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Description
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is one of the Big Four Sporting Leagues of US Professional Sports. In recent years, the NBA has enjoyed milestone seasons in both attendance and television ratings, resulting in steady increases to both, over the previous decade. (Morgan, 2017) This surge can be attributed in part to the integration of "cultural recognition" initiatives and the overall message of inclusivity on the part of NBA franchises, with their respective promotions and advertisements such as television, social media, radio, etc. Heritage Nights, such as "Noche Latina," among other variants in the NBA, typically feature culturally influenced changes to team logos, giveaways, and other consumer offerings. In markets where Hispanics make up a significant percentage of the fan-base, such as Phoenix, NBA franchises such as the Phoenix Suns must ascertain the financial or perceptual impacts, associated with risks of stereotyping, offending or otherwise unintentionally alienating different categories of fans. To this end, data was collected from the local NBA franchises' fanbase, specifically Phoenix Suns season-ticket holders, and was statistically checked for significant relationships between both categories of fans and several different variables. This analysis found that only $192K in revenue is being missed through the investment of Heritage Nights, and that fan perceptions of stereotypical or offensive giveaways and practices have no significant effect on game or event attendance, despite the stereotypes toward giveaways and practices still being present. Implications of this study provide possible next steps for the Suns and continue to widen the scope of demographical sports marketing both in professional basketball and beyond.
ContributorsGibbens, Patrick Alexander (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / McIntosh, Daniel (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / School of Music (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This project, which consists of a review article and an applied creative project, proposes mirror neurons as being a physiological mechanism for motor imagery. The review article highlights similarities between motor imagery research and research on mirror neurons. The research is roughly divided into three types of studies: neuroimaging studies, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electromyography (EMG) studies, and electroencephalography (EEG) studies. The review also discusses the associative hypothesis of mirror neuron origin as support for the hypothesis and concludes with an assessment of conflicting research and the limitations of the hypothesis. The applied creative project is an instructional brochure, aimed at anyone who teaches motor skills, such as dance teachers or sports coaches. The brochure takes the academic content of the review and presents it in a visually pleasing, reader-friendly fashion in an effort to educate the intended audience and make the research more accessible. The brochure also prescribes research-based suggestions for how to use motor imagery during teaching sessions and how to get the best benefits from it.
ContributorsNgai, Valerie Christina (Author) / Hoffner, Kristin (Thesis director) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2015-05
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
Abstract I sought out a project that would be able to intertwine the topics of business law and the business of sports. After reading and researching a few different options, one combination of law and sports that stood out to me was the frequent labor disputes between NHL owners and the players' union. The main goal of this project was to examine whether or not the lockouts that were instituted by National Hockey League owners during the labor disputes that occurred in 2004 and 2012 actually left the league with a better long term financial and social landscape. Through the examination of the stakeholders that were involved in each dispute and their resulting situations, I presented my answer to the above question. In order to properly study the overall situation, I also discussed the history of sports business, the history of the National Hockey League's business landscape, and collective bargaining in sports amongst other topics.
ContributorsNix, Eric Anthony (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Kutz, Elana (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The beautiful game is unpredictable. Arguably half of soccer is entirely out of our control, instead being determined by a simple concept: luck. But what of the other 50%? Ultimately, the goal of the rapidly-advancing technologies and analytics in on-field sports performance is to maximize the elements that we \u2014 the coaches, players, decision-makers, and analysts \u2014 truly control. Once perceived as too mathematical and systemized, contradicting coaches' intuitions, sports sciences are burgeoning in the sports arena both in applied and mainstream popularity. While the industry has its critics and is far shy of its pinnacle, its advancements and successes cannot be ignored. From the training ground to match day decision-making, analytics are embedded in soccer and sport. Technology and analytics are vastly utilized throughout sporting organizations across a myriad of sports and purposes: scouting and drafting, fan experience, ticketing, etc. However, while these areas must be addressed in discussing the success of analytics in assessing situations and reducing uncertainty, my central thesis relates to the technological capabilities and corresponding analytical tools utilized to identify, assess, and improve on-field soccer performance: match analysis. This paper's core focuses on optimizing performance in soccer players in three specific areas of performance: technical abilities and tactics, physiology, and neuroscience.
ContributorsHeckendorn, Jason Farrell (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Ostrom, Amy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Sport is a widespread phenomenon across human cultures and history. Unfortunately, positive emotions in sport have been long vaguely characterized as happy or pleasant, or ignored altogether. Recent emotion research has taken a differentiated approach, however, suggesting there are distinct positive emotions with diverse implications for behavior. The present study applied this evolutionarily informed approach in the context of sport to examine which positive emotions are associated with play. It was hypothesized that pride, amusement, and enthusiasm, but not contentment or awe, would increase in Ultimate Frisbee players during a practice scrimmage. Further, it was hypothesized that increases in pride and amusement during practice would be differentially associated with sport outcomes, including performance (scores, assists, and defenses), subjective social connectedness, attributions of success, and attitudes toward the importance of practice. It was found that all positive emotions decreased during practice. It was also found that increases in pride were associated with more scores and greater social connectedness, whereas increases in amusement were associated with more assists. The present study was one of the first to examine change in positive emotions during play and to relate them to specific performance outcomes. Future studies should expand to determine which came first: emotion or performance.
ContributorsKuna, Jacob Anthony (Author) / Shiota, Michelle (Thesis director) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Danvers, Alexander (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The purpose of this thesis was to identity various sports psychology techniques utilized during the injury recovery process of an NCAA athlete. Using a qualitative approach, past research was analyzed to uncover different features of an athletic injury as well as possible intervention methods. Findings suggested that effective intervention techniques structured around the Self Determination Theory (SDT), more specifically the concept of strengthening the satisfaction of an individual's three basic psychological needs: competence, autonomy and relatedness. Following the collection of past research, a series of interviews were conducted with four practicing sports psychologists. Interview questions focused on determining possible distinctions between acute, chronic and career-ending injuries as well as intervention techniques employed. Utilizing data collected from past research as well as the interviews, an applied brochure was developed for the potential benefit of an injured athlete. The established techniques, if utilized properly, should strengthen the satisfaction of an athlete's psychological needs according to the SDT, which may ultimately foster a positive and successful return-to-sport experience.
ContributorsLieb, Juliann Rose (Author) / Heywood, William (Thesis director) / Hoffner, Kristin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The purpose of this thesis was to identity various sports psychology techniques utilized during the injury recovery process of an NCAA athlete. Using a qualitative approach, past research was analyzed to uncover different features of an athletic injury as well as possible intervention methods. Findings suggested that effective intervention techniques structured around the Self Determination Theory (SDT), more specifically the concept of strengthening the satisfaction of an individual's three basic psychological needs: competence, autonomy and relatedness. Following the collection of past research, a series of interviews were conducted with four practicing sports psychologists. Interview questions focused on determining possible distinctions between acute, chronic and career-ending injuries as well as intervention techniques employed. Utilizing data collected from past research as well as the interviews, an applied brochure was developed for the potential benefit of an injured athlete. The established techniques, if utilized properly, should strengthen the satisfaction of an athlete's psychological needs according to the SDT, which may ultimately foster a positive and successful return-to-sport experience.
ContributorsLieb, Juliann Rose (Author) / Heywood, William (Thesis director) / Hoffner, Kristin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (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
This paper explores psychographics and how they can be used to increase value in sport sponsorships. Funk (2016) indicates that psychographics are the attitudes, interests, and opinions of consumers. This defines psychographics, which is crucial for the continuation of the research. In a study conducted with the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, psychographics are explored further from the sponsor's perspective. Questions in the survey examine how recognizable different forms of sponsorship are, as well as the consumers' perception of sponsors and other consumer attitudes. Insights regarding general sponsorships within sport are provided from the analysis of this data. Overall, it is seen that the forms of sponsorship with the greatest visibility, especially those with media visibility via television broadcasts, are the easiest to recognize. Additionally, it is seen that consumers purchase based on an emotional connection to a brand, and they perceive the goal of sponsorship as a chance for sponsors to sell their brand, not their products. Knowing this information is useful, because applying it allows sponsors to maximize their sponsorship value by connecting with fans on a deeper level and targeting their promotional efforts accordingly. This piece includes the full list of survey questions and explanations, as well as an in-depth analysis of the setbacks faced in this project, and the potential downfalls of the survey sample. Regardless of that, this is still valuable information that provides an informal example of the power of psychographics as they relate to growing the value of sport sponsorship.
ContributorsBreidenbach, Nadia Marie (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / McIntosh, Daniel (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05