Smeal Launches Research Center To Focus On Sports Business Research

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA (January 15, 2008) – Penn State's Smeal College of Business has established a new research center dedicated to the study of sports business. The Center for Sports Business & Research will focus on the development of first-rate academic and applied empirical research in the sports industry, while helping to define educational opportunities for students looking to start careers in sports business.

Drawing on Penn State's rich athletic tradition and working closely with two other University sports research centers in communications and law, the Center for Sports Business & Research seeks to bridge the gap between existing academic research on sports business and relevant practitioner issues in the industry, according to Wayne DeSarbo, Smeal Distinguished Professor of Marketing and executive director of the Center for Sports Business & Research.

For the 11th largest industry in the United States—estimated to be worth $375 billion by The Wharton School—there is a surprising dearth of sports business research in top academic journals, DeSarbo says. According to the SporstBusiness Journal, "the sports business industry is one of the largest and fastest growing industries in the United States" and is "more than twice the size of the U.S. auto industry and seven times the size of the movie industry."

"It's the only industry that warrants its own section in almost every daily newspaper," DeSarbo says. "Yet, this area has been largely ignored by academia. We plan to fill that void by developing rigorous research that will meet the standards of A-level journals while also focusing on the issues that are affecting practitioners in the sports industry today."

To identify those issues, the center will distribute surveys to hundreds of executives within a variety of firms associated with the sports industry, including leagues, advertising sponsors, teams, and others, to determine what issues currently need to be addressed in the field. Analysis of the survey results will guide a portion of the center's research agenda. The other source of research ideas will emanate from the distinguished advisory board currently in the process of being assembled.

Possible topics include alternative strategies for drafting in professional sports, athlete and product brand congruence analysis, optimal ticket pricing, the behavioral underpinnings of fan loyalty, the dynamics of win-loss performance on ticket demand, and financial methods to evaluate a player's or team’s worth, among others.

The center already has several research projects in the works, with DeSarbo taking the lead. And there are countless opportunities for interdisciplinary research collaborations involving The Penn State Institute for Sports Law, Policy, and Research within the Dickinson School of Law, and The John Curley Center for Sports Journalism in the College of Communications.

Other planned activities and services to be offered by the center include an annual conference bringing together industry practitioners, faculty, and students; a sports industry career fair; a quarterly newsletter; supervised student research at the undergraduate, MBA, and Ph.D. levels; and various guest and distinguished lecture programs. The center will also offer member firms assistance in solving actual sports business problems, which will give students a chance to gain practical, real-world experience.

"This new research center is a great fit with the mission of Smeal—it will connect the college with industry leaders, provide networking and work-experience opportunities for our students, and focus on developing relevant research capable of having an immediate impact in the field," says Smeal Dean James B. Thomas. "As we build it into the premier academic organization for sports business research, the center will be a boon for our students and faculty, and for academia and the sports industry as a whole."

DeSarbo and Smeal faculty member Andrew Bergstein, who will serve as the center's associate director, are currently building the center's advisory board, which will consist of top-level executives from throughout the sports industry. Board members will represent the various sectors that make up the sports industry, including representatives from sports apparel and equipment, consumer goods, food and beverage, leagues and teams, marketing and advertising, media, and sponsors.

Funds are currently being raised to get the Center for Sports Business & Research off the ground, and there are numerous opportunities for partnering between the center and industry, including a naming opportunity for the center itself. For more information on supporting the Sports Business Research Institute, contact Phillip Bolda, Smeal's director of development, at 814-863-0345 or pxb36@psu.edu.