Todd Hall’s research while affiliated with Jacksonville University and other places

In an increasingly revenue-driven intercollegiate athletic environment, athletic directors are often faced with the seemingly opposing objectives of creating revenue while simultaneously serving the often price sensitive needs of the student body. A stated discrete choice model is proposed to assist decision-making in ticketing strategy. In this experiment students were exposed to a series of 12 choice scenarios, which displayed ticket options with varying levels of desirable ticket attributes. This investigation was based on 420 students selected using a two-stage cluster sampling procedure from students enrolled in a physical education program at the university. The model was useful in assessing: 1) the degree of cannibalisation between ticket offerings; 2) the consumer targets more likely to be interested in new packages; 3) the monetary value that student consumers were willing to pay for a new package. The results may aid decision-making in the area of ticket packages and pricing.

Experiential learning (EL) is a pedagogical approach in which students are given the opportunity to apply conceptual knowledge to practical situations (Muir & van der Linden, 2009; Rogers, 1969). Experiential learning opportunities are one way that sport management programs are preparing graduates for employment in the industry. Southall et al. (2003) suggest the creation of a metadiscrete EL model in which sport management programs provide out-of-classroom learning opportunities under the guidance of faculty mentors, which are offered throughout the entire college experience. Grand Slam Marketing (GSM) at Georgia Southern University is a prime example of the metadiscrete EL model prescribed by Southall. GSM is a faculty-guided, student organization at Georgia Southern University (GSU) that is comprised of undergraduate and graduate students from a variety of majors including sport management. A plethora of implications for professors and students can be formulated from evaluating the GSM model and are discussed in the manuscript.

The number of sport participants ages 55 and older is growing in developed countries throughout the world (Dionigi, 2006). An increase in discretionary time and money has led to similar patterns amongst older adults in the USA. Accompanying this growth in sport participation has been the proliferation of regional senior games associations. Increased competition has created the need for event managers to gain a better understanding of attributes that are attractive to this increasingly powerful sport participant segment. As such, the purpose of this study was to identify and examine evaluative criteria senior athletes used to select the regional senior games event(s) in which to participate. Of the 234 participants of the inaugural Brazos Valley Senior Games (BVSG), 104 (44%) athletes completed a questionnaire regarding their perceptions, preferences, and participation in senior games events. A multidimensional preference analysis of the BVSG and competing regional events revealed that factors related to convenience and quality of the events were the determinant attributes in participant decision making. Several qualitative comments supported this preference analysis. This study contributes to our understanding of event competition for an increasingly important, expanding segment of the sport industry - older sport participants.

In 2009, the Savannah Sports Council hosted its 11th annual Savannah Hockey Classic. In order to assist the future marketing of this event, a study was undertaken to assist the Savannah Sports Council in 3 major ways: (1) To obtain a consumer profile of spectators, (2) to explore the economic impact of the event on the city of Savannah, and (3) to discover the perceived personality of the event (assist in sponsor recruitment). To reach the objectives of the study, a survey was conducted with 267 spectators of the Savannah Hockey Classic. The survey consisted of four sections: (1) Economic impact (2) Consumer behavior & preferences, (3) Attitude and image perceptions of the event and organizing body, and (4) Consumer demographic characteristics. The majority of respondents were male (62%) and Caucasian (95%). While their average age was 36, 78% of respondents were between the ages of 25 to 59. Spectators tended to be educated (61% with a college degree of some sort) and affluent (63% earn > $50,000). Just over half (56%) of the spectators traveled to Savannah to attend the event. Eighty-one of the eighty-three out-of-town respondents reported spending at least 1 night in Savannah. However, 50% of out-of-town respondents said they would have come to Savannah even if the Hockey Classic was not taking place. Eighty-two percent said they would be visiting Savannah at some point in the following 3 months. This suggests that while the Hockey Classic is a popular event, most of the visitors would travel to Savannah even if the event did not take place. Spectators appear to have developed very positive feelings about the Savannah Hockey Classic. On a 7-point scale, respondents reported the following scores on a variety of items: Gratitude toward the Savannah Sports Council for organizing the event was very high 6.5, attitude regarding the success and quality of the hockey event itself was 6.4, and fan identification with the event was reported at 6.1. With regard to the image/brand of the event, respondents perceive the Hockey Classic to be: An exciting event (6.4 out of 7), a sincere/wholesome event (6.3 out of 7), and a competent and successful event (6.3 out of 7).

In this study, we used correspondence analysis (Greenacre, 1984; Hoffman & Franke, 1986) to examine connections between the title sponsor, brand competitors, and consumer targets exposed to a sponsorship. Demographic characteristics and self-reported use of 20 soft drink brands were collected from 1,138 attendees of four of the five inaugural events of the Dew Action Sports Tour. The analyses consisted of decomposing the cross-tabulated data into latent dimensions and graphically portraying brands and consumer targets in joint preference maps. Results revealed that consumers differentiated the 20 soft drink brands based on two latent dimensions: energy/diet and convenience. Furthermore, based on proximity of the target market to the title sponsor in the maps, it appears that Mountain Dew has been relatively effective in positioning the brand for key target markets in only one of the four cities examined. Theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are discussed.