An Exploration of Ticket Pricing in Intercollegiate Athletics

Ticket sales represent a significant revenue stream for FBS athletic departments, yet little is known about how administrators determine prices for those tickets. This three-paper format dissertation is an attempt to begin filling this gap in the literature so that we may better understand ticket pricing from a managerial perspective. Paper one is conceptual in nature, and includes a review of extant ticket pricing literature and presents a research agenda for studying pricing in the unique environment of intercollegiate sport using the theoretical frameworks of stakeholder theory and institutional theory. The second and third papers are empirical examinations of ticket-pricing from the viewpoints of athletic administrators with various departmental responsibilities so that we may better understand the role of ticket pricing in intercollegiate sport from different points of departure. Using a phenomenological approach, twenty athletic administrators, representing two Power 5 and two Group of 5 institutions, were interviewed about their experiences with ticket pricing. Paper two represents an attempt to better understand the pricing process utilized in college sport, including the organizational objectives and influencing factors identified by administrators, while also suggesting a cyclical model for spectator sport ticket pricing. Paper three is an exploration of the perceived roles of athletic administrative stakeholders, as well as departmental isomorphic behavior, as they relate to ticket pricing decisions in intercollegiate athletics

“We Smoked a Gator!”: An Exploration of College Football Fans’ Instagramming of Food

The ritual of tailgating is a staple of college football Saturdays, particularly for fans of teams in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Fan traditions help infuse pregame gatherings around the stadiums with team spirit, as fans frequently theme their food and drink to represent their chosen team. New social media platforms—particularly photo-sharing platforms such as Instagram—have taken tailgates to the virtual space. Through interviews with participants who partake in the phenomenon, this study sought to ascertain what fans of SEC teams gain from the process of social media participation. Utilizing the critical framework of symbolic interactionism, this exploratory study examines meaning attached to the ritual and symbolism of team-specific food and drink. By sharing pictures of food and drink with supporters of their favorite team, SEC fans create a virtual community, united by fan allegiance and food and drink fellowship, realizing personal benefits such as sharing nostalgia and developing a sense of community

“We Smoked a Gator!”: An Exploration of College Football Fans’ Instagramming of Food

The ritual of tailgating is a staple of college football Saturdays, particularly for fans of teams in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Fan traditions help infuse pregame gatherings around the stadiums with team spirit, as fans frequently theme their food and drink to represent their chosen team. New social media platforms—particularly photo-sharing platforms such as Instagram—have taken tailgates to the virtual space. Through interviews with participants who partake in the phenomenon, this study sought to ascertain what fans of SEC teams gain from the process of social media participation. Utilizing the critical framework of symbolic interactionism, this exploratory study examines meaning attached to the ritual and symbolism of team-specific food and drink. By sharing pictures of food and drink with supporters of their favorite team, SEC fans create a virtual community, united by fan allegiance and food and drink fellowship, realizing personal benefits such as sharing nostalgia and developing a sense of community

Gaining S-T-E-A-M: A General Athletic Department Social Media Strategy

In the 10 years since the invention of Facebook, social media sites have become an indispensable part of the marketing and communications strategy employed by a broad spectrum of organizations, including university athletic departments. While social media is almost universally used, a review of academic literature suggests the study of deployment of social media resources, and analysis of their effectiveness, is still very much in preliminary stages. Professional literature on social media use is out in front of peer-reviewed research. Therefore, we use Funk’s framework for social media practices as a point of departure, offering a social media strategy specifically for university athletic departments, grounded in Social Marketing Theory. Using a case study of Old Dominion University, a mid-sized, U.S. college athletic department, the authors analyze the 40 social media pages run by the department in comparison to guidelines created from the Funk framework and the growing body of academic literature, conduct interviews with practitioners in the athletic department, and a focus group of fans. Using this data, the authors create a case study-based list of best practices, known by the acronym S-T-E-A-M, which could assist similar university athletic departments in their use of social media

Investigating Name, Image, and Likeness Through Project-Based Learning

The 2021 Supreme Court ruling granting college athletes the right to monetize their name, image, and likeness (NIL) was greeted in equal measure by enthusiasm and confusion by college athletes and the institutions for which they compete. This paper suggests an approach whereby college classes can provide guidance for college athletes to navigate the nascent, evolving NIL rules and provide an opportunity for current, relevant project-based learning. The Old Dominion University Name, Image, and Likeness Knowledge Hub had limitations in its deliverable—a guide for college athletes seeking to leverage their NIL rights—but it represents a novel learning opportunity because of the uncertainty surrounding NIL. This can offer engaged learning for classrooms in a variety of academic disciplines. In addition, small and mid-sized university athletic departments can use this approach to help build institutional knowledge of the new athlete rights and obligations while forming robust learning partnerships with academic units on their campuses

Athletic Ticket Pricing in the Collegiate Environment: An Agenda for Research

s pressure mounts for intercollegiate athletic departments to be more selfsufficient, administrators must respond by increasing generated revenues. Despite the importance of ticket sales in this endeavor, however, little is known about the underlying ticket pricing structures and policies used by National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) institutions. Of the limited existing scholarship focused on managerial pricing decisions in the field of sport management, only professional sports settings have been addressed. Given the unique operational differences between professional and intercollegiate sport, this paper is designed to establish a foundation from which to build future research concerning the pricing of college sport tickets. The frameworks of stakeholder theory and institutional theory are proposed to ground future study in an attempt to strengthen our understanding of the process and behavior of price setting in intercollegiate athletics

A Qualitative Exploration of Ticket-Pricing Decisions in Intercollegiate Athletics

Ticket sales represent a significant revenue stream for NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision athletic departments, yet little is known about how administrators determine prices for those tickets. Utilizing strategic planning as the primary framework and supplemented by stakeholder theory, this study examines ticket-pricing decisions from the viewpoint of athletic administrators with various departmental responsibilities to better understand the role of ticket pricing in intercollegiate sport. Twenty athletic administrators, representing two Power 5 and two Group of 5 institutions, were interviewed about their experiences with ticket pricing. In addition to common pricing objectives related to revenue, patronage, and operations, administrators also suggested attendance-oriented pricing objectives unique to college sport pricing theory. However, findings suggest no well-defined organizational objective for ticket pricing exists within the departments sampled. The factors athletic administrators consider when contemplating pricing decisions can be categorized into seven areas: (a) scheduling, (b) research, (c) team performance, (d) stakeholders, (e) discrimination, (f) fan experience, and (g) competitive comparisons

Athletic Ticket Pricing in the Collegiate Environment: An Agenda for Research

As pressure mounts for intercollegiate athletic departments to be more selfsufficient, administrators must respond by increasing generated revenues. Despite the importance of ticket sales in this endeavor, however, little is known about the underlying ticket pricing structures and policies used by National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) institutions. Of the limited existing scholarship focused on managerial pricing decisions in the field of sport management, only professional sports settings have been addressed. Given the unique operational differences between professional and intercollegiate sport, this paper is designed to establish a foundation from which to build future research concerning the pricing of college sport tickets. The frameworks of stakeholder theory and institutional theory are proposed to ground future study in an attempt to strengthen our understanding of the process and behavior of price setting in intercollegiate athletics

Hypotension, autonomic failure, and cardiac hypertrophy in transgenic mice overexpressing the alpha(1B)-adrenergic receptor

α1-Adrenergic receptors (α1A α 1B, and α1D) are regulators of systemic arterial blood pressure and blood flow. Whereas vasoconstrictory action of the α1A and α1D subtypes is thought to be mainly responsible for this activity, the role of the α1B-adrenergic receptor (α1BAR) in this process is controversial. We have generated transgenic mice that overexpress either wild type or constitutively active α1BARs. Transgenic expression was under the control of the isogenic promoter, thus assuring appropriate developmental and tissue-specific expression. Cardiovascular phenotypes displayed by transgenic mice included myocardial hypertrophy and hypotension. Indicative of cardiac hypertrophy, transgenic mice displayed an increased heart to body weight ratio, which was confirmed by the echocardiographic finding of an increased thickness of the interventricular septum and posterior wall. Functional deficits included an increased isovolumetric relaxation time, a decreased heart rate, and cardiac output. Transgenic mice were hypotensive and exhibited a decreased pressor response. Vasoconstrictory regulation by α1BAR was absent as shown by the lack of phenylephrine-induced contractile differences between ex vivo mesenteric artery preparations. Plasma epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol levels were also reduced in transgenic mice, suggesting a loss of sympathetic nerve activity. Reduced catecholamine levels together with basal hypotension, bradyeardia, reproductive problems, and weight loss suggest autonomic failure, a phenotype that is consistent with the multiple system atrophy-like neurodegeneration that has been reported previously in these mice. These results also suggest that this receptor subtype is not involved in the classic vasoconstrictory action of α1ARs that is important in systemic regulation of blood pressure.</p