The Sport Journal

Beer and Ball On Campus? The Issue of In-Stadium Alcohol Sales

Submitted by Mark Mitchell, Ph.D*, Robert D. Montgomery, Ph.D*

1* Department of Marketing and Resort Tourism, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, South Carolina 29528

2* Department of Marketing, University of Evansville, Evansville, Indiana 47722

Mark Mitchell, DBA is Professor of Marketing and Chair of the Department of Marketing and Resort Tourism at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC.

Robert D. Montgomery, DBA is Professor of Marketing at the University of Evansville in Evansville, IN.

Abstract

This manuscript examines the issue of in-stadium alcohol sales for collegiate sporting events. In the past decade, there has been an increase in the number of Division I FBS football programs allowing alcohol sales in their stadiums. While it is currently not the norm (25% do allow it, 75% do not allow it), the number is increasing. And, others allow alcohol sales in premium seats as well other smaller venue sports (such as baseball and basketball). This manuscript examines: (1) the reasons collegiate athletic departments might consider allowing in-stadium alcohol sales, (2) the mitigating constraints that may cause them to not allow its availability, and (3) a look a current ‘best practices’ among institutions that currently allow in-stadium alcohol sales.

Key words: in-stadium alcohol sales, beer sales, fan experience, tailgating. (more…)

U.S. Sports Academy2020-06-02T11:25:00-05:00February 9th, 2015|Contemporary Sports Issues|Comments Off

Conflicts of Interest in the Intercollegiate Athletics Management Structure – The Impetus for Nullification of Presidential Authority

Submitted by Corey M. Turner, J.D., Assistant Professor of Business Law*

1* Department of Business, Kingsborough Community College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, New York 11235

Corey M. Turner is an Assistant Professor of Business Law and a member of the campus-wide Athletics Committee at the City University of New York’s Kingsborough Community College.

ABSTRACT

In recent years there have been numerous athletics scandals at major universities. The scandals are the outgrowth of infractions of NCAA rules and regulations committed by coaches and student-athletes. In the wake of such scandals, university presidents have asserted that they are not in control of their athletics programs, despite the fact that the NCAA changed its management structure in 1997 giving presidents full authority for the governance of intercollegiate athletics nationally. Thus, there is a perception amongst university presidents that their presidential authority in areas of intercollegiate athletics governance has been nullified despite the existence of NCAA regulations to the contrary.

The root cause of nullification of presidential control and authority is the president’s own conflict of interest between professional responsibilities and personal interests. In the contemporary environment of large television contracts and the race to increase revenues on university campuses, there has been a fundamental change in mindset that places the importance of athletics over academics. In such an environment, conflicts of interest are both prevalent and unavoidable. Thus, the key issue is not the existence of conflicts of interest, but the management of conflicts of interest.

Although there is no easy answer or simple fix for conflict of interest induced nullification, process based decision making may be strategically deployed as a conflict of interest management tool when analyzing information, evaluating choices, making decisions, and establishing conditions that such decisions must meet in order to be ethically correct.

Key words: infractions, NCAA, university, president, management structure, control, authority, governance, intercollegiate, athletics, conflict of interest, nullification, decision making. (more…)

U.S. Sports Academy2020-06-02T11:19:13-05:00February 9th, 2015|Contemporary Sports Issues|Comments Off

High School Football Recruiting and Twitter Followers: An Unstable Mix for Self-Branding Efforts?

Submitted by Edward (Ted) M. Kian1, Ph.D*, Jimmy Sanderson2, Ph.D*

1* School of Media & Strategic Communication, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078-4053

2* Department of Communication Studies, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634

Edward Kian is an Associate Professor at Oklahoma State University and an Endowed Welch-Bridgewater Chair in Sports Media. Jimmy Sanderson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Clemson University and is Director of the Sports Communication BA Program.

ABSTRACT

This study examined individual branding efforts of marquee high school football prospects in the United States who had verified Twitter accounts. Specifically, this study investigated if top recruits who delayed public announcements of their college choice impacted their number of Twitter followers before and after they selected a specific school on National Signing Day, compared to recruits who committed early to one university long before National Signing Day. Results showed that recruits who may have attempted to increase their notoriety and Twitter followers by waiting to announce college choice are no more successful in doing so than those who commit to one school early. Further, uncommitted recruits generally did not have more followers than those who had been consistently committed to one school before signing day. Most prospects – regardless if they committed to a college long before or on National Signing Day – gained and did not lose Twitter followers over the entire examined period. This could be because sports fans on Twitter generally do not stop following athletes. It could also be that these fans found specific athletes interesting to follow and thus plan to continue doing so. (more…)

U.S. Sports Academy2016-10-12T15:12:49-05:00December 31st, 2014|Contemporary Sports Issues|Comments Off

Effect of Mental Training on the Performance of College Age Distance Runners

Submitted by Michael P. Spino1*, William F. Straub2*

1* Sports Administration, Kinesiology and Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303

2*Department of Psychology, Tompkins Cortland Community College, Dryden, NY 13053
wstraub7314@gmail.com

Michael P. Spino was born in New Jersey but has spent most of his adult years working in Atlanta, Georgia. He is an excellent track coach having coached at Georgia Tech and Life University. His teams have won many state and national championships. Recently he earned his doctoral degree at Lille2 University, Lille, France. Presently, he is teaching part-time at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

William F. Straub was born in Catskill, New York. He is a retired professor of kinesiology and sport psychology. He has published extensively in scholarly journals and now has a small private practice in sport psychology. He is a USOC certified sport psychology consultant. He received his PhD degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI and a Master’s degree in clinical psychology from the new School for Social Research in NYC.

ABSTRACT

The purpose was to determine if Event Rehearsal Imagery (ERI) and Internal guided Imagery with Distractions (IGID) resulted in improvements in the running performance of college students. The participants (N = 74) were students at Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya. Cooper’s 12 min run test was used to assess running performance. Following 8-weeks of training, findings indicated that there was a statistically significant difference (0.05 level) in running performance between the Event Rehearsal Imagery (n = 29), Event Rehearsal Imagery with Distractions (n = 16) and the Control group (n = 29). Overall, there was a significant mean difference in running among male (n = 47) and female (n = 27 participants).

(more…)

U.S. Sports Academy2014-11-12T10:54:32-06:00November 12th, 2014|Contemporary Sports Issues, General, Sports Exercise Science|Comments Off

Differences in Collegiate Athlete Nutrition Knowledge as Determined by Athlete Characteristics

Submitted by Allisha M. Weeden, Janette Olsen, John M. Batacan, Teri Peterson

Allisha M. Weeden is an Assistant Professor in the Dietetic Programs at Idaho State University. Janette Olsen is an Assistant Professor in Health Education at Idaho State University. John M. Batacan is an Assistant Professor in Health Education at Idaho State University. Teri Peterson is an Assistant Professor in the College of Business at Idaho State University.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To identify nutrition knowledge based on collegiate sport, where nutrition knowledge was lacking, and specific nutrition related concerns of collegiate athletes.

METHODS: The cross-sectional study evaluated responses to a 65-item written questionnaire. Participants (n=174; female=88, male=86) competed in 13 different NCAA sanctioned sports. Nutrition knowledge scores calculated from the number of nutrition knowledge questions correct then converted to a percent from the number of questions correctly answered. Frequencies, Chi-square, and t-tests were used to report and compare nutrition knowledge scores.

RESULTS: The mean nutrition knowledge score of participants was 56.4% ± 13.4%. Higher nutrition knowledge scores were associated with completion of a collegiate nutrition course (p = 0.015), participation in individual sports (p = 0.043), and citation of healthcare professionals as the primary source of nutrition information (p = 0.008). Forty-two percent reported nutrition concerns related to what and how to eat healthy.

CONCLUSIONS: Collegiate athletes lacked nutrition knowledge and expressed concerns surrounding what and how to eat healthy. Completion of a collegiate level nutrition course may benefit collegiate athletes, especially those that do not have access to a Registered Dietitian (RD).

APPLICATIONS IN SPORT: Collegiate athletes, athletic departments, and even universities all benefit from successful sports teams. Nutrition can be a big part of success and the use of a RD to educate athletes ensures appropriate nutrition knowledge is provided. For universities with financial constraints collegiate level nutrition courses and small group cooking classes taught by an RD may still benefit collegiate athletes.

(more…)