<p> The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has Division I, Division II, and Division III athletic levels, and the role responsible for the athletic programs at Division I, II, and III colleges and universities are the Athletic Directors (ADs). The title of ADs is the same at all three levels, but research shows that the job description of the ADs at all three levels remains different. From the number of programs offered to the amount of tuition a student athlete is allowed to receive, there are many differences that the AD must be cognizant of because these stipulations can have an impact on the success of the student-athletes. Research on roles and job descriptions of the ADs at all three levels has been limited in regards to providing pertinent information. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to compare the roles of the ADs at the Division I, Division II, and Division III level of the NCAA and the effects on student athletes. This study included a minimum of 10 ADs from an eastern state in the U.S. who are engaged in the daily programs and procedures of an athletic department within the past year. Through interviews, ADs were interviewed to gain further insight on how the various levels of the NCAA structure effect the ADs and student athlete experiences and the effect on the school sports programs. In addition, curriculum writers for institutions will need to understand the differences of the athletic directors&rsquo; role at each level and adjust their coursework accordingly. School administrators and the NCAA need to understand the differences in the roles of the athletic director at each level and the potential impact these roles will have upon the success of student athletes that attend the schools that correspond to the three levels of NCAA competition.</p>

<p> Tanking, the incentive for a sports team to lose game(s) at the end of the regular season to secure a favorable draft position, is a researched problem in multiple major sports leagues. Attempts to diminish the incentive to tank have been implemented through draft lottery policies in leagues such as the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). NHL game outcomes from gambling market money lines and game characteristics from the 2005-2006 through 2015-2016 seasons are analyzed using a multinomial logit model. Results show that tanking is taking place in the NHL with teams that have been eliminated from playoff contention having a higher probability of a loss outcome and a lower probability of a win outcome, relative to other outcomes. International implications of the research on tanking can be applied to sports markets world-wide to maintain league integrity, fan interest, and maximize revenue.</p>

<p> The study utilized the logic model evaluation to ascertain the effectiveness of the Student-Athlete Academic Support Services (SAASS) unit at a NCAA Division I research university located in the Western United States. The logic model evaluation provided a process to determine the extent to which the unit achieved its purpose and outcomes. The logic model evaluation can be tailored to the exact unit based on the short-term and long-term goals of the program. Based on the tenets of flexibility and adaptability, the logic model evaluation was selected as an appropriate tool for the study. Overall, the SAASS unit was perceived to be effective by its key constituent groups. The evaluation highlighted the importance of the athletic academic advisor in keeping students on track to graduation and communicating issues to administrators, coaches, and professors. Recommendations are provided to potentially improve the SAASS unit under study.</p>

D.Econ.

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The evolving nature of the sport industry coupled with continually advancing technologies make it increasingly important to research and understand digital marketing and communication. This dissertation includes three essays that investigate digital marketing in the sport industry by considering the sport organization, context, and user as well as their interactions. Essay One critically examines the current use of Uses and Gratifications (U&G) Theory by examining what consumers do with sport social media. Findings from a qualitative analysis result in a proposed augmentation to U&G Theory to reflect that not all social media consumption is purposeful in nature, while also identifying a core set of motivations driving social media use. Essay Two identifies determinants of social media engagement using data mining techniques to unearth insights that can be leveraged by organizations to optimize marketing and communication strategies. Results inform the development of an updated Sport Experience Design (SX) framework to capture the complex and dynamic nature of sport consumption contexts. Finally, Essay Three examines advertising in multi-screen environments when the advertisement (ad) appears on the second screen, specifically considering the impact of timing on ad memory due to limited cognitive processing capabilities of consumers. Collectively, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of digital marketing and communication in sport management. This research lays a foundation for a stream of future work that will consider the intersection of information systems, consumer behaviour, marketing, and sports management, specifically, digital marketing and exploring the optimization and usage of mediated tools and techniques by organizations. / Tourism and Sport

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Drawing on social exchange theory and the notion of behavioral spillover, this dissertation provides empirical evidence that organizational support for employees’ participation in organized sport participation programs can engender employees’ psychological and behavioral changes in the workplace. Based on a mixed-method approach using multimethod (qualitative and quantitative) data, findings showed that employees’ attitudes toward organized sport participation programs, which capture the degree to which employees value such programs, strengthen employees’ social abilities, workplace cooperativeness, and affective organizational commitment. Additionally, results indicated that opportunities for organized sport participation programs should be fairly distributed to all employees, and the level of competitiveness in sport should be well controlled; employees wanted organized sport participation programs to entail a balance between functioning as a social activity and competitive sport. Findings are expected to motivate practitioners to consider adopting organized sport participation programs to create a workplace of cooperative and affectively committed team members. This study contributes to the literature by empirically examining social exchange theory in the context of organized sport participation programs. As suggested, employees are likely to reciprocate the benefits of organized sport participation programs through increased affective organizational commitment. In addition, findings on the positive association of organized sport participation programs with employees’ social abilities and workplace cooperativeness provide a foundation for future researchers to confidently propose sport as an avenue to individual, organizational, and social development. / Tourism and Sport