributorsJohnson, Connor David (Author) / McGuire, Tim (Thesis director) / Bhatia, Peter (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Since the 1960's, the sport of American football has maintained its stranglehold as the most popular sport in the United States. Both in viewership and participation, football has a massive lead on all other sports, but as of late many factors have led some to believe that trouble could be on the horizon. With various issues including head injuries, player protests, and television viewership decline plaguing football and its professional league, the NFL, the door could be open for another collision sport from across the pond to surge in popularity: rugby. Played in 119 countries by millions of people, rugby is currently one of the most popular sports in the world, but because of American football's dominance in the U.S. it has yet to really find its footing here; however, despite its popularity paling in comparison to football, rugby is actually the single fastest-growing sport in the U.S. Both sports share some strong similarities, and with football facing a myriad of issues, there is real reason to believe that rugby could be on the rise while football could continue to falter. By reading through articles and statistics on the subject, this thesis was divided into four main analysis topics to compare and contrast the two sports: injury problems and how they affect viewership and participation, international following for each respective sport, culture around the games themselves and how it could appeal to American viewers, and potential for growth domestically. By examining these factors within both sports, I was able to come to the conclusion that rugby's potential to take hold in the U.S. is growing, and in the coming years as American football's safety and importance continue to be called into question, rugby could one day even supplant football as the most popular collision sport in the country.
ContributorsMartin, Drew Nicolas (Author) / Lynch, John (Thesis director) / Reed, Sada (Committee member) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This study examined the brand personality types and social media practices of six college athletic Twitter accounts. Specifically, this study investigated whether certain brand personalities corresponded with specific social media practices on Twitter. The author conducted a content analysis of each school's tweets to measure brand personality and scraped data in order to collect social media practice information. Results suggest that brand personality and social media practices are distinct. Extraversion was the most common personality type among all schools. In addition, schools that tweeted less frequently than others exhibited more brand personality and used more visual media.
ContributorsDave, Simran Sangita (Author) / Gilpin, Dawn (Thesis director) / Reed, Sada (Committee member) / Pucci, Jessica (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
In this research paper I explore former male athletes, specifically professional football players entering local journalism. Research paired with interviews in regards to the topic explain why there are nearly 10 former NFL players in local markets where an NFL team is present, and why local journalists along with future journalists should not be worried about the number of former male athletes in local journalism. The paper also dives into the side-by-side statistics of why there is significantly more former college athletes in local journalism than former NFL players. The research focused on more than 100 television stations, revealing that 100 former or current collegiate or pro athletes are journalists for local stations where an NFL team is present. The data is solely reliant on the information that the journalists provided in their bios on the station websites. This could be seen as a possible limitation, however, the likelihood of these journalists either lying or not identifying as a former athlete is minimal due to the size of the accomplishment of actually participating in college as an athlete. The basis of my research is to figure out if former NFL players and former athletes in general are taking journalism jobs from aspiring journalists. I conclude that future journalists are not at risk of losing jobs when it comes to retired football players entering the field of local journalism. With that said, aspiring journalists need to continue to develop their social media skills to compete with athletes’ audiences on social networks.
ContributorsTotri, Anthony Matthew (Author) / Kurland, Brett (Thesis director) / Reed, Sada (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Comm (Contributor, Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Sports is a business. Basketball is no different. Every rule change that has been enacted in the history of the game has been to make the game more exciting because that makes people buy tickets and helps the franchise's bottom line. I delve into the history of the rule changes and submit my own rule changes to make the game more exciting.
ContributorsSaar, Eric James (Author) / Tomasch, Kenn (Thesis director) / Edsall, Larry (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2013-12
Description
As the premier colligate summer league in the country, the Cape Cod Baseball League has operated since 1885 and has seen over one thousand all-time alumni step foot in professional baseball. Every season, each of the CCBL's ten teams call upon some of the nation's top aspiring sports broadcasters, writers, and social media managers to spearhead the coverage of the league and tell the stories of the summer. However, while the season offers hours of repetition and exposure to players and journalists alike, the league's coverage capabilities fall short of its high potential due to inconsistencies and inadequacies that restrain its media content from matching the level of baseball that takes place on the field. Through the identification of specific problems within the league's broadcast equipment, its varying platforms, and its growing gap between individual coverage teams, this thesis offers both short-term and long-term solutions that aim to raise the standards and capabilities of league content while also raising awareness of the issue itself. While considering the Cape Cod League's unique non-profit business model and its most recent financial situation, this thesis also illustrates opportunities within fundraising events, the league's online audience, and its vast alumni network that can create a sustainable business plan for the near and distant future of the Cape Cod Broadcast Network.
ContributorsKercheval, Kyle Nicholas (Author) / Kurland, Brett (Thesis director) / Cesmat, Brad (Committee member) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The research and work that allowed my thesis creative project to come to fruition were tokens of a truly enlightening experience. My thesis is entitled, ASU Olympians: Dissecting their Psyche, and delves into three main topics that blanket all eight of the subjects that I interviewed. The first topic encompasses the idea that Athletic Director Ray Anderson is constantly trying to expand the Olympic culture within ASU Athletics. The second topic is the fact that competing in the Olympics changes an athlete's trajectory whether they medal or not. The third topic focuses on the physical and mental toll the Games take on these athletes. I designed an interactive website to showcase these topics. In it, there are interactive features from up-and-coming applications such as a 360-degree photo from Bubbli, an infographic from Venngage and a timeline from Timeglider. I have written four long-form stories on marathoner Amy Hastings Cragg, swimmer Richard Bohus, high-jumper Bryan McBride and water polo defender Gao Ao. To enhance these ideas further, I created four videos: One about future ASU volunteer coach Michael Phelps, another on current ASU Swim & Dive Coach Bob Bowman, another on Ao to go along with her story and finally a one-on-one with Ray Anderson as the centerpiece to my project. Every piece of this website fits together to communicate one overarching message: The Olympics leave a massive impact on the ASU athletes that compete in them and an impact that each of these athlete's find an interesting story to tell in its wake.
ContributorsVicario, Kristina Louise (Author) / Lodato, Mark (Thesis director) / Hawken-Collins, Denise (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This study utilized a literature review and an analysis of Google Trends and Google News data in order to investigate the coverage that American men’s soccer gets from the media compared to that given to other major American sports. The literature review called upon a variety of peer-reviewed, scholarly entries, as well as journalistic articles and stories, to holistically argue that soccer receives short-sighted coverage from the American media. This section discusses topics such as import substitution, stardom, and American exceptionalism. The Google analysis consisted of 30 specific comparisons in which one American soccer player was compared to another athlete playing in one of America’s major sports leagues. These comparisons allowed for concrete measurements in the difference in popularity and coverage between soccer players and their counterparts. Overall, both the literature review and Google analysis yielded firm and significant evidence that the American media’s coverage of soccer is lopsided, and that they do play a role in the sport’s difficulty to become popular in the American mainstream.
ContributorsHedges, Nicholas Kent (Author) / Kurland, Brett (Thesis director) / Reed, Sada (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Comm (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
Soccer is considered one of the world’s most popular sports. In a 2017 Nielsen survey, 43 percent of people in 18 global markets said they were “interested” or “very interested” in the sport. However, multiple leagues across the globe allow for differences regarding fan bases.
Major League Soccer (MLS) was adopted as an official men’s soccer league on December 17, 1993, by the United States Soccer Federation. The league consists of 27 teams (24 in the US and 3 in Canada). By 2023, the league will expand to 30 teams. The season begins in March and play continues through mid-October, with a playoff bracket.
The English Premier League (EPL) was established on February 20, 1992 and is made up of 20 clubs. The season runs from mid-August to mid-May, with 380 matches across the league being played. There are no “playoffs”; instead, a winner is determined by a point system. Points add up throughout the season (three points for a win, one point for a draw, none for a loss).
The average attendance for the two leagues is fairly consistent. The most popular team in the EPL, Manchester United, averaged 57,942 spectators per game in 2019 (Statista). The most popular team in the MLS, Atlanta United, averaged 52,210 spectators per game in 2019 (Statista). Average television viewership between the two leagues is drastically different. The EPL is the most watched sports league in the world. In 2019, a Nielsen study found that the total audience delivered on NBC per match averaged 462,000 viewers (this number does not include Spanish language broadcasts or streaming data from NBC Sports Gold and Peacock Sports Group). Another Nielsen study found that the MLS’s 31-game schedule on ESPN and ESPN 2 had a total average audience of 246,000 viewers.
This website identifies the major differences in marketing and fan groups between the two leagues, and includes ideas on how to overcome these differences and make Major League Soccer have a larger presence in the United States, like the way the Premier League has a large presence in the U.K.
Website Link: https://fangapsinmlsandepl.wordpress.com
ContributorsCook, Paige (Author) / Kurland, Brett (Thesis director) / Camporeale, Joseph (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Comm (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-12