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- All Subjects: sports
- Creators: Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business
- Resource Type: Text
What if I told you that a few photos of a sweatshirt, delivered at the perfect time, cracked a case that had stumped some of the world’s greatest marketing minds for more than twenty years? What if I told you that a dismissed lawsuit played an integral part in this? One made possible by a rainy night in Couva, Trinidad? Or that all of this, hundreds of years in the making, could aid a wrongfully incarcerated man in being freed after spending twenty two years in prison, and pioneer one of the largest-scale social justice movements of the 21st century? All catalyzed by the effects of a global pandemic? If I told you, would you believe me? But let’s get back to that sweatshirt for now.<br/>In January 2020, the Coronavirus was a seemingly distant issue for another part of the world to most Americans. A generation that had seen the likes of H1N1 and Ebola come, cause irrational panic, and subsequently disappear had grown complacent with regard to unknown diseases. On March 9th, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert took a defiant step in dispelling fears of COVID-19 by touching every microphone in the room at the end of an interview. Two days later, a test revealed that he had contracted the virus, the first professional athlete to do so. The NBA suspended all activities, and thus began the succession of sports leagues across the nation suspending their seasons as global infection numbers rose. But we humans are resilient. As weeks became months, the NBA and WNBA were able to engineer “bubbles” to play in: isolated areas with only the players and essential personnel to play the games, equipped with safety precautions and persistent testing. With no fans allowed inside, social media and media members provided the only glimpse into the “bubble” that ordairy fans would get.<br/>The mornings of July 25th and 26th, as the players arrived for the first games of the day and were snapped by photographers, many sported orange hoodies with the trademark white WNBA logo in the center, to promote the start of the WNBA’s “bubble” season that summer. This sent the internet into a frenzy. “#OrangeHoodie” was trending across all social media platforms, the item sold out on many websites, and more people than ever were talking about the WNBA online. That season, WNBA viewership spiked. More people watched the WNBA than ever before, even with the NBA’s playoffs taking place at the same time. How, then, did a single orange hoodie change the future of marketing the WNBA? What does that tell us about other women’s sports that have similarly struggled with attention and viewership? What role does media exposure play in all of this; do we perceive women differently in the media than we do men? Are these issues rooted in deeper societal prejudices, or are women’s sports simply quantifiably less entertaining?<br/>On a journey to find the answers to these questions, I learned a lot about the relationship of media and culture, about sport, and about the outstanding untold stories of American sportswomen. However, the most important thing I found was that women are marketable. After long being denied the opportunities and exposure they deserve, American culture has as a result pushed women to the background under the guise of them not being demanded or marketable. This could not be further from the truth. They are not demanded because they are not seen. Investing in sportswomen would not only create a better future for all women, but for all people. How, then, is this achievable? How will the powers that be allow for changes to be made? How can we as individuals be receptive to this change? In this thesis, I will take you on a journey where media is fun and fair, and where the future is female.
This project dives into the journey of our entrepreneurial startup with the Founders Lab Thesis Program. In the global sports business industry, we knew that there was something missing. While conducting market research, there was little data and information about sustainability initiatives that engaged sports fans, especially in college sports. Not to mention, there was no sustainability information provided on any existing platforms that sporting teams use for ticketing and advertising. So, for our startup, we decided to create a website called SustainSports which gives fans the opportunity to inform themselves about sustainability initiatives at sports events (https://sustainsports.webflow.io/). These fans can also earn points and rewards for practicing sustainability activities at home. In short, SustainSports serves as an educational, interactive, and informative website that connects users to sustainability initiatives, community activities, and exciting rewards, while encouraging users to continue such environmentally-friendly practices in their daily lives. In chronological order, this thesis paper will examine the process we took to create SustainSports and demonstrate our efforts that properly allowed us to defend it one academic year later. From meetings with renowned sports enthusiasts and professors to interviews with ASU students and sports fans, we have listened to and taken in diverse perspectives to understand the perceptions of sustainability in the global sports industry. When we realized that there was a significant gap between sports and sustainability - both important elements of American society and culture - we knew a change needed to be made. Hence, SustainSports came to life, offering users a fresh opportunity to be more aware of their sustainability surroundings, while simultaneously enjoying the sports they know and love.
This project dives into the journey of our entrepreneurial startup with the Founders Lab Thesis Program. In the global sports business industry, we knew that there was something missing. While conducting market research, there was little data and information about sustainability initiatives that engaged sports fans, especially in college sports. Not to mention, there was no sustainability information provided on any existing platforms that sporting teams use for ticketing and advertising. So, for our startup, we decided to create a website called SustainSports which gives fans the opportunity to inform themselves about sustainability initiatives at sports events (https://sustainsports.webflow.io/). These fans can also earn points and rewards for practicing sustainability activities at home. In short, SustainSports serves as an educational, interactive, and informative website that connects users to sustainability initiatives, community activities, and exciting rewards, while encouraging users to continue such environmentally-friendly practices in their daily lives. In chronological order, this thesis paper will examine the process we took to create SustainSports and demonstrate our efforts that properly allowed us to defend it one academic year later. From meetings with renowned sports enthusiasts and professors to interviews with ASU students and sports fans, we have listened to and taken in diverse perspectives to understand the perceptions of sustainability in the global sports industry. When we realized that there was a significant gap between sports and sustainability - both important elements of American society and culture - we knew a change needed to be made. Hence, SustainSports came to life, offering users a fresh opportunity to be more aware of their sustainability surroundings, while simultaneously enjoying the sports they know and love.
In 2020, the world was swept by a global pandemic. It disrupted the lives of millions; many lost their jobs, students were forced to leave schools, and children were left with little to do while quarantined at their houses. Although the media outlets covered very little of how children were being affected by COVID-19, it was obvious that their group was not immune to the issues the world was facing. Being stuck at home with little to do took a mental and physical toll on many kids. That is when EVOLVE Academy became an idea; our team wanted to create a fully online platform for children to help them practice and evolve their athletics skills, or simply spend part of their day performing a physical and health activity. Our team designed a solution that would benefit children, as well as parents that were struggling to find engaging activities for their kids while out of school. We quickly encountered issues that made it difficult for us to reach our target audience and make them believe and trust our platform. However, we persisted and tried to solve and answer the questions and problems that came along the way. Sadly, the same pandemic that opened the widow for EVOLVE Academy to exist, is now the reason people are walking away from it. Children want real interaction. They want to connect with other kids through more than just a screen. Although the priority of parents remains the safety and security of their kids, parents are also searching and opting for more “human” interactions, leaving EVOLVE Academy with little room to grow and succeed.
The Winner's Circle aims to provide a digital platform for sports fans and betting addicts, in hopes to help centralize various forms of social communication between family, close friends, and strangers alike. As the legalization of sports related gambling activities become more widespread throughout the United States as well as the rest of the world, our platform has to potential to connect millions of like-minded, adrenaline-seeking fans across the globe.
The purpose of this thesis is to outline the importance of setting an inclusive organizational culture within a professional baseball franchise, with a network of teams ranging from Rookie Leagues to Major League Baseball. In addition, the purpose of this research is to assess the current state of culture throughout Major League Baseball organizations to determine the most appropriate approach to culture for an MLB franchise, showing evidence for culture as a competitive advantage. Through qualitative research through the form of interviews (n=8), former players at the MiLB and MLB levels (n=3), player development staff (n=3), and directors of international scouting (n=2) provided insight into professional baseball culture in the United States (U.S.), its successes, and its shortcomings.
The FIFA Men’s World Cup is returning to the United States for the first time since 1994 and will be the very first edition to host 48 teams, 80 total games, and have three host countries. The bid process for this edition of the World Cup is extremely complicated, and the final host cities for the United States are not yet known. What follows is a recommendation to FIFA on who the ten host cities from the United States should be in 2026. Based on the FIFA Bid Book that the bid from the United States, Canada, and Mexico sent to FIFA, along with additional research and surveys sent to fans, the final ten host cities from the United States should be Atlanta, Los Angeles, Dallas, New York/New Jersey, Miami, Houston, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, and Baltimore/Washington DC. Further, it is shocking that the City of Phoenix did not submit a bid to host games in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Following the recommendation of the final ten host cities, a potential bid for Phoenix to host the games is created that likely would have won the city the rights to host matches because of Phoenix’s high potential revenue, new stadium, and city location. Ultimately, if Phoenix would have sent this bid to FIFA, they would have an extremely strong case for hosting games in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.