ISSN: 1543-9518|Vol. 24

An Examination of the Moneyball Theory: A Baseball Statistical Analysis

Submitted by: Ehren Wassermann, Daniel R. Czech, Matthew J. Wilson & A Barry Joyner

INTRODUCTION

Money is a very important aspect in almost every professional sport. In professional baseball, there are large (New York Yankees) and small (Oakland Athletics) market organizations that make important decisions based on their economic status. For example, many smaller city market teams, must spend their money wisely to ensure the best outcome; whereas, a larger city market team has more income that is expendable (Lewis, 2003). This money spending process originates during the Major League Baseball player draft held each June. The draft process involves fifty rounds of selections by all thirty teams. Each team gathers their general managers, scouts, and professional consultants to decide which players should be drafted. The higher the draftee the more valuable he is believed to the team. Therefore, the procedure to decide which players should be selected earliest is very important (Lewis, 2003). According to Lewis (2003) there are two main theories that are being used to narrow the selection process.

The first theory is generally considered the “old” scouting theory. Scouts venture out and evaluate players all over the country. They do not pay particular attention to statistics, but rather base decisions on the five tools: speed, quickness, arm strength, hitting ability and mental toughness (Lewis, 2003). Each scout goes through “scout school” and is given a pamphlet on what should be looked for in certain aspects of baseball, such as arm strength, fielding, running, and the most important hitting. For arm, strength evaluation, scouts are instructed to look for players exhibiting a “fluid arm action and easy release” (Major League Baseball, 2001 p. 10). Furthermore arm strength evaluation is conducted with the assistance of a radar gun. In the fielding category, “a strong arm and defensive skills can and do carry a player to the major leagues” (MLB, 2001 p. 10). Also, “a live, active lower body, quick feet, agility, instinct, . . . alertness, are some of the qualities that go into the rankings of a major league infielder” (MLB, 2001 p. 10). Running is commonly judged through a timed 60 yard sprint (Baechle & Earle, 2003). Hitting is the “most difficult of all scouting categories of judgment” (MLB, 2001 p. 11). A general list of guidelines that scouts look for is: (1). Strength, (2). Starting the bat, generating bat speed, (3). Full arm extension and follow through after making contact, (4). Head stays on ball, (5). Lack of fear, butt stays up at plate, (6). Short stride, (7). Top hand is evident upon making contact and follow through, (8). Head of bat does not lag, (9). Aggressive, hits first good pitch, (10). Short strokes, yet ball jumps off bat, (11). Bat goes to ball (Not a swing through a certain arc area and the ball happens to be in that zone) (MLB, 2001 p. 11). Scouts are instructed not to scout performance but to “watch for things that are done mechanically that will eventually bring results and success” (MLB, 2001 p. 13). When a scout sees a player he then gives the player a certain grade. “The evaluated grade of five (5) in any respective category portrays the player as having, or will have, an average skill of major league standards, currently or once he reaches major league competition” (MLB, 2001 p. 14)

The second theory is based on the Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane and is illustrated in a novel by Micheal Lewis entitled Moneyball. The Moneyball theory places no emphasis on the body of the athlete or the physical tools that the athlete possess’ (Lewis, 2003). This theory illustrates the simplicity of baseball by asking two questions: Does this player get on base? and Can he hit? According to Lewis (2003), Billy Beane (the inspiration of Moneyball) decided to base his drafting of position players/hitters on certain statistics. His main two statistics included on-base percentage (OBP) and slugging percentage. These two stats combined to form a new statistic called on-base plus slugging (OPS). Another differing aspect in Beane’s approach was his lack of emphasis on power (Lewis, 2003). Therefore, Beane believed that power could be developed, but patience at the plate and the ability to get on base could not. Moreover, Beane believed in the notion to select college players who are experienced on a different level than the high school “phenom” who needs to be developed into a player. Beane’s theory was created based on the works of a sabermetrician named Bill James. “Sabermetrics is the mathematical and statistical analysis of baseball records” (James, 1982 p. 3). James spent years trying to decipher numbers via the Bill James Baseball Abstract, which in turn, resulted in a specific philosophy on hitters.

James’ idea on hitters differs from the draft process of Billy Beane, but Beane adopted his views from James’ ideology. When putting together a lineup, managers must decide the best order in which the team has the best chance of winning. To win the game one must score more runs than the opposing team. This thought provokes the question as to why such great importance is placed on batting averages? “People are in the habit of listing their teams offensive statistics according to batting averages rather than in order of runs scored” (James, 1984 p.10). James believes that “a hitter’s job is not to compile a high batting average, maintain a high on-base percentage, create a high slugging percentage, get 200 hits, or hit home runs” (James, 2001 p. 329). However, part of a hitter’s job from a coach’s perspective, is to hit homeruns, singles, doubles, get on base, drive in runs, and steal bases (James, 2001). James believes the job of a hitter is to create runs. “The essential measure of a hitter’s success is how many runs he has created” (James, 2001 p. 330). James then developed a formula that allows one to establish created runs:

(Hits + Walks) x Total Bases
At-bats + Walks

This formula works 90 % of the time and gives a total of the team’s actual scored runs within 5 % (James, 2001). From this philosophy, Beane developed his theory. The only way to score runs is to get on base and since walks are such a vital part of the created runs formula, on-base percentage should be closely monitored. Even though this formula is very accurate, additional steps can be taken to improve the accuracy. This new formula accounts for the more minute aspects of meaningful baseball statistics. It works off the simple formula:
(A x B)/ C
The A variable adjusts the “on-base” aspect of baseball.

A = hits + walks + hit batsmen – caught stealing – ground into double play (H + W + HBP – CS – GIDP)
The B variable takes into account the advancement of the player.
B = total bases plus .26 times hit batsmen and non-intentional walks, plus .52 times stolen bases, sacrifice hits, and flies (TB + .26(TBB – IBB + HBP) + .52(SB + SH + SF)

The C variable accounts for opportunity.

C = at-bats + total walks + sacrifice hits and flies + hit batsmen (AB + TBB + SF + HBP) (James, 1984 p. 14)

James believed that “figuring the number of runs created is a great tool to evaluate hitters since a hitter’s job is to create runs” (James, 1983 p. 5). Therefore, Beane also placed a major emphasis on what had to be done to create runs and drafted players accordingly.

The difference between these two theories leads to the following questions, what are the optimal attributes of the ideal draft pick? Are young high school prospects with the ideal 5 physical tools more advantageous to draft than the seasoned college player with high offensive Moneyball statistics?

The purpose of this investigation was to answer the question of whether there is a significant difference in on base percentage, slugging percentage and on base + slugging percentage (OPS) between high school and college drafted position players performing at the professional level? It is hypothesized that because of more experience, more rich statistical data, and better competition at the college level, the college baseball players will have better offensive Moneyball statistics than the high school players.

METHODS

Participants

The participants in this study were 60 professional baseball players. More specifically, thirty high school and thirty college players from the 1997 major league professional amateur draft were selected for participation in this study. The age range of the participants was 18 to 23 years of age. The mean age of the high school players was x=18.3 and the mean age of the college players is x=20.9. The mean age for the entire participant sample is 19.6 years of age.

Procedure

A comprehensive internet search was conducted to locate the high school and college players from the 1997 amateur draft. The authors felt that four years was enough time to examine a drafted player’s moneyball statistics, as four years is the time when many players move to their highest level of play. By use of the following website (www.sports-wired.com), draft information i.e. the top thirty drafted position players from high school and college Moneyball statistics were obtained. Each player’s professional (Major and Minor League) Moneyball statistics (slugging percentage, on-base percentage, and on-base plus slugging) from their rookie year to their 4th year of playing professionally were utilized. Slugging percentage was calculated as (Total Bases divided by At Bats). On base Percentage was calculated as (Hits + Base on Ball + Hit By Pitch) divided by (At Bats + Base on Balls + Hit by Pitch + Sacrifice Flies)

Results

Descriptive statistics included the means and standard deviation ranges overall and as a function of both major league and minor league slugging percentage, on base percentage, and OPS. A score was calculated, comparing college and high school players, for each variable using the SPSS 12.0 statistical package. An independent samples T-test was utilized to compare differences between collegiate and high school players. An alpha level of .05 was used for all statistical tests.

The mean and standard deviation for the college and high school player’s performances in the major and minor leagues is illustrated in Table 1. An independent T-test revealed a significant difference between college and high school minor league slugging percentage. No significant differences were found when comparing college and high school on base percentage and OPS.

DISCUSSION

The purpose of this study was to compare the top collegiate and high school drafted baseball player’s professional offensive Moneyball statistics- slugging percentage, on base percentage, and on base plus slugging (OPS) over a four year period. It was hypothesized that college drafted players would have significantly higher Moneyball related offensive statistics than the high school players. The results did not support the hypothesis in that the only significant difference was between college and high school minor league slugging percentage. These results may contradict some of Beane’s Moneyball theory (Lewis, 2003).

Beane postulated in Lewis’ (2003) that college players would perform better than high school players. This hypothesis is due to several factors. First, college players are more mature physically, mentally, and emotionally than high school players. This maturity would enable them to handle the stresses that are involved in minor league baseball such as, long bus rides, the occasional slump, and unfamiliarity with surroundings. Secondly, college players play against stronger and more advanced competition more often than high school players. This allows for more experience which may provide a better preparation for professional play. Finally, college players play a longer schedule and usually practice year round. This consistent playing allows for skills to be refined and mastered. Using these facts, Beane decided that college players are a better investment than high school players (Lewis, 2003).

The results may not have supported the hypothesis because both groups of athletes had to make adjustments to professional baseball. The high school players may adapt more easily to new changes because they are younger and may have had less influence from other less experienced coaches; however, college players may have developed a certain approach to hitting from college that contradicts a new approach at the professional level. Therefore, the college players may take a longer time to alter their approach to hitting and thus hindering their productivity at the plate. Another factor may be due to the notion that high school players are usually placed in lower levels of professional baseball than college players, which in turn may even the offensive statistics. Lastly, college baseball players may have the opportunity to gain more experience with the wooden bat when competing in collegiate summer leagues.

The rest of baseball has seemed to take notice of the Billy Beane philosophy of drafting. In the 2003 First-Year Player Draft, more than 70 % of the players drafted through the first twenty rounds were from a four-year college or a junior college (Mayo/MLB.com, 2003). This percentage was “a marked increase compared to the last three years” (Mayo/MLB.com, 2003, p.1). Even though this significant increase in drafting college players seems to be the trend, “there [has been] little statistical data to support doing that” (Newman/MLB.com, 2003, p. 2). Baseball America researched the 1990s draft and announced that 2,115 players signed in the first ten rounds between 1990-97 (Newman/MLB.com, 2003). “The group includes 1,024 collegians, 398 of whom (38.9 %) reached the Majors” and “920 prepsters, 259 (28.2 %) did the same” (Newman/Mlb.com, 2003, p 2-3). It was noted that most of the differences amounts to only limited time in “The Show”. However, “further research noted that 90 college players (8.8 %) and 77 high school players (8.4 %) became Major League regulars for at least a few seasons” (Newman/MLB.com, 2003, p. 3). These last numbers correlate with the findings of this study illustrating little difference between the productivity of college players versus high school players.

It is important to note that there were limitations to this study. For example, one relevant limitation was the number of participants used in the study. A more significant result could have been established utilizing the entire draft. With more participants and more statistical data, a better idea of the purpose could have been allocated. Another limitation that needs to be noted is the speed at which certain players are promoted. Some high draft picks (top ten rounds) are quickly promoted to a higher level, regardless of their success at the current level. This is due to the amount of money invested in the athlete. For example, a fourth round shortstop may get a signing bonus of 450,000 dollars while the 38th round shortstop may only get 1,000 dollars.

Consequently, the organization has a tremendous amount of money invested in the fourth rounder and they need him to develop faster (Lewis, 2003). Hence, even though this player may not be physically and mentally ready, the organization wants to see a quick return on its investment. Finally, a major limitation is the amount of playing the athlete does. Each year when the regular season ends, many players face the decision of playing winter ball (Lewis, 2003). Many believe that rest is needed to help the body recover from a long, strenuous season; however, others believe that winter ball allows them to gain an extra advantage over their competition. No matter the limitations there is significant evidence against the Billy Beane philosophy.

What this study attempted to illustrate was how an organization with a low budget produces quality baseball players using a new philosophy unorthodox to the norm of baseball (Lewis, 2003). From a financial standpoint, the authors believe there are two mindsets regarding the lack of significance. Because of the minimal significant differences between college and high school players’ “moneyball” statistics, many MLB teams might want to disregard the notion that cheaper “moneyball” college drafted players are better investments because they do not do as well as their high school drafted counterparts. However, even though the comparison is not significant statistically, the statistics may be significant to an organization/coach, which is playing the Moneyball way of baseball. A small market organization may want to pay less for college players who average .432 (slugging percentage), .344 (on base percentage) and .776 (OPS) than pay more for high school players who average .396 (slugging percentage), .332 (on base percentage), .728 (OPS) over a four year time period. Even though slugging percentage is the only significant difference, the college players have better statistics from a baseball playing perspective. This difference may be the rationale as to draft cheaper players based on the Moneyball statistics and play the Moneyball way of baseball, especially for small market teams. More research, both qualitative and quantitative needs to be completed before making a conclusion regarding the Moneyball way of drafting and playing professional baseball. If the Moneyball method is proven as significant, it could revolutionize the baseball industry. The importance of this theory is not only relevant monetarily, but it could institute a new theory to the selection of baseball players. Future research should examine if other organizations are using Beane’s philosophy and if they are how this will affect the Oakland organization. Moreover, future research should analyze OPS and Runs Created.

REFERENCES

1. Baechle, T.R., & Earle, R.W. (2000). Essentials of Strength Training and
Conditioning. Human Kinetics: Champaign, Il.
2. James, B. (1982). The Bill James Baseball Abstract 1982. New York: Ballantine
Books.
3. James, B. (1983). The Bill James Baseball Abstract 1983. New York: Ballantine
Books.
4. James, B. (1984). The Bill James Baseball Abstract 1984. New York: Ballantine
Books.
5. James, B. (2001). The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. New York:
The Free Press.
6. Lewis, M. (2003). Moneyball: The Art of Winning the Unfair Game. New York:
W.W. Norton and Company.
7. Major League Baseball. (2001). Major League Baseball Scouting Pamphlet.
8. Mayo, J. (2003). A Strong Lean Toward Collegians: Trend Away from High
Schoolers Continues in Draft. November 24, 2003, http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/mlb_news.jsp?ymd=20030603&content_id=353523&vkey=draft2003&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb.
9. Mayo, J. (2003). High School Players Fall in Draft. November 24, 2003,
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/mlb_news.jsp?ymd=20030604&content_id=355074&vkey=draft2003&fext=.jsp.
10. Newman, M. (2003). High School vs. College: Does Either Provide a Better
Shot at a “Sure Thing?”. November 24, 2003,
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/mlb_news.jsp?ymd=20030520&content_id=328934&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

2015-03-20T10:41:26-05:00January 2nd, 2005|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Coaching, Sports Exercise Science, Sports Management, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off on An Examination of the Moneyball Theory: A Baseball Statistical Analysis
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Predicting Fund Raising Revenues in NCAA Division I-A Intercollegiate Athletics

Submitted by: Chad McEvoy

Introduction

According to the NCAA (Fulks, 2001), contributions from alumni and others, or fund raising, is the second-largest revenue source for Division I-A athletic programs, trailing only ticket sales. Fund raising accounts for nearly five million dollars of the typical Division I-A athletic programs’ $25 million of total revenue, and, as such, is clearly a vital source of funding for intercollegiate athletic programs. Therefore, the ability to forecast fund raising revenues is crucial for college athletic departments. This study will create a model to predict annual fund raising revenues in NCAA Division I-A intercollegiate athletics, thus aiding practitioners in predicting these revenues on their own respective campuses.

Related Literature

Numerous authors have examined the relationships between intercollegiate athletic programs and higher education. These studies have focused on the relationship between college sports performance and variables such as applicants to universities (Allen & Peters, 1982; Chressanthis & Grimes, 1993; Murphy & Trandel, 1994; Toma & Cross, 1998; Zimbalist, 2001), SAT scores of incoming students (Bremmer & Kesserling, 1993; McCormick & Tinsley, 1987; Mixon, 1995; Tucker & Amato, 1993), and university fund raising (Baade & Sundberg, 1996; Brooker & Klastorin, 1982; Budig, 1976; Gaski & Etzel, 1984; Grimes & Chressanthis, 1994; McCormick & Tinsley, 1990; Sack & Watkins, 1985; Sigelman & Carter, 1979). Few studies, however, have investigated athletic fund raising in this regard.

Sigelman and Brookheimer (1983) examined the relationship between 11 predictor independent variables and contributions to both athletics and university fund raising programs at 57 NCAA Division I-A institutions in major athletic conferences using a multiple regression analysis. Football success (r = .335) and traditionalism (r = .242), a scaled measurement of the social and political culture towards civic responsibility and philanthropy, were determined to be significant predictors of giving to intercollegiate athletics annual fund raising programs, albeit not overly strong predictors given their Pearson’s coefficient values.

Coughlin and Erekson (1984, 1985) utilized multiple linear regression analysis to model contributions to athletic fund raising program using 16 independent variables. Coughlin and Erekson utilized 1980-1981 athletics fund raising data published in the Omaha World-Herald as their measurement of the contributions dependent variable, as Sigelman and Brookheimer (1983) had done previously. Coughlin and Erekson’s final regression model accounted for 58% of the variance in predicting athletic contributions. The authors identified football attendance, conference affiliation, bowl participation, state population, men’s basketball winning percentage, and professional competition to be significant determinants of athletic contributions.

Daughtrey and Stotlar (2000) investigated the relationship between contributions to both athletics and the university and winning a national championship in football at the Division I-AA, Division II, and Division III levels. Daughtrey and Stotlar found significant relationships between football championships and increased contributions to athletics with Division II and Division III schools and between football championships and increased contributions to the university with Division III institutions. The authors’ delimitations of studying only national champions and not examining Division I-A institutions prevent useful comparisons between their work and the study conducted here.

No other published studies were identified that attempted to use a variety of variables to predict fund raising contributions to NCAA Division I-A intercollegiate athletics programs. As such, the only published works investigating the ability to predict athletic fund raising contributions are currently 20 years old and each relies upon contributions data collected in 1980-1981. Obviously, much has changed in intercollegiate athletics since then. If an athletic fund raising practitioner today tried to understand and predict fund raising contributions based upon the existing body of literature, they would be relying upon considerably outdated research. Clearly then, there is a need to re-examine the prediction of athletic fund raising contributions, as is the purpose of this study.

Methods

Subjects

The population for this study was defined as all 119 NCAA Division I-A athletic programs and their athletic fund raising contributions for each of the five-year span from 1998-1999 to 2002-2003. Questionnaires were sent to the athletic fund raising director at each of the 119 institutions in performing a census of the population. Thirty-five questionnaires were returned, representing 171 usable subjects, for a usable response rate of 28.7%.

Variables

Based on the work of Coughlin and Erekson (1984, 1985) and Sigelman and Brookheimer (1983), 13 predictor variables were selected to use in explaining the variation in annual athletic fund raising contributions: football and men’s basketball winning percentages for the year examined, the change in football and men’s basketball winning percentages from the previous year, average home attendance for football and men’s basketball in the year examined, whether the school is a member of a “major” athletic conference, whether the school is a public or private institution, state population, and four categorical variables to control for fixed-effects in the time-series regression analysis. Each of these variables is described further in Table 1.

Procedures

Questionnaires were sent to athletic fund raising directors at all 119 NCAA Division I-A athletic programs to collect dependent variable data. Data collection on each of the predictor variables was performed as discussed in Table 1. A fixed-effects ordinary least squares (OLS) multiple regression equation was developed to empirically explain annual athletic fund raising contributions. The fixed-effects model is used to control for changes over time due to the use of panel data. Four indicator variables were used to represent the five years of data from 1998-1999 to 2002-2003. A significance level of .01 was established a priori to reduce the risk of Type 1 error common with time-series regression analyses and large sample sizes.

Results

Table 2 provides descriptive data for the continuous variables included in the regression equation. The results show that the average annual athletic fund raising contributions total was $4,065,616. Additionally, the average home football game attendance was 43,119 and the average men’s basketball game attendance was 8,749.

Five of the 13 independent variables were found to be significantly related to athletic fund raising contributions at the .01 level, including football home attendance (r=.721), conference affiliation (r=-.621), football winning percentage (r=.322), type of institution (r=-.302), and men’s basketball home attendance (r=.237). In examining the correlation coefficients between the independent variables, only the relationship between football attendance and conference affiliation was above .500 or below -.500 (r=-.651), thus providing evidence that multicollinearity was not problematic.

Table 3 summarizes the multiple regression results. The model was a statistically significant estimator of annual athletic fund raising contributions. The model F-statistic equaled 18.647 and was significant at the .01 level. In addition, the model explained 60.7% of the variation in spectator attendance and the adjusted R2 was .574. The R2 and adjusted R2 findings were similar to those found in Coughlin and Erekson (1984, 1985). Additionally, this type of regression analysis allows for an estimation of the magnitude of change in annual contributions based upon a change in values of the independent variables. For example, the results suggest that membership in one of the six conferences with automatic bids to the Bowl Championship Series in football is worth more than $2.5 million per year in athletic fund raising contributions to conference members. Also, the data suggests that annual athletic fund raising contributions would increase by $70 for each average attendee increase at home football games.

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to predict annual athletic fund raising contributions in NCAA Division I-A intercollegiate athletics, providing a needed re-examination of this issue given the dated works in this area of the literature. Despite the passing of two decades and major changes in intercollegiate athletics since the studies of Sigelman and Brookheimer (1983) and Coughlin and Erekson (1984, 1985), this study supports the findings of those previous works, particularly Coughlin and Erekson. As with their work, this investigation found both home football attendance and conference affiliation to be statistically significant predictors of annual athletic fund raising contributions. Additionally, the amount of variance explained in annual athletic fund raising contributions in this study (R2=.607) was extremely close to that of Coughlin and Erekson (R2=.58). None of the similarities between the findings of these studies are, in and of themselves, overly surprising; however, these similarities are somewhat surprising given the radical changes in intercollegiate athletics since the early 1980’s. These changes include a dramatic increase in media/television coverage, rapid increases in revenues and expenses among athletic programs, the creation of the Bowl Championship Series, conference realignment, and progress towards gender equity. It is in the context of all of these major changes that the similarities between this study and previous dated works are noteworthy.

These results indicate that, assuming conference affiliation does not change, an athletic fund raising practitioner should carefully track home football attendance as an indicator of fund raising contributions. A fairly strong positive relationship (r=.721) was found between these two variables. Other changeable variables of interest to practitioners in this regard are football winning percentage (r=.322) and men’s basketball home attendance (r=.237), however, neither approaches home football attendance in the ability to predict athletic fund raising contributions.

References

  1. Allen, B. H., & Peters, J.I. (1982). The influence of a winning basketball program upon undergraduate student enrollment decisions at DePaul University. In M.J. Etzel & J.F. Gaski (Eds.), Applying marketing technology to spectator sports (pp. 136-148). Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame.
  2. Baade, R. A., & Sundberg, J. O. (1996). Fourth down and gold to go? Assessing the link between athletics and alumni giving. Social Science Quarterly, 77, 789-803.
  3. Bremmer, D. S., & Kesserling, R. G. (1993). Advertising effects of university athletic success. Quarterly Review of Economics and Business, 33, 409-421.
  4. Brooker, G., & Klastorin, T. D. (1981). To the victors belong the spoils? College athletics and alumni giving. Social Science Quarterly, 62, 744-750.
  5. Budig, J. E. (1976). The relationships among intercollegiate athletics, enrollment, and voluntary support for public higher education (Doctoral dissertation, Illinois State University, 1976). Dissertation Abstracts International, 37, 4006A.
  6. Chressanthis, G. A., & Grimes, P. W. (1993). Intercollegiate sports success and first-year student enrollment demand. Sociology of Sport Journal, 10, 286-300.
  7. College Football Data Warehouse (2004). Retrieved from cfbdatawarehouse.com.
  8. Coughlin, C. C., & Erekson, H.O. (1984). An examination of contributions to support intercollegiate athletics. Southern Economic Journal, 66, 180-195.
  9. Coughlin, C. C., & Erekson, H.O. (1985). Contributions to intercollegiate athletic programs: Further evidence. Social Science Quarterly, 66, 194-202.
  10. Fulks, D. L. (2002). Revenues and expenses of Division I and II intercollegiate athletics programs: Financial trends and relationships-2001. Indianapolis: National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved from http://www.ncaa.org.
  11. Gaski, J. F., & Etzel, M. J. (1984). Collegiate athletic success and alumni generosity: Dispelling the myth. Social Behavior and Personality, 12(1), 29-38.
  12. Grimes, P. W., & Chressanthis, G. A. (1994). Alumni contributions to academics: The role of intercollegiate sports and NCAA sanctions. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 53, 27-40.
  13. McCormick, R. E., & Tinsley, M. (1987). Athletics versus academics: Evidence from SAT scores. Journal of Political Economy, 95, 1103-1116.
  14. McCormick, R. E., & Tinsley, M. (1990). Athletics and academics: A model of university contributions. In B. L. Goff & R. D. Tollison (Eds.), Sportometrics (pp. 193-204). College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press.
  15. Mixon, F. G. (1995). Athletics v. academics: Rejoining evidence from SAT scores. Education Economics, 3, 277-283.
  16. Murphy, R. G., & Trandel, G. A. (1994). The relation between a university’s football record and the size of its applicant pool. Economics of Education Review, 13, 265-270.
  17. National Collegiate Athletic Association. (2004). Attendance data. Retrieved from http://www.ncaa.org.
  18. Sack, A. L., & Watkins, C. (1985). Winning and giving. In D. Chu, J. O. Segrave, & B. J. Becker (Eds.), Sport and Higher Education (pp. 299-306). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
  19. Sigelman, L., & Bookheimer, S. (1985). Is it whether you win or lose? Monetary contributions to big-time college athletic programs. Social Science Quarterly, 64, 347-359.
  20. Sigelman, L., & Carter, R., (September, 1979). Win one for the giver? Alumni giving and big-time college sports. Social Science Quarterly, 60, 284-293.
  21. Toma, J. D., & Cross, M. E. (1998). Intercollegiate athletics and student college choice: Exploring the impact of championship seasons on undergraduate applications. Research in Higher Education, 39, 633-661.
  22. Tucker, I. B., & Amato, L. (1993). Does big-time success in football or basketball affect SAT scores? Economics of Education Review, 12, 177-181.
  23. Zimbalist, A. (2001). Unpaid professionals: Commercialism and conflict in big-time sport. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Table 1

<th”>Variable <th”>Description and Sources

Variable Descriptions and Data Sources
CONTRIB Dependent variable representing one year’s annual athletic fund raising contributions, not including capital campaigns. Collected via questionnaire self-reporting from each institution’s athletic fund raising director.
FBWINPCT Represents a school’s football winning percentage for that respective year. Collected from ncaa.org.
BBWINPCT Represents a school’s men’s basketball winning percentage for that respective year. Collected from ncaa.org.
FBWINCH Represents the change in a school’s football winning percentage from the previous year. Collected from ncaa.org.
BBWINCH Represents the change in a school’s football winning percentage from the previous year. Collected from ncaa.org.
FBATTEN Represents a school’s average home football attendance for that respective year. Collected from ncaa.org.
BBATTEN Represents a school’s average home men’s basketball attendance for that respective year. Collected from ncaa.org.
CONFERNC Represents whether or not a school is a member of one of the six major Division I-A conferences that receives an automatic bid to the Bowl Championship Series in football. Coded as a “0” for BCS conference, “1” for non-BCS conference.
INSTTYPE Represents whether the school is a public or private institution. Coded as a “0” for public institution, “1” for private institution.

Table 2

<th”>Variable <th”>Mean <th”>Standard Deviation <th”>Minimum <th”>Maximum

Descriptive Statistics
CONTRIB $4,065,615.92 $3,502,701.71 $201,791 $14,363,913
FBWINPCT .513 .212 .000 1.000
BBWINPCT .575 .155 .222 .892
FBWINCH -.007 .206 -.727 .492
BBWINCH -.005 .151 -.419 .398
FBATTEN 43,118.94 25,737.64 6,595 111,175
BBATTEN 8,748.54 4,975.17 935 22,248
CONFERNC .40 .491 .00 1.00
INSTTYPE .16 .371 .00 1.00
POPULATE 8,596,946.04 8,142,659.46 1,808,344 33,871,648

Note: N=171

Table 3

<th”>Variable <th”>Unstandardized Beta Coefficient <th”>Standard Error <th”>T-statistic <th”>P-value

Regression Results
FBWINPCT 934.813 1,259.942 .742 .459
BBWINPCT 1,474.402 1,631.419 .904 .368
FBWINCH -658.047 1,064.320 -.618 .537
BBWINCH 434.665 1,386.728 .313 .754
FBATTEN 70.567 12.129 5.818 .000
BBATTEN -137.200 53.892 -2.546 .012
CONFERNC -2,587,336.224 529,184.751 -4.889 .000
INSTTYPE -636,637.927 530,003.528 -1.201 .231
POPULATE -.0253 .023 -1.105 .271
TIME0203 1,417,825.114 567,331.928 2.499 .013
TIME0102 1,207,864.865 568,200.487 2.126 .035
TIME0001 916,870.951 560,734.574 1.635 .104
TIME9900 392,457.586 565,992.692 .693 .489
Constant 1,443,097.013 1,260,510.634 1.145 .254

Note: R2=.607, Adjusted R2=.574, F-statistic=18.647, P-value=.000

2015-03-20T10:32:05-05:00January 1st, 2005|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Management, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off on Predicting Fund Raising Revenues in NCAA Division I-A Intercollegiate Athletics
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The Usage of the Sports Image in Advertising Sector in Selected Turkish Television Channels

Submitted by: Hakan Sunay, PhD. & Velittin Balci, PhD.

ABSTRACT

This research was made to assess the relationship between advertisements
on marketing sports products on Turkish television channels and sports
images on the basis of products, and to get information on the tendencies
of onlookers of sports products through strengthening onlookers’
sports images and remembering them later by analyzing advertisements.
This research was made to determine how often sports images are used in
the advertisement sector and the impact of sports in advertisements.

The universe of the research was the first four most watched television
channels according to the reports of AGB (Research Improvement and Information)
in June, 2001. These channels were Show TV, Channel D, Star TV, TRT 1
(Turkish Radio and Television). In this research, the books and researches
on sports management and advertising, the total durations of advertisements
on related channels and the ratios of sports images used in advertisements
were studied. All the advertisements broadcast between 09.00-21.00 hours
for one week on each of these four most watched channels were studied,
and the results were shown in graphics and tables.

Observation method was used to determine the results of the research.
‘SPSS’ statistics programmer was used for the statistical
analysis of this research. Frequency and percentage techniques were used
to determine the results.

In conclusion, this research showed that the advertisements including
sports image were broadcast more than the others, and advertisement producers
showed a great deal of interest in sports images. Sports concept is used
as on important tool in advertisement, marketing and image in advertisements
broadcast on Turkish television channels studied in this research.

INTRODUCTION

Sport is one of the most important social concepts. Many companies use
sports as tool to its popularity. The companies producing sports equipment
and private sports clubs are the examples using sports. They turn the
Professional sportsmen into stars and give the image that equipment used
by such sportsmen supports their success. As a result, the equipment produced
by them sells very easily. Today, many companies like banks, construction
companies not related to sports use sports as images (Zeki,1998). For
instance, a private bank can use marathon runners as an image to emphasize
that this bank is forward.

In our century, sports is in a process that interfered a lot in marketing
and its industrialization. Advertisements make sports more popular. All
the organizations hoping for profit use concepts like arts and sports
to introduce themselves (Ünsal,1994). This is the basic factor in sport
image. Sports image can be used in various types in society. The basic
objective of advertisements is to become part of success, and to be remembered
with this image (Zeki,1998). A winner in the Olympic Games in remembered
by the name of the sponsor company tries to become part of sportsmen’s
success. The objective is to remembered and to be well known.

The reason for the popularity of football and basketball is the popular
sport images. Companies can be popular using star sportsmen and sport
image. Sports equipment producers work with famous sportsmen. Sport images
often used in textile, food, transportation and popular sportsmen are
remembered with such companies(Kocabaş, 2001).

Advertisement etiquettes used in sports and product introduction are
(Bir,1988);

  • Advertisement is a guide for consumers. It gives information on new
    products.
  • Advertisement decreases distribution costs and helps retail sellers.
  • Advertisement encourage competition, and increases the amount and
    quality of production.
  • Increases in production and sale amounts helps prices go down.
  • Advertisement makes communication tools independent.

In this study, the visage type, frequency, and effect of sports image
in product presentations in advertisements on Turkish Television is analyzed.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

The universe of this research is the Turkish Television channels. These
channels are Show TV, Channel D, Star TV, TRT 1, the most watched 4 channels
according to the reports of AGB (Research, improvement and information:
AGB Group,2001). All the advertisements on these channels were watched
and studied for one week between 09:00-21:00 hrs. And the results are
shown in table as 1. Pre-program watching 2. During program watching.

Pre-program advertisement are 7-10 minutes and this variation is due
to Prime Time programs. During programs advertisements last 3-4 minutes.
The intervals of programs can change 2 or 3 times. The duration of advertisement
within the programs is 6-9 minutes. According to AGB reports the total
advertisement duration is 28 hrs. a week and 4 hrs a day in Show TV, Channel
D, Star TV, TRT 1. the first for channels in june 2001 and their percentages
are as shown:

Show TV 21%
Channel D 20%
Star TV 19%
TRT 1 17%
Others 23%

While collecting data, necessary information were found in documents.
Each of the four most watched channels were studied for one week and the
results were sown in graphics.

The reason to watch every channel separately is that advertisements start
and finish at the same hours.

The ratio and distribution of advertisements containing sports image
were shown in percentages. SPPS statistics program was used for the statistical
analysis of this research.

FINDING AND COMMENTS

The results and comments on the relationship between advertisement and
sports image in the most watched channels in June according to AGB reports
are shown below.

Table-1: Daily and weekly amount of all the advertisements broadcast in
all the channels.

Duration Total broadcast Time (hrs) Total broadcast Time (hrs) Advertisement Time (hrs) Total advertisement percentage
Daily 48 100 4 12
Weekly 336 100 28 12

These tables show total weekly and daily broadcasts of television channels
and the amount of advertisement in these broadcasts. The total amount
of hours is very high. However, this amount shows that companies made
big investments in advertisements.

Graphic-1: The frequency of subjects in all the
advertisements broadcast in all channels
Graphic 1
The reason for the high ratio of food, textile and bank advertisements
is that they are the basic necessities sports image is used in all the
advertisements for them to be remembered.

Table -2 : Daily and weekly advertisement ratio of sports image used in advertisement in all the channels.

Duration Total broadcast minutes Total advertisement percentage Advertisement broadcast minutes Sports İmage percentage used
Daily 175 100 65 37
Weekly 1225 100 455 37

According to these graphics and tables, the ratio of advertisements containing
sports image is very high among the other advertisements. In this table,
the high amount of advertisements containing sports image in other advertisements
are shown. The high frequency of the usage of sports image shows that
advertisement companies prefer it to affect people.

DISCUSSION AND RESULTS

According to our research, the advertisements containing sports image
are very high. Sport concepts affects a lot of people and sports ımage
can be used everywhere. The high number of products are variety in advertisement
sector lead to usage of sports image . advertisement companies combine
every event and concept with sport.

Advertisement producers prefer sports image according to this research.
Sport image is the highest among the other images. Advertisements makers
use sports image because it is a concept affecting people. Sports image
has become a tool to affect people. Advertisements makers use Professional
sportsmen to affect young people so that they can sell their products
easily.

Sport image can be used frequently in advertisements because sport affect
people in various directions. Sports can be the symbol of many subjects
(Ünsal, 1994).

People may like sports more through sport image. Production companies
use sports image to sell their products, however, they let people like
sport more. Companies should employ people who enough information on sports.

Sports influences many people. It is observed that advertisements containing
sports image has been increasing. Company owners prefer using sports image
more (Zeki,1998).

In this research, popular sports branches and popular sportsmen are
preferred in advertisements containing sport image. For instance, football
image is used many advertisements. Because football is a very popular
branch of sport. Either a famous footballer is used or popular brand is
used with football image in advertisements. If other branches become popular,
advertisement subjects can be more various.

The images of less popular sports branches can be used so people can
be interested in various sport branches.

REFERENCES

  1. AGB Group, (2001),(TAM- Television Audience Measurement) Haziran,
    2001 kayıtları.
  2. Bir, A.; (1988), Reklamın Gücü, Bilgi Basım, İstanbul,
  3. Kocabaş, F; Elden, M., (2001), Reklamlar, Kavramlar, Kararlar,
    Kurumlar, İletişim Yayınları, İstanbul,
  4. Ünsal; Y. ; (1984), Bilimsel Reklam ve Pazarlamadaki Yeri,
    TİVİ; Basımevi, İstanbul,
  5. Zeki, A.; (1998), Reklam ve İmajları, Bilişim
    Yayınları, Ankara,
2016-10-14T11:42:27-05:00March 9th, 2004|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Management, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off on The Usage of the Sports Image in Advertising Sector in Selected Turkish Television Channels
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Consumer Experience Tourism and Brand Bonding: A Look at Sport-Related Marketers

Submitted by: Mark A. Mitchell, Robert Montgomery & Sheila J. Mitchell

ABSTRACT

This manuscript reviews the growing use of manufacturing plant tours,
company museums, and company visitor centers by sport-related marketers
(equipment manufacturers, venues, etc) to cultivate relationships with
existing and potential consumers. Consumer Experience Tourism provides
the user (i.e., the consumer) with an experience regarding a product,
its operation, production process, history, and historical significance.
Such brand bonding may contribute to higher levels of involvement with
a product/brand and brand loyalty. Ultimately, the bond between consumers
and brands may be strengthened by the availability of such consumer experiences.
Such tourism opportunities provided by sport-related firms are profiled.

INTRODUCTION

The National Sporting Goods Association tracks the annual sales of sports
equipment, footwear, clothing, and recreational transportation (such as
bicycles, pleasure boats, RVs, and snowmobiles). For 2003, it is estimated
these four product categories combined for almost $80 billion in sales
(sports equipment, $22.2 billion; footwear, $14.4 billion; clothing, $10.1
billion; and recreational transportation, $40 billion (please see nsga.org).

The Relationship Marketing orientation has prompted brand managers to
seek new and innovative ways of creating long-lasting, mutually-beneficial
relationships (or bonds) with a most important asset; namely, their customers.
Increasingly, brand managers are recognizing the opportunity to showcase
a product’s creation and/or evolution as an important catalyst for
forging stronger bonds with consumers. So, interested consumers/tourists
can witness the production of such items as Calloway Golf Clubs, Fleetwood
RVs, Louisville Slugger Baseball Bats, Trek Bicycles, and Harley-Davidson
Motorcycles.

The purpose of this manuscript is to evaluate the growing use of manufacturing
plant tours, company museums, and company visitor centers by sport-related
markets to cultivate stronger relationships with consumers and to (hopefully)
stimulate greater brand loyalty. First, the concept of Consumer Experience
Tourism is defined. Second, the underlying interest in this type of tourism
activity is reviewed. Third, the target consumers for such tourism venues
are examined. Next, existing Consumer Experience Tourism efforts of sport-related
marketers are profiled. Finally, the desired outcomes of these efforts
are discussed.

CONSUMER EXPERIENCE TOURISM

Manufacturing plant tours, company museums, and company visitor centers
represent a segment of tourism known by different names: manufacturing
tourism, industrial attractions, industrial tourism, and industrial heritage
tourism. The shared desire of such facilities is to establish a bond between
a consumer and brand as the consumer learns about the brand, its operation,
production process, history, and historical significance. The term “Consumer
Experience Tourism” represents a unifying theme for this segment
of the tourism industry. This term captures the consumer’s ability
to discover more about the brands they consume while manufacturers can
forge closer relationships with those consumers during the 30-120 minutes
of time spent as the facility’s guests (Mitchell and Mitchell 2000,
2001, 2002; Mitchell and Orwig 2002). (The abbreviation CET will be used
throughout the manuscript to represent Consumer Experience Tourism.)

Involvement With a Brand

Brand managers seek to address consumer needs at three levels: functional
(providing solutions to consumer problems); symbolic (providing satisfaction
of psychological desires); and experiential (providing sensory pleasure,
variety, and cognitive stimulation) (Park, Jaworski, and MacInnis, 1986).
CET can strengthen the bond between consumers and brands by providing
a visual presentation of the brand, its operation, production process,
history, and historical significance. Such a bond may be viewed as an
increased level of personal involvement with the brand and (assumedly)
translates into greater brand loyalty. For example, a parent seeking to
cultivate a child’s interest in baseball can take that child to
the Louisville Slugger tour (Louisville, KY).

Cognitive involvement reflects a consumer’s interest in thinking
(or learning more) about a product (Park and Young, 1986). CET may increase
the consumer’s level of cognitive involvement by stimulating thinking
about the brand and its production processes. So, an active golfer may
appreciate witnessing the manufacturing processes used by Karsten Manufacturing
(i.e., Ping) (Phoenix, AZ) or Calloway (Carlsbad, CA). Further, the positive
word-of-mouth communication stimulated by satisfied visitors may be deemed
more credible than other paid forms of promotion.

INTEREST IN CONSUMER EXPERIENCE TOURISM

Many people think of manufacturing plant tours, company museums, and
company visitor centers as low-cost entertainment (and educational) options
for parents with children because such tours are typically free or require
only a nominal fee (Lukas, 1998). While this is a key target market and
a benefit the consumer may seek, the root cause of this fascination runs
much deeper.

Harris (1989) and Prentice (1993) point out that factories and mines
have historically employed a large percentage of the American workforce.
The shift to a service economy takes individuals out of the factories.
This removes people spatially and culturally from the manufacturing sector
providing less contact and little first-hand knowledge of industrial work.
The plant tour creates a novel and nostalgic view of industrial work,
which in turn feeds tourist interest in manufacturing processes. Harris
and Prentice further note that many younger workers’ lack of factory
work experience progresses naturally toward an increasing curiosity about
the topic.

Older employees may relish the experience of “returning to their
roots”. Rudd and Davis (1998) identify the industrial revolution
as a defining event in American history with company plant tours providing
users a look at our collective past. Richards (1996) notes the industrial
revolution created an era where the transition from modern to obsolete
occurs more rapidly. As such, products of older technology are considered
cultural and historical artifacts creating feelings of nostalgia among
society. Company museums or visitor centers capitalize on these emotions
by providing a sentimental, bonding experience between buyer and brand.

The “Retro Example”

The current interest in retro sports clothing is a manifestation of
this interest, even fascination, with the past. All four major North American
sports leagues are aggressively pursuing this growing market (Finney 2003).
Throwback jerseys and other merchandise have become a $1 billion global
industry. The National Basketball Association (or, NBA) sold over $400
million worth of its Hardwood Classics in 2002. The National Hockey League
(or, NHL) is approaching $250 million in vintage merchandise sales. It
is interesting to note that many of these jerseys, ball caps, and other
items represent teams that no longer exist (i.e., Winnipeg Jets or Quebec
Nordiques) or former stars (i.e., Bobby Clarke) (Westhead 2003). The Negro
Leagued Baseball Museum (Kansas City, MO) considers such merchandising
initiatives an opportunity to educate younger fans about an important
part of American and sport history (Spellman 2003).

Sports venues designed as “retro” or “throw-back”
facilities are another interesting manifestation of this interest in the
game’s history. While Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, and Yankee Stadium
continue to be held in high regard for their historic value, newer ballparks
have been designed to capture the old ambiance of a day at the park while
enhancing customer comfort. Such parks as PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates),
Jacobs Field (Cleveland Indians), Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles), Comerica
Park (Detroit Tigers), or Conseco Fieldhouse (Indiana Pacers) have embraced
the past while enhancing fan (and player) comfort.

TARGET CONSUMERS FOR CONSUMER EXPERIENCE TOURISM

A manufacturer can use its physical facilities to establish (or strengthen)
the bond with a variety of parties. The target consumers for CET
can be divided into three categories: current and potential consumers,
business partners, and community stakeholders.

Bonding With Consumers

Manufacturing plant tours, company museums, and company visitor centers
have become a low-cost entertainment option for families, community groups,
business travelers, and others. They provide a day trip option for local
residents. Schools also benefit through field trips for area students
and teachers. Business travelers become aware of best practices from firms
in both related and unrelated industries (Axelrod and Brumberg 1997).
Prentice (1993) notes that areas with large numbers of business travelers
are particularly fertile for the development of such a tourism venue as
travelers can invest a small amount of time and have a valuable experience
with a brand. So, a salesperson can spend approximately 1 hour at the
BMW Zentrum in Greer, SC as they travel the Greenville-Spartanburg area
or as they shuttle from Charlotte to Atlanta.

Bonding With Business Partners

Though business associates are also frequently users of a brand, their
interests are typically more professional than personal. Lucas (1998)
suggests, “museums create the specter of the Wizard of Oz, but factory
tours provide a glimpse of the man behind the curtain.” Business
relationships enhanced by CET include corporate managers, future employees,
new sales agents, industrial suppliers, shareholders, and others. Plant
tours provide corporate managers with an enhanced understanding of how
manufacturing capabilities contribute to a company’s strength in the marketplace.

The plant tour may also be an effective means of identifying and recruiting
future employees by creating interest in the company’s manufacturing
processes (Day, 1990). Upton (1997) suggests that everyone who interacts
with a manufacturing plant (i.e., buyers, suppliers, managers, employees,
and so on) benefits from a comprehensive look at the manufacturing process.

Bonding With Community Stakeholders

Plant tours may be an effective means of communicating with regulatory
agencies and/or public interest groups. For instance, Nike commissioned
a panel to review its operations in China, Indonesia, and Vietnam to counter
perceptions of unfair labor practices and working conditions. The review
process included on-site plant tours and visits with local employees.
The company received a favorable review with respect to this volatile
public relations issue (Neuborne, 1997). Conducting tours of new facilities
during grand openings is commonly practiced, with target consumers including
shareholders, politicians, dignitaries and reporters. While target audiences
may have individual motivations for taking such a tour and may seek different
outcomes from it, it is certain that people are interested in the work
of others.

CONSUMER EXPERIENCE TOURISM EFFORTS BY SPORT MARKETERS

Currently, a number of sport marketers provide manufacturing plant tours,
company museums, and company visitor centers to support their products.
These firms compete in such diverse product categories as baseball/softball
equipment, golf clubs, fishing equipment, boats, and others (see Table
One).

Table One
Consumer Experience Tourism Offerings of Sport Equipment Manufacturers

Company Name Location Product Category
Karsten Manufacturing (Ping) Phoenix, AZ Golf Equipment
Calloway Golf Carlsbad, CA Golf Equipment
Correct Craft (Ski Nautiques water-ski boats) Orlando, FL Boats
Coachman RVs Middlebury, IN RVs
Jayco RVs Middlebury, IN RVs
Hillerich and Bradsby
(Louisville Slugger, PowerBilt)		 Louisville, KY Baseball Equipment
Golf Equipment
Arctco (Arctic Cat) Thief River Falls, MN Snowmobiles
Christian Brothers Warroad, MN Hockey Sticks
Polaris Roseau, MN Snowmobiles
Airstream Jackson Center, OH RVs
Goodyear Akron, OH Tires
Wooden Touch Putters (Oregon Connection) Coos Bay, OR Golf Equipment
Luhr-Jensen Lures Hood River, OR Fishing Equipment
Harley-Davidson York, PA Motorcycles
Vanguard Racing Sailboats Bristol, RI Boats
Worth Tullahoma, TN Baseball and Softball Equipment
Nocona Athletic Nocona, TX Baseball and Football Equipment
K2 Vashon, WA Skiing Equipment
Trek Waterloo, WI Bicycles

Source: Axelrod, K. and B. Brumberg (1997), Watch
It Made in the U.S.A., Sante Fe, NM: John Muir Publications.

A list of automotive-related tours is separated and presented in Table
Two.

Table Two
Consumer Experience Tourism Offerings of Automobile Manufacturers

Company Name Location Product Category
Mercedes Benz Vance, AL Automobiles
Mitsubishi Automobile Normal, IL Automobiles
Corvette Bowling Green, KY Automobiles
Ford Louisville, KYEdison, NJ Automobiles
Toyota Georgetown, KY Automobiles
General Motors Flint, MIJanesville, WI Automobiles
Goodyear Akron, OH Tires
Honda Marysville, OH AutomobilesMotorcycles
BMW Greer, SC Automobiles
Nissan Smyrna, TN Automobiles
Saturn Spring Hill, TN Automobiles

Source: Axelrod, K. and B. Brumberg (1997), Watch
It Made in the U.S.A., Sante
Fe, NM: John Muir Publications.

It should be noted that NASCAR drivers/owners have been particularly
active in embracing CET for their use. NASCAR fans can visit the working
garage of their favorite drivers and witness the preparation of the very
cars they will watch later at the track. The most popular destinations
for NASCAR fans include Joe Gibbs Racing, Hendrick Motor Sports, Dale
Earnhardt Incorporated, Petty Enterprises, and others. The majority of
such facilities are located in close proximity to Charlotte, NC. Additionally,
most larger racetracks provide tours of their facilities including garage
areas, pits, and grandstands. An example list (not exhaustive) of these
tracks is presented in Table Three.

Table Three
Example Motor Sport Tracks Offering Public Tours

Name of Track Location
Atlanta Motor Speedway Atlanta, GA
Las Vegas Motorspeedway Las Vegas, NV
Lowe’s Motor Speedway Concord, NC
Daytona International Speedway Daytona, FL
Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, TX
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, IN
Talladega Superspeedway Talladega, AL
Kentucky Speedway Sparta, KY
Kansas Speedway Kansas City, KS

Source: Original constructed from information gained
from nascar.com.

As new stadiums have been built for professional teams, their owners
have identified the value of opening their facilities to the general public
for tours. Fans can now tour such venues as Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia
Eagles, NFL), Invesco Field at Mile High (Denver Broncos, NFL), PNC Park
(Pittsburgh Pirates, MLB), Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles, MLB), and
the American Airlines Center (Dallas Mavericks, NBA and Dallas Stars,
NHL). And, some older ballparks continue to welcome guests to take nostalgic
tours of their facilities, including Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs, MLB),
Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox, MLB), Yankee Stadium (New York Yankees, MLB),
New Orleans Superdome (New Orleans Saints, NFL), and others.

Table Four
Additional Sport Halls of Fame

Name Location
Bowling Hall of Fame and Museum St. Louis, MO
United States Golf Association Museum and Library Far Hills, NJ
International Tennis Hall of Fame and Museum Newport, RI
U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame Somerville, NJ
Lacrosse Hall of Fame Baltimore, MD
World Figure Skating Museum and Hall of Fame Colorado Springs, CO
America’s Cup Hall of Fame Bristol, RI
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Kansas City, MO
United States Slo-Pitch Softball Hall of Fame Petersburg, VA
Weightlifting Hall of Fame York, PA

Source: Arany, L. and A. Hobson (1998), Little
Museums: Over 1,000 Small (And Not-So-Small) American Showplaces,
Henry Holt, New York.

DESIRED OUTCOMES FROM CONSUMER EXPERIENCE TOURISM

Involvement theory suggests that consumers who have witnessed a product’s
production may become more brand loyal as a result of their identification
with the product, their familiarity with the production process, their
first-hand interaction with employees, first-hand witness to their quality
assurance processes, and other internal needs. As such, business outcomes
such as growth in buyer loyalty, sales, profitability, and market share
are some of the outcomes sought by companies that provide manufacturing
plant tours, company museums, and company visitor centers. It would be
myopic, however, to suggest CET is solely driven by the desire to increase
sales, profitability, or market share. Other outcomes sought focus on
company image, education, and open communication.

Company Image

Plant tours provide firms the opportunity to build a relationship with
local residents. This can be particularly important if the product or
production processes are perceived to pose environmental concerns (i.e.,
a car plant that produces air emissions). When public funds are used to
build sports arenas, owners may seek to enhance their image by showcasing
what the public has received for their investment.

Education

Plant tours provide a multi-sense experience for consumers, employees,
shareholders, suppliers, and other stakeholders. Consumers can bond with
brands. Company employees can visualize the larger manufacturing process
and appreciate the contribution their particular function or sub-routine
makes to the finished good. As noted earlier, the licensing of retro sports
images by the Negro League Museum (Baseball) allows younger consumers
(often African-Americans) to learn more about the historical significance
of the league and its players.

Salespeople, as well as external sales agents, can study the manufacturing
processes to be better prepared to answer (and anticipate) buyer questions.
For example, a sporting goods sales representative can better appreciate
the manufacturing processes used by Worth to produce its line of baseball
and softball equipment. This representative then carries this knowledge
into the marketplace. A firm’s shareholders (for example, Calloway
Golf, Ford, Goodyear, Harley-Davidson) can witness the processes used
by the firms in which they have an equity position. Finally, some academic
and professional associations include plant tours on their meeting agendas
for continuing education.

Open Communication

An open manufacturing process conveys to others an open communication
style of an organization (i.e., we’ve got nothing to hide). Positive word-of-mouth
communication is stimulated among satisfied on-lookers. Campers having
witnessed the manufacturing of their Jayco or Coachman RVs may be more
likely to share their confidence in their units with fellow campers. News
media may provide “free press” given the novelty of the open
approach to manufacturing (such as the wooden head golf putters produced
by Oregon Connection. While some argue the opportunity for “true”
benchmarking may be overstated, one key outcome of industrial tourism
programs for managers is the openness of communication and the ability
to learn from others (Hinton, 1996).

SUMMARY STATEMENTS

Consumer experience tourism provides the consumer with a bonding experience
regarding a brand, its operation, production process, history, and historical
significance. A consumer witnessing the production of their favorite brand
of golf equipment, snowmobiles, fishing equipment, or softball bats may
become a more brand loyal user as their level of involvement with the
brand intensifies. Such an experience may increase the buyer’s cognitive
involvement with the brand while addressing the buyer’s need for
experiential learning. Further, the aura of the manufacturing process
or historical evolution of the brand may become an integral part of brand’s
image (e.g., as mechanics create race cars in NASCAR garages). Finally,
this same tourist may become a credible spokesperson for the firm as s/he
shares with others the excitement of watching their hockey sticks, baseball
bat or skis actually being produced. Toward this end, CET can become an
integral part of a firm’s integrated marketing communications program.

As the U.S. economy continues its progression from a manufacturing-driven
economy to one driven by services and information, the interest in “how
things work” or “how’d they make that” intensifies. The
separation from the manufacturing process feeds the growing interest in
CET. Further, citizens studying current processes used to produce familiar
brands can celebrate the industrial heritage of their nation. Ultimately,
the bond between consumers and brands may be strengthened by the availability
of manufacturing plant tours, company museums, and company visitor centers.
The relative importance of these outreach efforts, in addition to their
availability, will likely increase as the competition for sports equipment
and entertainment further intensifies.

REFERENCES

  1. Arany, L. and A. Hobson (1998), Little Museums: Over 1,000 Small
    (And Not-So-Small) American Showplaces    , Henry Holt, New York.
  2. Axelrod, K. and B. Brumberg (1997), Watch it Made in the U.S.A.:
    A Visitor’s Guide to the Companies That Make Your Favorite Products
    (2nd Edition)    ,     John Muir Publications, Sante Fe,
    NM.
  3. Day, C. R. (1990), “Strut Your Stuff,” Industry Week,
    Vol 239 No 19, p. 5.
  4. Finney, D. P. (2003), “Back to the Future,” St. Louis
    Post-Dispatch    , July 21, p. E1.
  5. Harris, F. (1989), “From the Industrial Revolution to the Heritage
    Industry,” Geographical Magazine, Vol 61, pp. 38-42.
  6. Hinton, J. (1996), “Rivals Club Together,” Accountancy,
    Vol 117 No 1, pp. 36-37.
  7. Lukas, P. (1998), “Working Vacation,” Money, Vol
    27 No 9, pp. 170-171.
  8. Mitchell, M. and S. Mitchell (2002), “Consumer Experience Tourism:
    A Powerful Tool for Food and Beverage Producers,” Journal of
    Food Products Marketing,     Vol 6 No 3, pp. 1-16.
  9. Mitchell, M. and S. Mitchell (2001), “Showing Off What You Do
    (And How You Do It),” Journal of Hospitality and Leisure Marketing,
    Vol 7 No 4, pp. 61-77.
  10. Mitchell, M. and S. Mitchell (2002), “Consumer Experience Tourism
    in the Nonprofit & Public Sectors,” Journal of Nonprofit
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2015-03-20T08:35:48-05:00March 6th, 2004|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Exercise Science, Sports Management, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off on Consumer Experience Tourism and Brand Bonding: A Look at Sport-Related Marketers
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Practical and Critical Legal Concerns for Sport Physicians and Athletic Trainers

Submitted by: Steve Chen & Enrico Esposito

Abstract

In order to help sport physicians and athletic trainers understand the
legal principles that may be applicable to injury treatment, the writers
examined the areas of liability that physicians and trainers may face
in their delivery of care. Major topics which were covered by this article
included: (1) informed consent and participation risks, (2) physician-patient
relationship, (3) immunity issues, and (4) risk management. In conclusion,
seven protective strategies were recommended for sport physicians and
athletic trainers to insure acceptable service standards. They were: (a)
maintaining a good physician-client relationship with athletes; (b) obtaining
informed consent and insist on a written contract; (c) educating the athletes,
parents and coaches concerning issues of drug abuse, assumption of risks,
confidentiality; (d) performing physical examinations carefully, and be
cautious on issuing medical clearance; (e) formulating a risk management
plan and properly document hazards and records; (f) participating in continuing
education and recognize your qualifications; and (g) maintaining insurance
coverage.

Introduction

The special legal duties and liabilities team physicians have are rapidly
developing areas of law (Collum, 2001). Since 1990, there has been a significant
increase in sports medicine related litigation (Gallup, 1995). The increasing
economic benefits of playing sports, such as college scholarships or multi-million
dollar professional contracts, have inspired injured athletes to seek
compensation for injuries resulting from negligent medical care (Herbert,
1991). As a result, today, many sport physicians and athletic trainers
recognize they need a general understanding of certain legal principles
in order to further protect themselves and their institutions from litigation
(Gieck, Lowe, & Kenna, 1984). Sport physicians and athletic trainers
must become familiar with the acts and policies that regulate the profession.
Physicians and trainers must realize that acquiring the basic knowledge
of legal principles can help improve their professional practice. In order
to help sport physicians and athletic trainers understand the legal principles
that may be applicable to injury treatments and prevention, the writers
examines several areas of liability physicians and trainers may face.
These areas include: (a) informed consent and participation risks, (b)
the physician-patient relationship, (c) immunity issues, and (d) risk
management.

Informed Consent and Participation Risks

A widely recognized legal principle is that the team physician must have
an athlete’s informed consent before providing any medical treatment
(Gallup, 1995; Ray, 2000; Mitten, 2002). Informed consent is a legal doctrine
that requires a sport physician to obtain consent for rendering treatment,
performing an operation, or using many diagnostic procedures after their
clients being furnished with all the known relevant facts (Gallup, 1995;
Briggs, 2001). This requirement is based on the principle of individual
autonomy, meaning a competent adult has the legal right to decide what
to do with his body (Heinemann, 1997).

Consent forms are especially important in the high school setting because
most of these injured student- athletes are minors. No lawsuit has been
successfully tried based on a lack of parental consent, where the treatment
of the minor was non-negligent (Gallup, 1995; Ray, 2000). Recently, many
courts have begun to follow the mature minor rule allowing the young person
(an age of 14-16) to validly consent to the physicians’ treatment
(Holder, 1978). Consent may be implied under the circumstances, such as
when an athlete has been rendered unconscious during play and needs emergency
medical treatment (Mitten, 2002; Hecht, 2002). In these cases, the law
generally assumes that if the injured athlete had been aware of his/her
condition and was mentally competent, then he/she would consent to the
treatment. Based on several experts’ comments (Rosoff, 1991; Gallup,
1995; Briggs, 2001; Mitten, 2002; Sports Medicine Digest, 2002), the authors
have summarized the key points in the consent, which should be disclosed
to athletes:

  1. Physicians and trainers must adhere to customary or accepted sports
    medicine practice in diagnosing athletes’ injuries.
  2. An athlete must understand the kind of treatment to which he is consenting.
  3. A physician must disclose relevant information since his/her failure
    to do so may subject him/her to liability for fraudulent concealment.
  4. Physicians and trainers should propose possible alternative treatments.
  5. Keep in mind that the clients have the “right of refusal.”
  6. Physicians and trainers should explain the cost of the proposed treatment.

It is difficult to judge how far a sport physician should go in determining
whether an athlete actually understand what he/she has consented to or
not. In the 1987 California case of Krueger v. San Francisco 49ers, the
49ers were found guilty of fraudulent concealment, because the team physicians
failed to inform Krueger about the full extent of his injuries, the potential
consequences of the anesthetic steroid injections, and the long-term implications
of playing professional football with a badly damaged knee. If a physician
wishes to avoid the liability of negligence or fraud, he/she must show
that approving athletic participation is not medically unreasonable and
the athlete actually understands the risks.

“Assumption of risk” is a legal defense that attempts to
claim that an injured plaintiff understood the risk of an activity and
freely chose to undertake the activity regardless of the hazards associated
with it (Ray, 2000). It is one of the most common defenses that educational
institutions, athletic trainers and sport physicians may employ to avoid
legal liability. Two conditions must be met in order to establish the
defense of “assumption of risk” (Scott, 1990). (a) The athlete
must fully appreciate and understand the type and magnitude of the risk
involved in participation. (b) The athlete must also “knowingly,
voluntarily, and unequivocally” choose to participate. In interscholastic
sport settings, school districts often use a consent form to prove an
implied assumption of risk. In some cases, courts also have found that
consent forms prove the minor and parents did understand the risks inherent
in the sport and agree to assume them (Vendrell v. School District No
26c Malheur County).

Today, athletes and their parents frequently challenge the return-to-play
decision of the sport physicians and demand their right to participate
(Ray, 2000). In this case, one approach sport physicians or athletic trainers
may take is to request athletes (and their parents in the case of minors)
to sign exculpatory waivers. An “exculpatory waiver” or “risk
release” is a contract signed by a participant, which relieves the
school, university, or team physician from any liability to the individual
who executes the release (Gallup, 1995). It acts as an “express
assumption of risk” indicating that the participant fully understands
and voluntarily chooses to encounter the risk. The participant further
agrees in advance not to hold the defendant liable for the consequences
of conduct that would ordinarily amount to negligence (Keeton, Dobbs,
Keeton, & Owen, 1987). Some courts uphold releases of liability from
future negligence, but not culpable conduct such as intentional, reckless,
or grossly negligent torts (Keeton et al, 1987; Cotten, 2001; Mitten,
2002). However, courts have also invalidated contracts releasing physicians
from liability for negligent medical care of their patient, because such
contracts violates public policy (Tunkl v. Regents of University of California,
1963; Ray, 2000). In general, a waiver signed by the minor alone will
not be enforced (Cotten, 2001). Even if an exculpatory waiver is established,
the court may evaluate its validity individually.

In general, if an injured athlete is found to be contributory negligent,
he/she may not be able to successfully sue a team physician or an athletic
trainer (Hebert, 2002; Gallup, 1995). In the past, plaintiffs might lose
the case due to their contributory negligence, because the court’s
decision was determined on an “all or nothing” basis (Hoffman
v. Jones, 1973). However, this type of ruling is not a dominant trend
anymore. In Perez v. McConkey, a plaintiff’s contributory negligence
no longer was a “complete bar to recovery”; rather, it was
to be considered in “apportioning damages only” (Wanat, 2001).
Today, the courts often use the doctrine of comparative negligence to
determine if the liability should be divided between the plaintiff and
the defendant(s) (Ray, 2000; Gallup, 1995). In most states, plaintiffs
can collect damages only if their comparative culpability is less than
50% (Ray, 2000). Physicians and trainers may compensate their patients
in proportion to their fault.

Physician-patient Relationship

When a university or a professional sports team hires the team physicians,
a duty is created not only between the physicians and the athletes, but
also to the hiring entity. Although the well-being of athletes should
be the most important concern of physicians and trainers who render medical
service, it is not always easy for physicians and trainers to make their
decisions based on this principle due to the intense pressure from the
coaches, management, the press, and even the motivated athletes themselves.
In general, if physicians who are hired by professional teams act in a
negligent manner and cause their patients (athletes) to lose a contract,
scholarship, or future earnings, they may ultimately be found liable for
those damages (Gallup, 1995). Under the doctrine of “vicarious liability”,
a university or professional team may also be liable for the actions of
the team physician who it hired (Berry & Wong, 1986). However, if
the physician is an independent contractor, the entity may not be held
liable for the physician’s negligence (Cramer v. Hoffman, 1968).
The key factor to determine whether the physician is an independent contractor
or not is relying on the amount of control the hiring entity exercises
over the independent judgment of physician (Berry & Wong, 1986).

The issue of confidentiality is often a complicated problem in professional
and collegiate sports. Releasing an athlete’s medical condition
to third parties (i.e., media) violates a physician’s ethical obligation
to maintain confidentiality (Mitten, 2002). However, it may seem appropriate
for physicians or trainers to discuss athletes’ condition with the
management of collegiate or professional teams, because they have the
access to athletes’ medical records anyway (Berry & Wong, 1986).
Collegiate and professional physicians and trainers must remember that
they owe athletes confidentiality, and should be careful about releasing
information to the press. In Chuy v. Philadelphia Eagles Football Club
(1979), the defendant, Chuy, sought the compensation from the Philadelphia
Eagles because the team physician released his medical condition to the
press without his consent. Based on the impact of this case, it is ideal
for the physician to obtain the athlete’s permission (a publicity
waiver form) before disclosing any medical information to team officials
or press. An essential act that physicians must apply is informing the
athletes that they are acting on behalf of the team (Mitten, 2002). Readers
may refer to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act from
official website of the Department of United States Health and Human Services
(2003) for more information concerning standards for protecting the privacy
of personal health information.

Immunity Issues

In some instances, physicians may be immune from legal liability for
malpractice claims brought by athletes (Mitten, 1995). Several states
have enacted legal statutes immunizing volunteer sport physicians from
negligence liability for rendering emergency medical care to athletes
(Mitten, 2002). In addition, some states have expended their Good Samaritan
laws to specify immunity for those who provide medical services at athletic
events (Gallup, 1995; Todaro, 1986). However, statutory immunity only
covered physicians or trainers who provide emergency care to an athlete
with an apparent life-threatening condition in good faith, not with wanton
emergency treatment or gross negligence (Todaro, 1986).

As shown in the case of Sorey v. Kellett (1988), it was found that sport
physicians employed by public universities might be protected by state
law immunity. Furthermore, state workers’ compensation laws may
also bar claims of professional athletes against team physicians for negligent
medical care (Mitten, 2002; Gallup, 1995). Other than the Good Samaritan
laws, the workers’ compensation laws are other legal statues that
preclude professional athletes suing team physicians or trainers for negligence.
In Hendy v. Losse (1991), the court interpreted that workers’ compensation
law bar tort suits between co-employees for injuries caused within the
scope of employment. One must keeps in mind that workers’ compensation
laws are not uniform, and may vary from state to state (Gallup, 1995).

Risk management

Risk management is the key for preventing lawsuits in sports medicine.
As sport physicians and athletic trainers have involved more managerial
responsibilities along with their clinical duties, the broader construct
of risk management became more important. Risk management is a process
intended to prevent financial, physical, property, and time loss for an
organization (Culp, Goemaere, & Miller, 1985; Ray, 2000; Streator
& Buckley, 2001). According to Gallup (1995), a well-designed risk
management program should cover four essential elements; compassion, communication,
competence and charting. Sports physicians and athletic trainers must
demonstrate a deep concern for athletes and build a good rapport with
athletes. Maintaining clinical competence and keeping accurate medical
records are other important means to avoid liability for malpractice.
In fact, studies show that 70% of the medical litigations are due to poor
communication and attitude problems presented by physicians or trainers
(Gallup, 1995).

To apply appropriate techniques and management principles for reducing
the likelihood of risk, the Department of Sport and Recreation of Australia
(2003) provided some guidelines for handling the potential risks. Those
guidelines included: (a) establishing the context of a risk management
program (objectives, resources, and assessment criteria, etc.), (b) risk
identification, (c) risk assessment, (d) treatment and control, and (e)
monitoring and review. While applying the above principles in the sport
medicine field, Rankin and Ingersoll’s (1995) recommendation can
further help to control risk. In terms of risk identification and assessment,
physicians and trainers can administer pre-participation physical exams,
monitor fitness levels, assess activity areas, monitor environmental conditions,
maintain equipment, use proper instructional techniques, and provide adequate
work-rest intervals. Advice for treatment and control include: (a) have
a physician supervise all medical aspects of the program; (b) evaluate
and treat injuries correctly and promptly; and (c) supervise student athletic
trainers or intern physicians.

Effective documentation is vital for sport physicians and athletic trainers
because 35% to 40% of all medical malpractice suits are rendered indefensible
by problems with the medical record (Michigan Medicine, 1983). Sport physicians
should record their activities for the following reasons (Ray, 2000; Briggs,
2001; Streator & Buckley, 2001): (a) personal use; especially for
personal protection in the event of litigation; (b) legal, ethical and
professional requirements; (c) statistical records; (d) educational, research
and insurance purposes; (e) information for further planning, treatment,
rehabilitation and training; (f) aids for assisting other practitioners
taking over/involved in treatment (i.e. a multidisciplinary approach);
and (g) information for techniques and standards involved in treatment/rehabilitation.

In general, sport physicians and athletic trainers should file two types
of records properly, medical records and program administration records
(Ray, 2000). Medical records are cumulative documentation of a patient’s
medical history and health care interventions. The administration records
may include physical examination forms, injury evaluation and treatment
forms, reports of special procedures, emergency information, permission
for medical treatment forms, release of medical information, insurance
information and communication from other professionals (Ray, 2000; Streator
& Buckley, 2001).

Conclusion

The authors examined the variety, complexity, and importance of legal
issues, which sport physicians and athletic trainers may encounter. Many
of the legal outcomes are strongly influenced by advances in medicine,
medical evidence, and reviews of legal precedents (Gallup, 1995; Opie,
2002). The authors attempted to synthesize opinions of experts and information
derived from some lawsuits to propose practical guidelines for the physicians
and trainers. As Ray (2000) mentioned, the best legal defense against
malpractice lawsuits is still to provide high-quality medical services
consistent with the standard of care. The concepts and suggestions, which
were illustrated in this article, might not be interpreted as absolute
legal principles; rather, they should be treated as aids to help physicians
and trainers prevent negligence lawsuits. The following protective strategies
were suggested to insure the acceptable service standard (Graham, 1985;
Ray, 2000; Gallup; Opie, 2002; Mitten, 2002).

  1. Maintain a good physician-client relationship with athletes.
  2. Obtain informed consent and insist on a written contract.
  3. Educate the athletes, parents and coaches concerning issues of drug
    abuse, assumption of risks, confidentiality.
  4. Perform physical examinations carefully, and be cautious on issuing
    medical clearances.
  5. Formulate a risk management plan and properly document hazards and
    records.
  6. Participate in continuing education and recognize your qualifications.
  7. Maintain insurance coverage.

References

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2016-10-12T14:43:37-05:00March 4th, 2004|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Coaching, Sports Exercise Science, Sports Facilities, Sports Management, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off on Practical and Critical Legal Concerns for Sport Physicians and Athletic Trainers
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