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- All Subjects: sports
- Creators: McIntosh, Daniel
Description
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.
ContributorsParmenter, Taylor (Co-author) / Hernandez, Melany (Co-author) / Whitelocke, Kailas (Co-author) / Byrne, Jared (Thesis director) / Lee, Christopher (Committee member) / Kunowski, Jeff (Committee member) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor, Contributor, Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
Home advantage affects the game in almost all team sports across the world. Due to<br/>COVID and all of the precautions being taken to keep games played, more extensive research is able to be conducted about what factors truly go into creating a home advantage. Some common factors of home advantage include the crowd, facility familiarity, and travel. In the English Premier League, there are no fans allowed at any of the games; furthermore, in the NBA, a bubble was created at one neutral venue with no fans in attendance. Even with the NBA being at a neutral site, there was still a “home team” at every game. The sports betting industry struggled due to failing to shift betting lines in accordance with this decreased home advantage. With these leagues removing some of the factors that are frequently associated with home advantage, analysts are able to better see what the results would be of removing these variables. The purpose of this research is to determine if these adjustments made due to COVID had an impact on the home advantage in different leagues around the world, and if they did, to what extent. Individual game data from the past 10 seasons were used for analysis of both the NBA and the Premier League. The results show that there is a significant difference in win percentage between prior seasons and seasons behind closed doors. In addition to win percentage, many other game statistics see a significant shift as well. Overall, the significance of being the home team disappears in games following the COVID-19 break.
ContributorsOsborne, Ashley A (Author) / Sopha, Matthew (Thesis director) / McIntosh, Daniel (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (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
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 first chapter of the Seattle SuperSonics’ story is one full of pride, including a championship run in the 1970s, being one of the most popular teams of the 1990s, along with having an incredibly loyal fan base. The next chapter of that story is one filled with painful memories for those same loyal fans. In 2008, the team was stripped away from Seattle, eventually landing in Oklahoma City, leaving countless people heartbroken and a gaping hole in the professional sports landscape. For some people, that removal was where the story ended; for many, however, that was just the end of another chapter. The movement to bring the SuperSonics back to the city and their beloved fans began the day after the team left town, and has been going strong ever since. While the voices of fans cry out for a return, many critics say that a new team would no longer be able to flourish in Seattle, and that the NBA should stand pat where they are. This project seeks to determine the truth to that statement by investigating one central question: Should the Seattle SuperSonics be brought back to life? The question is viewed through a pair of perspectives over the course of this paper. The first is based in business, where I completed a thorough analysis that covers five major factors that are crucial to determining success. The second is that of the fans, which was accessed through a survey created to figure out what truly was important to them when looking at a new team. After these perspectives have been examined, the project will turn to the debate that asks which form of reentry would be more efficient for a rebuild: league expansion or relocation of a current franchise. I feel as though this topic is one that should be more well known across the realm of sports, and wanted to shine a light on it through this process. No fan would ever want to experience the kind of loss that comes with their favorite team being taken away, and I believe that acknowledging past failures can help leagues make better decisions in the future.
ContributorsKoufidakis, Nicholas (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / McIntosh, Daniel (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
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 landscape of professional sporting venues within the United States is changing. From 1990-2018, within the four main American professional sports leagues, 20 new NHL arenas, 24 new NBA arenas, 22 new NFL stadiums, and 26 new MLB stadiums were built. As the industry morphs, a handful of new initiatives are being worked into the construct of these venues including increased commercial areas for shopping and restaurants and sharing of the venues between two organizations in an attempt to increase the overall utilization of the spaces. Additionally, in Detroit, San Francisco and Atlanta, where new stadiums and arenas were just recently introduced, the municipalities are using the venues to catalyze further growth and development within the city. However, these trends, while innovative, are tethered to high prices.
This thesis seeks to analyze the changes in how current stadiums are being funded, the public’s reaction to and perception of those financing plans and what the future might hold. Research showed that tax dollars are increasingly unpopular and that teams are moving away from using public money to fund sports venues. Gathered for this report, survey data of 815 Arizona State University students supported anecdotal evidence that people within a community are relatively unhappy with the idea of their money being used to partially subsidize wealthy sports organizations’ infrastructure. Altogether, recent evidence suggests that multi-use facilities funded in majority by private wealth are more popular and generate greater economic impact for the municipality than earlier in history, when heavily subsidized venues allowed teams to take advantage of local government and created fan mistrust. Additionally, sporting organizations can increase value to their consumer by incorporating additional commercial properties into the venue and by collaborating with the public regarding the financing structure of the venue.
This thesis seeks to analyze the changes in how current stadiums are being funded, the public’s reaction to and perception of those financing plans and what the future might hold. Research showed that tax dollars are increasingly unpopular and that teams are moving away from using public money to fund sports venues. Gathered for this report, survey data of 815 Arizona State University students supported anecdotal evidence that people within a community are relatively unhappy with the idea of their money being used to partially subsidize wealthy sports organizations’ infrastructure. Altogether, recent evidence suggests that multi-use facilities funded in majority by private wealth are more popular and generate greater economic impact for the municipality than earlier in history, when heavily subsidized venues allowed teams to take advantage of local government and created fan mistrust. Additionally, sporting organizations can increase value to their consumer by incorporating additional commercial properties into the venue and by collaborating with the public regarding the financing structure of the venue.
ContributorsCwiakala, Alec (Co-author) / Kleen, Brendon (Co-author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / McIntosh, Daniel (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05