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Each day, fans, journalists, and others look online for information about sports, leagues, and teams. Newspapers have developed Web sites that, in part, help them expand the audience for their sports coverage. Other sites also have developed that aim to attract sports fans. One type of Web site, the “fan site,” is a specialized site that focuses on one team or league. As newspaper Web sites and fan sites look to attract Internet sport consumers and advertisers, their sites have grown increasingly similar. This article looks at some of the ways that the two types of sites have grown to be more alike and looks at potential areas of research that have developed.

Gendered processes in the sport industry often perpetuate male dominance and female inferiority. While these gendered occurrences have been well documented, the outcomes of such processes are underexplored. Under the guidance of objectification theory and the production–reception relationship, the authors investigated the influence of objectification in sports-media outlets’ coverage of a female sporting event for a national sample of U.S. consumers (N = 225). In addition, given the lack of coverage directed toward female sporting events, the current study investigated the influence of previous viewership on consumer behaviors for a future women’s sporting event. Findings suggest that processes of objectification influence both men’s and women’s consumer behaviors and that previous viewership influences future consumer-behavior motives. Furthermore, objectified images and language did not adversely affect future consumer behaviors for those who had previously viewed a similar women’s sporting event. Sport-media and communications professionals alike can leverage these relationships.

The purpose of this study was to ascertain if positional segregation continues at the quarterback position in college football. To determine its existence, we examined differences in run and pass plays executed by African American and White quarterbacks over four different seasons in the NCAA DI-FBS (N = 548). Results revealed significant differences such that African American quarterbacks rushed the ball more and averaged fewer pass attempts than their White counterparts. Likewise, the percentage of rush attempts made by African Americans nearly doubled that of Whites, while White quarterbacks passed the ball 12% more often than their African American counterparts. We argue that these findings support that a new form of discrimination and positional segregation, one we define as racial tasking, may exist.

The internship experience is generally recognized for its educational and career-related benefits (Gault, Leach, & Duey, 2010); however, scholars are beginning to question the merit and expected benefits of undergraduate internships in sport management (King, 2009; Schneider & Stier, 2006). Further research has found evidence that the internship experience may negatively influence students’ intent to enter the profession (Cunningham, Sagas, Dixon, Kent, & Turner, 2005). The current study uses a longitudinal approach and qualitative analysis to examine the influence of the internship on students’ career-related decision making. Findings show that the internship plays a major role in shaping students’ career trajectory; however, many students come away more confused about their career path than before their internship. Further findings reveal issues related to intern supervision and the type of learning opportunities available to students.

Whereas previous research has demonstrated racial differences in occupational turnover intent, why such differences exist remains unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this Research Note was to examine perceived opportunity, career satisfaction, and occupational turnover intent of racial-minority and White NCAA Division I-A assistant football coaches (N = 382). Multivariate analysis of variance indicated that racial minorities perceived less career-related opportunity, were less satisfied with their careers, and had greater occupational turnover intentions than their White counterparts. Structural equation modeling indicated that career satisfaction fully mediated the relationship between perceived opportunity and occupational turnover intent. Results highlight the need for a change in the organizational culture of intercollegiate athletic departments such that diversity is valued and embraced.

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of age, ethnic, and organizational tenure diversity on occupational commitment and occupational turnover intent among coaching staffs. Data were gathered via questionnaire from coaches in 48 NCAA Division IA football coaching staffs (235 coaches). Hierarchical regression analyses, controlling for the success of the team and the number of respondents per team, indicated that the block of diversity variables accounted for 18% (p < .05) of the variance in occupational commitment and 16% (p < .05) of the variance in occupational turnover intentions. Tenure and ethnic diversity were significant predictors in both analyses, although age diversity was not. Implications are discussed in relation to the complexity of diversity and strategies to mitigate the negative effects of group diversity on group-level outcomes.

This study was intended to provide analysis of print-media portrayals of athletes in Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues from 1997 through 2009. Drawing on the theoretical framework from Connell’s concept of hegemonic masculinity (2005), the authors performed a content analysis of photographic images (N = 141) and associated captions in athlete-related content in Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues. Two major issues emerged from the content analysis: gender differences and sexualized images in athlete content. Findings of this study indicated that Sports Illustrated alternates athleticism with sexuality by continuously placing athlete models in positions that are unrelated to sport. In addition, the female athletes were extremely sexualized. These findings support the concept of hegemonic masculinity at work in Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues.

The purpose of this study was to further examine the utility of Mitchell, Holtom, Lee, Sablynski, and Erez’s (2001) job embeddedness construct. The authors tested a revised version of their original multi-item scale, as well as a new global-item measure. Data were gathered from two independent samples (intercollegiate softball coaches, n = 214, and athletic department employees, n = 189). Results from both studies provide the strongest support for the global-item measure. The convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity of the measure was established. Results demonstrate the efficacy of the job embeddedness construct in explaining why people choose to stay in their organizations.

The present study was conducted to explore the influence of personality and needs of sport consumers on their sport consumption behavior. The proposed hierarchical model of sport consumption hypothesizes that individuals’ personality, need traits, and involvement interact through hierarchical stages and ultimately influence sport participation and spectatorship. The results of the structural model test using 471 sport consumers indicate that conscientiousness, openness, and extraversion were positively related to achievement need, whereas extraversion and neuroticism were significantly related to affiliation need. Conscientiousness was found to be positively related to arousal need. Needs for arousal and affiliation were significantly related to sport spectatorship involvement, whereas need for affiliation was related to sport participation involvement. Interestingly, sport spectating and participation are significantly related to each other in both involvement and behavioral intention levels. The results can offer valuable insights in understanding sport consumption behavior and developing effective segmentation strategies.