United States Sports Academy - "America's Sports University"

Abstract

In what has traditionally been a white male-dominated industry, there are a growing number of females and minorities assuming the position of sport manager. This trend is attributed to increasing opportunities for female and minority participation in sport organizations at various levels. Such levels include recreational, interscholastic, collegiate, and professional athletic involvement. It should be noted that coaching and management opportunities are also increasing. The purpose of this study was to determine which, if any, demographic variables of age, gender, or race could significantly predict the frequency of viewing behaviors of sport-related media for undergraduate sport management students. Based upon the literature, credibility in a sport management role can be increased through sport-related media consumption. Fifty-five students in the undergraduate sport management program at a research extensive university in the Southeastern United States participated in the study. The instrument, constructed by the researchers, was a sixteen question survey. Using multiple linear regression analyses, only one predictor, gender, was found to have a statistically significant impact upon the frequency of viewing sport-related media (sport networks). The predictors of age and race were not found to be significant.

Introduction

“Print, radio, television, the Internet: When it comes to Americans’ media consumption, it seems just about anything goes.”
Pamela Paul, Targeting Boomers

Due to changes in education as well as the ever-changing ethnic demographic of America, entertainment interests have changed, particularly with sport programming (Paul, 2003). The latest U.S. Census Report indicates there are 38.8 million Hispanics living in America and have replaced African-Americans as America’s largest racial minority. Numerous studies have been conducted to address the parallel between demographics and media viewing behaviors, however research results are still inconclusive (Jack, 1999).

Where much of the media in the past was consumed by males, the trend is changing. In fact, women have significantly higher levels of television exposure than their male counterparts (Besley & Shanahan, 2003). In regard to sport programming, the number of female viewers (who watch television) is substantial. Recent studies have indicated that women have an increasing interest in sport events (Shachar & Emerson, 2000).

Women place more importance on personal gratification exemplified by such things as a comfortable life, pleasure, and happiness, which in turn is conducive to an increase in their television viewing habits. According to McCarty & Shrum (1993), “females may perceive a certain amount of fulfillment of personal gratification through television viewing” (p. 92). Men on the other hand, do not find fulfillment of such values as a comfortable life, etc. in watching television (McCarty & Shrum, 1993). Men tend to be more regular readers of newspapers than women (Besley and Shanahan, 2003). Men have a tendency to obtain information (including sports) from newspapers as it is a medium that is seen to produce the most reliable information (Hudson, 2001).

In regard to age and media, research and surveys conducted by Neilsen Media Research reveal that households headed by people between the ages of thirty-five and fifty-four comprise 40 percent of all households (Paul, 2003). Furthermore, while much television is targeted to the youth market, adults between the ages of thirty-five and sixty-four spend an average of 248 minutes a day watching television. This is 22 minutes more a day, on average, than adults eighteen to thirty-four (Paul, 2003). “In general, television viewership increases with age” (p. 25).

The Baby Boomer generation is comprised of 78 million Americans (Paul, 2003). Considering this, many media outlets are consumed by them. “Radio is more common to the Baby Boomer generation” (p. 26). For the younger generation, “radio may seem old-school” (p. 26) and therefore is not considered a substantial outlet for information.

Regarding the Internet, “adults ages 35 – 54 spend more time online than any other demographic group” (Paul, 2003, p. 26). In addition to this group being online, many go on the Internet more than one time a day, with an average of 22.2 days per month versus an average of 15.2 days per month for 18-24 year olds (Paul, 2003). Fifty-seven percent of Baby Boomers have access at work, compared with 45 percent of all adults; 69 percent of Baby Boomers have access at home compared with 64 percent of adults overall (Paul, 2003). Nevertheless, according to the DDB Life Style Study, 74 percent of adults younger than Baby Boomers believe that “the Internet is the best place to get information” (p. 26) and sports is included in this mix.

In the case of print, a study conducted by the National Opinion Research Center found that 75 percent of those who are aged 65 to 74 read the newspaper on a daily basis, compared with 42 percent of the total population (Polyak, 2000). As far as television viewing is concerned, the same study found that 33 percent of those 75 and older watch five or more hours of television a day on a regular basis, which is more than any other age group (Polyak, 2000).

Much of the media is targeted toward youth. A study that analyzed surveys and interviews from 8-17 year olds found that at least 61 percent of children now have a television in their bedroom (Yin, 2004). Seventeen percent of these children have their own personal computer (Yin, 2004). Regarding sports and youth, extreme sports have produced the greatest gains in children’s sport consumption. (American Demographics, 2001).

Young girls tend to favor sports in which other females participate. Girls are twice as likely as boys to watch women’s basketball (American Demographics, 2001). Eighty-eight percent of girls like watching the Olympics with gymnastics and ice skating comprising 78 percent of girls’ interest (American Demographics, 2001). Interestingly, football and basketball made the list of interest among girls with 68 percent and 67 percent respectively (American Demographics, 2001).

In contrast, 89 percent of boys tend to be interested in football (American Demographics, 2001). Twice as many boys as girls enjoy watching boxing (American Demographics, 2001). Soccer is the one sport that appeared to be relatively equal among boys and girls (American Demographics, 2001).

In regard to race and media, “people may work together during the day, but at night they’re immersed in their own culture” (Weissman, 1999, p. 16). The different television habits among blacks and whites continue to be vastly different. However, although differences in viewing patterns continue among blacks and whites, the gap is closing. Sports viewing appears to be a vehicle for closing this gap. Programs such as Monday Night Football are shown to have similarities in viewing patterns among racial groups (Weisman, 1996). In regard to television, blacks watch 40 percent more than whites, although this gap too is narrowing (Weisman, 1996).

As the Hispanic population in America is growing, it is particularly important to note their media viewing patterns. Marketers have recently taken interest in this ethnic group and the question remains whether English-or Spanish-language programming provides the best vehicle for reaching Hispanics. Studies indicate that many Hispanics prefer programs that reflect the first language in which they learned to speak (Mogelonsky, 1995). Print media are used less frequently by Hispanics. On average, they (Hispanics) spend 36 minutes a day reading newspapers, while bilingual Hispanics only devote about 12 minutes a day reading newspapers (Mogelonsky, 1995).

“The average Latino watches 58.6 hours of television per week, which is 4.4 hours more than the typical non-Hispanic viewer” (Fetto, 2002, p. 14). It has been noted, according to research studies, that “Hispanics are passionately devoted to their Spanish-language television networks” (p. 14). However, Hispanics turn to English-language television for what they cannot get in Spanish (Fetto, 2002). Many sports attract the greatest number of Hispanic viewers to the six major English networks, “perhaps because these programs are virtually nonexistent in the Spanish-language stations” (p. 15).

While television continues to be the media of choice for Hispanics, newsmagazines are becoming increasingly popular among this group (Fetto, 2002); however, print has been traditionally viewed as a challenging medium (Hudson, 2001). This is due, in part to the splintered audience of the American population, and no single form of print media can reach everyone (Fetto, 2002).

The country of origin and media usage varies for Latinos. For example, Cubans read, listen, and watch about 7.4 hours of media a day. Dominicans spend 10.7 hours a day with media, followed by Central and South Americans at 10.4 hours a day. Puerto Ricans spend 10.3 hours a day with media, while Mexicans spend 9.2 hours (Mogelonsky, 1995). Interestingly, Central-American Hispanics watch the most television, while Cubans spend the most time reading print materials (Mogelonsky, 1995). Listening to the radio and reading newspapers are the media of choice for Dominicans (Mogelonsky, 1995).

This study considers which, if any, demographic variables of age, gender, and race significantly predict the frequency of viewing behaviors of sport-related media among undergraduate sport management students. It is hypothesized that the demographic variables are significant in predicting viewing behaviors.

Method

Participants
Fifty-five students in the undergraduate sport management program at a research extensive university in the Southeastern United States participated in the study. The sample was made up of 15 females (27.3%) and 37 males (67.3%). 83.6% were between the ages of 21-25. 30.9% were black, 65.5% were white, and 3.6% were classified as other. 66.7% earned less than $15,000 a year. Students were selected by the researchers as they were representative of the sport management undergraduate program population.

Materials
The instrument, constructed by the researchers, was a sixteen question survey. It was reviewed by a panel of experts for face validity. The approximate time given to complete the survey was between 10 to 15 minutes. The content questions addressed the students’ perceptions on: the importance of reading and viewing sport-related media in obtaining future job roles as sport administrators, whether prior or current knowledge of a sport issue has enhanced academic performance, whether credibility is increased among peers if they engage in consistent viewing or reading of sports media, whether current knowledge of the athletic industry will assist in making future business decisions, whether staying current on athletic trends can potentially enhance business relationships, whether sports media outlets are able to contribute to overall professionalism, and the importance for peers to be knowledgeable on current athletic trends. In addition, the survey was divided into two categories: 1. reading behaviors of sport media, which addressed the amount of time spent on Internet resources, journal articles, magazine articles, newspaper articles, and books. 2. viewing behaviors of sport media, which addressed the amount of time spent watching sport movies, sport networks, local sport coverage, and national sport coverage.

The answers to these content questions were based on a five-point Likert type scale, with a rating of one indicating strongly agree and a rating of five indicating strongly disagree. The frequency of viewing and reading behaviors were also based on a five-point Likert type scale, with a rating of one indicating never and a rating of five indicating always.

The researchers assessed the internal reliability of the survey. The resulting Cronbach's alpha of .626 (after the variable “journal article” was deleted from the survey) demonstrates that the survey was acceptably reliable.

Procedures
The researchers obtained approval from the university’s Institutional Review Board. Students signed forms stating that their participation in the study was voluntary. Permission from the students’ instructors was also obtained. Students were given a survey to complete at the beginning of class, after a brief description of the study. Ten to fifteen minutes was given to complete the survey. No students required any type of accommodation in completing the survey.

Prior to running the statistical analyses, the researchers determined that the predictors of age, race, and gender should be recoded as effect-coded variables since they are categorical.

Results

Standard multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to see which, if any, of the demographic variables could significantly predict the frequency of viewing behaviors of sport-related media.

Thirty-six usable surveys were included in the statistical analyses. The mean indicates that the participants on average view sport networks approximately 4 times a week (Table 1).

Table 1

Sport Network Viewing
	Mean	Standard Deviation	Sample Size
Sport Networks	4.41	.84	36

It was indicated that there was a significant correlation among gender and sport networks with a p<.05. The Pearson Correlation is r=-.624. The direction of this relationship indicates that females on average, view fewer sport networks per week than males. Furthermore this r value indicates a strong relationship between the two variables. No other variables were significant with a p< .05 (Table 2).

Table 2

Correlations between demographics
Subscale	1	2	3	4
1. Sport Networks	---	.000*	.271	.073
2. Gender		---	.297	.233
3. Age			---	.451
4. Race				---
* p<.05

The multiple correlation coefficient (R) is .65 and the multiple coefficient of determination (R squared) is .35. This indicates that 35.2% of the variance is accounted for in the summary. The Durbin Watson statistic is between 1.5 and 2.5, which suggest normality. The linear combination of predictors are significant: F(4,35)=5.758, p<.05 (Table 3)

Table 3

Analysis of Variance for Gender
Source	df	F	p
Gender	4	5.758	.001*
Within	31	.458
Total	35
* p<.05

Discussion

The researchers investigated which, if any, of the demographic variables of age, race, and gender significantly predicted the frequency of viewing behaviors of sport-related media. The dependant variable, “frequency of viewing behaviors” was comprised of six behaviors that were representative of both reading and viewing behaviors of sport media. The behaviors included sport networks, sport movies, Internet resources, books, newspaper articles, and magazine articles. Only one behavior, “sport networks” was found to have any statistical significance. As stated earlier, the analysis found that only one predictor, “gender” was statistically significant in predicting the frequency of viewing sport networks among the sample.

The sample size was relatively small, thus increasing the likelihood of a Type II error in determining that most predictors did not have a significant effect on the frequency of viewing sport-related media. The study targeted undergraduate sport management students at one southeastern university, thus reducing the pool of participants. Future recommendations would include expanding the sample size by targeting multiple universities with similar undergraduate programs. Also, the sample size could be expanded by targeting graduate students in sport management programs at other universities.

Furthermore, the sample was relatively homogeneous in nature; most participants were between the ages of 21-25. Another consideration is that homogeneity existed in regard to all of the participants being enrolled in a sport management program; it can be assumed that an interest in sports is the norm. The study could again be expanded by targeting other students in programs that are non-sport related. Perhaps a comparative analysis could be conducted to determine the differences in viewing behaviors of sport management students and non-sport management students.

Regarding the survey, the breadth of questions could be expanded to increase reliability as well as provide more meaningful insight to the study. The use of focus groups could also be helpful in determining the researchers’ interest in the factors that contribute to viewing sport media.

The survey questionnaire also revealed that the juxtaposition of reading and viewing sports-related media is conducive to credibility in the sports industry. Research studies indicate that education is a factor in determining the frequency of viewing media in general; it can be surmised that sport managers are well-educated, thus increasing their engagement in consuming sport-related media. Future studies could focus on the perceived credibility of sport administrators who engage regularly in sport media consumption.

References

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