Focus: Sports Communication
With the increasing importance of sports in our culture, an area of growing interest is sports journalism and sports communication. Grady is currently bringing together industry experts to examine issues related to sports media and its role in society. Areas of interest include the role of social media as it relates to sports, sports writing in the digital age, and concepts of “fandom.” For research purposes, students have access to high-profile sports franchises such as the Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta Braves as well as the collegiate SEC powerhouses.
Abstract: Despite the increasing size and consumption power of senior consumers, in the sport marketing literature there appears to be no published work which attempts to understand the consumption behavior differences between senior and non-senior sport spectators. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the different motives between senior and non-senior consumers who attend […]
Read MorePart of the goal of the International Paralympic Committee is to “touch the heart of all people for a more equitable society.” Media exposure of athletes with permanent physical disabilities may affect the able-bodied population’s perception of people with disabilities in general. We theorized that this change in attitude could occur following parasocial contact with […]
Read MoreAbstract: The “Linsanity” phenomenon attracted an increase in attention toward the National Basketball Association (NBA) for a short period of time. Drawing on self-categorization theory to elucidate current literature on team identification, this research proposed a conceptual model delineating the social psychological process for international consumers during the phenomenon. Using an online survey with a convenience […]
Read MoreAbstract: This study investigated which decision (maintain vs. dismiss endorsement relationship)will represent the most positive impact on consumers with different levels of fan identification when the celebrity endorser is involved in scandal. MANCOVA was utilized to examine the influence of team identification on consumers’ responses toward sponsors’ decisions. Results indicated that when the sponsor maintained the […]
Read MoreAbstract: A limited amount of prior research has investigated perceived brand personality in the context of sport sponsorship. Using a two (Sport team performance: Win versus loss) by two (Gender: Male versus female) between-subjects experiment with two control variables (Sport team identification and self-brand connection), this study examined sport spectators’ perceptions of brand responsibility, activity, aggressiveness, […]
Read MoreAbstract: The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) caused a media uproar locally and nationally in December 2014 when it announced it was dropping its football team, along with bowling and rifle squads. Amid protests by students, fans, and supporters—as well as near-universal negative coverage—the university’ s president announced a reconsideration of the decision in […]
Read MoreAbstract: Part of the goal of the International Paralympic Committee is to “touch the heart of all people for a more equitable society.” Images of athletes with permanent visible physical disabilities, it is thought by proponents of adaptive sports as well as marketers who use such athletes in campaigns, can change able-bodied people’ s impressions […]
Read MoreAbstract: The winners, who will each receive a $400,000 award to fund their projects, are among those who answered a call to submit research proposals designed to improve the understanding of how to spur changes in the culture surrounding concussion. The eight were drawn from a field of 22 finalists announced in July.
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