Motivational Factors Influencing Sport Spectator Involvement At NCAA Division II Basketball Games

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the motivational factors affecting sport spectator involvement using 304 spectators from NCAA Division II men's and women's basketball games. Two aspects (behavioral and socio-psychological) of sport spectator involvement were examined. The results revealed that spectators at intercollegiate basketball games had a higher level of socio-psychological involvement than behavioral involvement. A series of multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the affects of sociomotivational factors (perceived value, fan identification, involvement opportu nity, and reference groups) on sport spectator involvement. Fan identification, involvement opportunity, and reference groups were identified as influential factors that had a significant impact on overall sport spectator involvement. The results also indicated that the four motivational factors predicted more variance for socio-psychological involvement (R2 = .33) than behavioral involve ment (R2 = .22). The findings of this study provide valuable insight to Division II athletic administrators about how to attract additional spectators to collegiate basketball games.Collegiate sports play a significant role in generating m eaningful grow th in the sport industry, especially in th e U nited States (Ho & Jiang, 2006). Fur therm ore, college sports have b ee n recognized as a significant m arket seg m ent due to their unique characteristics such as a diverse fan base, high levels of spectator involvement, an d intense m arket com petition (Fink, Trail, & A nderson, 2002). As collegiate sports have developed into a big business, m any colleges and universities seek opportunities to accom plish their m is sions, such as increasing their visibility, enhancing their im age, and gener ating financial success through athletic departm ents (Howard & Crompton, 2004). Several researchers (e.g., Fulks, 2000; Robinson, Trail, Dick, & Gillentine, 2005) have reported that athletic departm ents w ith com petitive athletic program s g enerate profits for their universities. Direct revenue from ticket sales as well as indirect revenue from sponsorship, broadcasting rights, and m erchandise are typical income stream s for college athletic departm ents. E ducational adm inistrators are confronted w ith ch anges associated w ith adap tin g technology, ch anging dem ographics, increasing com petition, ris ing costs, and funding cuts. In addition, these educational adm inistrators also are challenged to anticipate ch an g es and to form ulate proactive re sponses w hich will fu rther the universities' educational missions. Because athletic program s are considered p art of h igher education institutions, ath letic departm en ts face th e sam e financial problem s as do the institutions to w hich they belong (Shulm an & Bowen, 2001). M any colleges a n d universi ties h ave b e e n facing increasingly tight b u d g ets in rec en t years and have b e e n struggling to provide m ore funding for th eir ow n athletic program s. M oreover...

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