FiT Publishing

The U.S. carbonated soft-drink market posted a 2.1% volume decline in 2009, according to trade publication Beverage Digest (O’Leary, 2010). This was the fifth consecutive yearly decline for this market, and corporations have credited the loss to Americans choosing to seek bottled water as a healthier alternative to carbonated soft-drinks. In an effort to combat decreasing sales, corporations have developed products in the nutrient-enhanced water category. These enhanced waters are fortified with vitamins and nutrients, and tout health benefits beyond mere hydration. For example, these...Read more

Sport marketing research has continued to evolve since the first issue of Sport Marketing Quarterly (SMQ) was published in 1992. While examining the content of academic publications in the field of sport marketing has occurred, an analysis of SMQ’s first 20 years of publication has not been conducted until now. In order to gain an understanding of sport marketing’s body of knowledge it is important to conduct analyses of the research the field produces (Pitts, 2002). The purpose of this study was to conduct a content analysis of SMQ from its inception in September 1992 (Volume 1, Issue 1)...Read more

Looking ahead and attempting to project what will take place in the future is an inexact science, to say the least. To predict what scholars may choose to research, examine, and write about is even more difficult. Yet in this article I will attempt to examine the predicted trends in sport marketing research that may be published in Sport Marketing Quarterly and their possible effect on society and the implications for sport, as well as some of the innovative educational programs in sport business helping to prepare future scholars.Read more

Although ticket sales represent the most important source of local revenues for most sport teams, relatively little research has addressed the relationship of selling activities to marketing performance. Drawing on the sport marketing, sales, organizational behavior, and psychology literatures, this research produces an integrative framework that links the organizational and individual influences on the selling activities of sales representative in sport organizations with the value-creating outcomes of higher customer retention that arise from customer loyalty and reduced turnover in the...Read more

Nicholas was finally getting settled at his new job as assistant director of marketing at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). He believed his degree and internship experience with his alma mater’s athletic department had prepared him well for his new position. During his interview he discovered that part of his job responsibilities would include working on a task force charged with developing marketing strategies to increase student attendance at the university’s men’s basketball games. The athletic department had recently noticed a pattern occurring with student attendance at home...Read more

The purposes of this study were to identify the attributes consumers use to distinguish between mainstream and niche sports and determine which of those attributes were related to support for niche sports. Niche sports were classified as those sports not attracting mainstream media attention or large scale live audiences (Miloch & Lambrecht, 2006). Participants (n = 197) were asked to rate their perception of seven attributes (i.e., accessibility, popularity, uniqueness, affordability, star power, player similarities, and player skill) with four niche sports and one mainstream sport....Read more

During the past 30 years, NCAA Division I athletic administrators have chosen to engage in a profit maximization model that has resulted in program eliminations for non-revenue, Olympic sport programs (Ridpath, Yiamouyiannis, Lawrence, & Galles, 2008). With “lack of spectator interest” identified as a significant criterion for program elimination (Gray & Petzer, 1995), there is a strong need for the development of marketing plans that improve non-revenue consumer interests at the local, regional, and national levels. Thus, the purpose of the research was to examine the motivational...Read more

In September of 2008 the Richmond Braves (R-Braves) of Minor League Baseball (MiLB) relocated to Gwinnett County, Georgia, after operating in the Richmond market for 43 years. Like several high-profile moves in professional sports, the crux of this team’s relocation centered on the organization’s request for a new stadium. The contentious split left Richmond, Virginia without a professional baseball team, spurned a fan base, and most importantly, opened up an important media market (58th in the country) that quickly became the envy of several MiLB organizations across the country. Despite...Read more

Three recent cases that are currently pending in federal courts assert a variety of legal theories and, at first glance, may seem to bear no connection. However, a common thread links all three legal challenges: the business activity of licensing. These three cases, one of which will soon be heard by the United States Supreme Court, have the potential to dramatically affect licensing practices in both professional and collegiate sport. When one thinks of the sport licensing industry, the first thought may be of T-shirts, jerseys, and coffee mugs emblazoned with familiar names, logos, and...Read more

A limited amount of literature has examined the outsourcing of sport marketing operations and media rights from the perspectives of large NCAA Division I institutions or the service providers (Li & Burden, 2002). Even less attention has been given to the perspectives of professional sport organizations. This essay focuses on the nature of outsourcing from the viewpoint of minor league baseball (MiLB) organizations, to discern any similarities or differences in outsourcing decisions among the three classifications commonly referred to as AAA (Triple-A), AA (Double-A), and A (Single-A);...Read more