Professional Sports Leagues Research Articles

Improving the aggregation and evaluation of NBA mock drafts

Abstract If professional teams can accurately predict the order of their league’s draft, they would have a competitive advantage when using or trading their draft picks. Many experts and enthusiasts publish forecasts of the order players are drafted into professional sports leagues, known as mock drafts. Using a novel dataset of mock drafts for the National Basketball Association (NBA), we explore mock drafts’ ability to forecast the actual draft. We analyze authors’ mock draft accuracy over time and ask how we can reasonably aggregate information from multiple authors. For both tasks, mock drafts are usually analyzed as ranked lists, and in this paper, we propose ways to improve on these methods. We propose that rank-biased distance is the appropriate error metric for measuring accuracy of mock drafts as ranked lists. To best combine information from multiple mock drafts into a single consensus mock draft, we also propose a combination method based on the ideas of ranked-choice voting. We show that this method provides improved forecasts over the standard Borda count combination method used for most similar analyses in sports, and that either combination method provides a more accurate forecast across seasons than any single author.

Measuring Competitive Balance in South Korea Professional Sports League

Measuring Competitive Balance in South Korea Professional Sports League

Revenue Sharing in Professional Sports Leagues

Revenue Sharing in Professional Sports Leagues

How to Conclude a Suspended Sports League?

Problem definition: Professional sports leagues may be suspended because of various reasons, such as the recent coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. A critical question that the league must address when reopening is how to appropriately select a subset of the remaining games to conclude the season in a shortened time frame. Despite the rich literature on scheduling an entire season starting from a blank slate, concluding an existing season is quite different. Our approach attempts to achieve team rankings similar to those that would have resulted had the season been played out in full. Methodology/results: We propose a data-driven model that exploits predictive and prescriptive analytics to produce a schedule for the remainder of the season composed of a subset of originally scheduled games. Our model introduces novel rankings-based objectives within a stochastic optimization model, whose parameters are first estimated using a predictive model. We introduce a deterministic equivalent reformulation along with a tailored Frank–Wolfe algorithm to efficiently solve our problem as well as a robust counterpart based on min-max regret. We present simulation-based numerical experiments from previous National Basketball Association seasons 2004–2019, and we show that our models are computationally efficient, outperform a greedy benchmark that approximates a nonrankings-based scheduling policy, and produce interpretable results. Managerial implications: Our data-driven decision-making framework may be used to produce a shortened season with 25%–50% fewer games while still producing an end-of-season ranking similar to that of the full season, had it been played. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2022.0558 .

Fan and fantasy: investigating the impact of fantasy sports on sports fan identity

ABSTRACT Research question This study investigates the impact of fantasy sport on online sport fan identities. It explores the socio-psychological outcomes experienced by sport fans participating in fantasy sport and investigates their collaborative value co-creation practices. Research methods We use netnography to collect user comments across relevant subreddits. We further employ content analysis to identify the socio-psychological outcomes experienced by sport fans participating in fantasy sport and to gain insights into value co-creation practices within the fantasy sport community. Findings This study presents three significant findings. Firstly, it delineates BIRGing as celebration and trash talk and CORFing as disappointment, contemplation, and avoidance. Secondly, it introduces two new socio-psychological outcomes – FAGing and FARDing – encapsulating the dual identity of sport fans participating in fantasy sport. Third, it identifies three unique co-creation practices observed in fantasy sport communities – favoritism and subgrouping; sharing, supporting, and strategizing; and bragging. Implications This study contributes to our understanding of the impact of fantasy sport on the fan­ – team dynamic and the emergence of distinctive co-creation practices among evolved fans. From a practical perspective, the research has implications for sport managers and fantasy sport platforms, as fantasy sport serves as a powerful tool for engaging audiences of professional sport leagues.

Revisiting the novelty effect from new stadiums: An event study approach

AbstractThis analysis examines the impact of new stadiums on consumer demand for sports spectatorship in the four major US‐based professional sports leagues. Estimates from difference‐in‐differences event studies identify a transitory attendance shock from new venues that diminishes to pre‐stadium‐treatment levels within a decade. The updated estimates confirm the existence of the novelty effect in modern facilities and identify subtle differences in magnitude, certainty, and duration across leagues. Revenue estimates indicate that the substantial financial returns from constructing new stadiums likely incentivize the premature replacement of host venues when combined with typical public subsidy levels.

Competitive balance in professional sports: A multi-dimensional perspective

What constitutes competitive balance is a contentious issue in professional sports. We contribute to this debate with a simple framework encapsulating multiple viewpoints of competitive balance and highlight how this framework suggests that there could be an inherent tradeoff along two common dimensions. Using the framework as a lens for comparing North American professional sports leagues, we then demonstrate how important changes over time in the collective bargaining process have influenced the competitive balance of these leagues in different ways. Finally, we discuss and provide descriptive evidence for the influence of differences in non-gate revenue growth across leagues and how it might have affected their competitive balance in recent years. (JEL L83, D63, C23).

Training Background and Demographic Characteristics of Primary Care Team Physicians in Professional Sports.

Previous studies have shown that most professional head and orthopaedic team physicians are men, and most orthopaedic team physicians are fellowship-trained. It is unknown whether this holds true for primary care team physicians. To evaluate the residency and fellowship training background as well as the demographic characteristics of primary care team physicians in professional sports. Cross-sectional study. Publicly available information was used to determine the lead and supporting primary care team physicians for every US-based team in Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, National Basketball Association, National Football League, National Hockey League, National Women's Soccer League, and Women's National Basketball Association. Data regarding training background and sex were obtained using internet-based sources. We identified 310 primary care team physicians from all 165 US-based teams in the 7 leagues included in the study. Female physicians comprised 11.5% (19/165) of the lead primary care team physicians and 14.2% (44/310) of all primary care team physicians. Overall, 66.7% (110/165) of lead primary care team physicians and 75.5% (234/310) of all primary care team physicians were sports medicine fellowship-trained. There was a higher proportion of female (37.5%) and fellowship-trained (93.8%) physicians in women's professional sports leagues. Most primary care team physicians (244/310 [78.7%]) were trained in family medicine or internal medicine. Women constituted a small minority of primary care team physicians in professional sports. Most primary care team physicians were residency trained in family medicine or internal medicine and were sports medicine fellowship-trained. The proportion of female and fellowship-trained primary care team physicians was highest in the National Women's Soccer League and the Women's National Basketball Association.

The pursuit of optimal dual career balance by athletes in women’s professional ice hockey

A recent period of growth in women’s professional and semiprofessional sport leagues has provided many athletes with newfound career opportunities. Concomitantly, an increasing number of female athletes are maintaining occupations in and out of sport. Little, however, is known about such maintenance: an ever-growing body of literature on dual careers (i.e., the combination of sport and studies or work) is replete with works on sport and education, but lacking in studies on athletes who are employed in multiple occupations. Consequently, and given related calls for further inquiry, the researchers conducted a study on the pursuit of optimal dual career balance by athletes who have typically held more than one occupation, those in women’s professional ice hockey. Interviews with nine such athletes (n = 9), as well as two team managers (n = 2), from the Premier Hockey Federation, revealed that the pursuit of optimal dual career balance involved multiple demands (e.g., work-work conflict, work to family interference); elicited the employment of organizational (e.g., schedule accommodations, athletic reprieves, flexible work arrangements), social (e.g., moral and financial support), and personal resources (e.g., planning/scheduling, open communication, temporary task prioritization, compartmentalization, positive reinterpretation); and engendered both costs (e.g., limited training and athletic development, dropout/retirement) and benefits (e.g., vocational advancement, broadened identities, preparedness for athletic career cessation) alike. Ultimately, the responses of the interviewees pointed to the potential for managers and psychologists to further support working athletes in the pursuit of optimal dual career balance. Lay summary: Athletes in women’s professional ice hockey typically must maintain more than one career/occupation. In doing so, they are likely to experience multiple challenges (e.g., work conflicts). These challenges may result in dropout, or, through various supports, be minimized. When minimized, or overcome, athletes may succeed in sport, work, and beyond.

Examining the Digital Pitch: A 3-Year Examination of Social Media Metrics From Men’s Professional Sport

Although research in the social media and sport domain continues to uncover key insights related to content, there has been a push toward identifying the social media metrics that serve as the antecedents to relationship marketing engagement. Along that vein, the purpose of this study was to analyze social media activity (i.e., impressions and engagements) from all teams in a given professional sport league over a 3-year period. Contextually set with Major League Soccer teams for the 2017, 2018, and 2019 calendar years, 66,745 Instagram posts were retrieved using MVPindex and parsed for focal social media metrics (i.e., impressions and engagements) for each team using a temporal lens (i.e., by month and by day). Findings of this study align with past work indicating the need for sport properties to focus on posting outside of game-day windows, harnessing the ongoing, instantaneous nature of social media.

A Study on Understanding the Perception of Marketing Differences Between Men’s and Women’s Professional Sports Leagues

Professional sports have long been dominated by male athletes and leagues, with women's sports receiving significantly less media coverage, sponsorship, and investment. While women's profes sional sports have made strides in recent years, including increased television coverage and sponsorship deals, many believe that there is still a significant gap between men's and women's sports leagues. One potential area of difference between the two is in their marketing. This study aims to investigate the perception of marketing differences between men's and women's profes sional sports leagues and highlights the importance of promoting gender equality and providing visibility for women's sports. This study utilized a survey method to investigate the perception of marketing differences be tween men's and women's professional sports leagues. A total of 437 respondents participated in the survey, with the majority being sports fans. The study utilized Jamovi software for data analysis and found that participants perceived differences in marketing between the two leagues. The results of the survey showed that participants perceived differences in marketing between men's and women's professional sports leagues. Specifically, women's sports were often market ed towards a family-friendly and community-oriented audience, while men's sports were market ed towards a broader and more diverse audience. Additionally, participants noted that women's sports were not marketed at the same capacity as men’s pro sports. Interestingly, despite the per ceived differences in marketing, the majority of participants did not express negative opinions about the marketing of women's sports. Instead, many participants recognized the importance of promoting gender equality and providing visibility for women's sports. The survey also revealed that while the majority of participants were viewers of men's sports due to easy access, many were also fans of women's sports. This suggests that there is a significant and growing fanbase for women's sports, which could be harnessed to increase their visibility and popularity. The findings from this study may inform future efforts to increase the visibility and popularity of women's professional sports, ultimately contributing to a more equitable and inclusive sports landscape.

Preparing Basketball Players for Competition During COVID-19 Lockdown: An International Strength and Conditioning Perspective

ABSTRACT The global outbreak of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) resulted in governing bodies suspending professional sports leagues, including the National Basketball Association (NBA) and notably the International Olympic Committee (2020 Tokyo Olympic Games). As competitions resumed, performance staff shifted their focus to preparing athletes for a safe return to competition. This article provides novel and unique international perspectives on preparing basketball players for competition during COVID-19 lockdown outlining lessons learned from the NBA, FIBA Asia Cup, and Olympic Games. Reflections are provided unpacking central themes related to (a) the impact of COVID-19 on physiological and psychological domains; (b) strength and conditioning methods and nutritional strategies used in the (re)training process; and (c) situation-specific interventions and educational strategies related to psychological well-being. Collectively, performance staff responsible for the preparation of basketball players during COVID-19 must consider additional health and performance support to ensure physical and psychological readiness to complete without negatively impacting physical development.

Mapping provision and evaluation practices in local community health and wellbeing programmes delivered by professional sports clubs in the United Kingdom: A practice-based targeted review

Abstract Professional sports clubs (PSCs) are potentially effective settings for health promotion, however, their role within policy is unclear. Potential reasons include lack of awareness about existing provision of health and wellbeing (H&W) programmes delivered, and adequacy of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) practices. This review aimed to: (i) map the provision of H&W programmes delivered by PSCs in the United Kingdom (UK); and (ii) explore current M&E practices of PSCs and consider the policy implications of this. To conduct this practice-based targeted review, websites from eight professional sport leagues were hand-searched for programmes and impact reports, amounting to the inclusion 116 PSCs. Suitable programmes were quantified, whilst impact reports were analysed via inductive documentary content analysis. Results identified 127 H&W programmes that met our inclusive criteria. A total of 36 impact reports were retrieved, presenting engagement figures and anecdotal case studies as the most common evaluation methods. Additionally, 43 H&W impact statements were identified within the impact reports, but only 14 were aligned to specific H&W outcomes. None were supported by measurement-tool-driven data, and reporting of data collection timeframes and participant numbers were also rare. Findings illuminate the provision of H&W programmes delivered by UK-based PSCs and their health promotion priorities. However, the H&W aims of programmes are typically vague, measurement tools are rarely used, and evaluations are usually anecdotal which may limit the potential uptake of these programmes and PSCs generally in relevant public health policy. Further research is thus needed on the challenges faced when seeking to monitor and evaluate programmes effectively and to build a stronger evidence base for the use of PSCs as vehicles of health promotion.

Mapping the provision and evaluation practices of local community health and wellbeing programmes delivered by professional sports clubs in England: a practice-based targeted review

ABSTRACT Professional sports clubs (PSCs) are potentially effective settings for health promotion; however, their role within policy is unclear. Potential reasons include lack of awareness about existing provision of health and wellbeing (H&W) programmes and adequacy of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) practices. This review aimed to: (i) map the provision of H&W programmes delivered by PSCs in the United Kingdom (UK), and (ii) explore current M&E practices of PSCs and consider the policy implications of this. Websites from eight professional sport leagues were hand-searched for programmes and impact reports. Suitable programmes were quantified, whilst impact reports were analysed via inductive documentary content analysis. Results identified 176 H&W programmes and 36 impact reports, as well as 43 H&W impact statements, but only 14 of these were aligned to specific H&W outcomes. The H&W aims of programmes were typically vague, measurement tools were rarely used, and evaluations were usually anecdotal case studies and based on engagement figures, which may not only limit the potential uptake of these programmes but also the relevance of PSCs to public policy. Further research is thus needed to build a stronger evidence base for the use of PSCs as vehicles of public health promotion and policy, and to better address the challenges faced when seeking to monitor and evaluate PSC programmes effectively.

Sports fandom in the metaverse: marketing implications and research agenda

The metaverse is transforming how sports fans consume sports, express their fandom, and interact with sports brands representing professional sports leagues, teams and athletes. However, scholars and practitioners lack an understanding of how sports brands can effectively appeal to their fans using the metaverse. This conceptual study aims to address this gap by combining marketplace evidence and extant research through the lens of social identity theory. The study suggests that sports brands should engage their fans in the metaverse by offering exclusive experiences that strengthen fans’ identification as a fan, facilitating opportunities for fans to demonstrate their fandom and reinforce their association with the fan community, and fostering immersive experiences that enable fans to interact with each other and the sports brand. This study outlines several potential areas for future research based on three themes, namely experiences, personalization, and inclusivity. By addressing these areas, sports brands can better understand and optimize their engagement strategies with fans using the metaverse.

The impact of a new women's professional sport league on pre-existing sport organisations: a modified, integrative approach to examining change

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to explore the process of change in existing professional sport organisations as they initiate a women's team.Design/methodology/approachThree Australian Football League clubs with licenses for professional women's teams were examined, with semi-structured interviews held with three key department managers from each club.FindingsThe findings suggest organisations adopt either a community-focused or commercially focused approach, the selection of which is a response to the interplay of institutional pressures (e.g. league demands), resource demands (e.g. human and financial) and the strategic choices of a few, key “idea champions”.Originality/valueThis study provides insight into the approach change taken by clubs as they introduce a women's team into their existing organisational structure.

Team Physicians in Men's and Women's Professional Sports Leagues: Gender Representation and Career Path Analysis.

The most common orthopaedic fellowship is for sports medicine, but few fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeons fill roles as team physicians. Gender disparities within the field of orthopaedics, coupled with male-dominated professional sports leagues in the United States, may lead to lower representation of women as professional team physicians. To (1) determine the career path trajectories of current head team physicians in professional sports, (2) quantify gender disparities across team physician representation, and (3) further characterize professional profiles of team physicians appointed to women's and men's professional sports leagues in the United States. Cross-sectional study. This is a cross-sectional study of professional sports head team physicians in 8 major American sports leagues: American football (National Football League), baseball (Major League Baseball), basketball (National Basketball Association and Women's National Basketball Association), hockey (National Hockey League and National Women's Hockey League), and soccer (Major League Soccer and National Women's Soccer League). Online searches were used to compile information on gender, specialty, medical school, residency, fellowship, years in practice, clinical practice type, practice setting, and research productivity. Differences according to league type (men's vs women's leagues) were analyzed with the chi-square test for categorical variables, t test for continuous variables, and Mann-Whitney U test for nonparametric means. Bonferroni correction was applied for multiple comparisons. Within the 172 professional sports teams, 183 head team physicians were identified, including 170 men (92.9%) and 13 women (7.1%). Team physicians in both men's and women's sports leagues were predominantly men. Overall, 96.7% of team physicians in men's leagues were men, and 73.3% of team physicians in women's leagues were men (P < .001). The most common physician specialties were orthopaedic surgery (70.0%) and family medicine (19.1%). Compared with team physicians in women's leagues, those in men's leagues were more likely to be orthopaedic surgeons (40.0% vs 71.9%, respectively; P = .001) and to have more experience (15.9 vs 22.4 years, respectively; P < .001). Study findings indicated disparities in gender, practice experience, and physician specialty representation among team physicians in men's versus women's professional sports leagues.

Implication of COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown on sport activities

Background: The world witnessed a sudden outbreak of a new strand of a deadly disease that rapidly spread throughout the globe. The spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) first originated in Wuhan, Hubei province of China in December 2019. This virus strain extended quickly throughout China and became a pandemic in the country. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed the COVID-19 novel coronavirus as a universal pandemic. Methods: Appropriate keywords were included in Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar to identify the available data. Result: Due to the rapid spread and fatality of the COVID-19, the 2020 Olympic Games formally slated for July 24 until August 9, 2020, will commence on July 23 to August 8, 2021. In March 2020, most of the European professional sports leagues, including football, were discontinued for the predictable future. Conclusion: Football resumption after the lockdown was challenging because of the inability to affirm the health status of the players when they return to their clubs. Every measure must be clear to reduce the risk of the disease and to clarify the response strategy about self-protection to the public. The sport organizing-bodies control-outlines for sports events should be strategized based on the laydown sports rules and quarantine protocols. National public health organizations and sports associations should work together to protect every level of human health and sport all over the world.

Проблемы рассмотрения индивидуальных трудовых споров спортсменов и тренеров в юрисдикционных органах спортивных федераций и профессиональных спортивных лиг

The article is devoted to the problems of consideration of individual labor disputes of athletes and coaches in the jurisdictional bodies of sports federations and professional sports leagues. The current legislation provides for the possibility of creating bodies of pre-trial settlement of disputes in the field of physical culture and sports within the structure of all-Russian sports federations and professional leagues, which can consider individual labor disputes of athletes and coaches. At the same time, certain problems arise already at the stage of determining the jurisdiction of these bodies in terms of the possibility of considering individual labor disputes by them. Within the framework of this study, the problems related to the issues of the correlation of labor legislation and legislation on physical culture and sports, related to the procedure and conditions for the formation of jurisdictional bodies, the peculiarities of submitting a dispute for their consideration, and the observance of the principle of equality of the parties are identified. Proposals have been developed to improve the current legislation.

Analogous Forecasting for Predicting Sport Innovation Diffusion: From Business Analytics to Natural Language Processing

The purpose of this study was to analyze the diffusion of one sport innovation to forecast a second. Contextualized within the diffusion of innovations theory, this study investigated cumulative business analytics diffusion as an analog for cumulative natural language processing (NLP) diffusion in professional sport. A total of 89 teams of the 123 teams in the Big Four North American men’s professional sport leagues contributed: 21 from the National Football League, 23 from the National Basketball Association, 22 from Major League Baseball, and 23 from the National Hockey League. Utilizing an analogous forecasting approach, a discrete derivation of the Bass model was applied to cumulative BA adoption data. Parameters were then extended to predict cumulative NLP adoption. Resulting BA-estimated parameters (p = .0072, q = .3644) determined a close fit to NLP diffusion (root mean square error of approximation = 3.51, mean absolute error = 2.98), thereby validating BA to predict the takeoff and full adoption of NLP. This study illuminates an ongoing and isomorphic process for diffusion of innovations in the professional sport social system and generates a novel application of diffusion of innovations theory to the sport industry.