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Sidney Naron has been hired to be the Director of Strategic Marketing for a new Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion team in Atlanta, GA. Based on the information provided in the case, she will need to develop a multifaceted marketing plan that will be best suited for the new team. The strengths and weaknesses, of the new team are highlighted in the case, but Naron also must become acquainted with the club’s potential fan base via an analysis of the external environment (i.e., opportunities and threats). She then must strategically implement a marketing plan. The case is fictional; however, it is based on factual news and press conference information regarding MLS expanding to Atlanta. Thus, instructors and students likely will find the case relevant and timely.

This case addresses a timely problem many non-profit sport organizations face: social media management. Due to a lack of resources and technical skills, many organizations fail to effectively utilize social media. This case focuses on the challenges of social media integration in Greenville Little Leagues (GLL), a chartered member of Little League International. Little League International is a global non-profit sports organization comprised of local league members such as GLL. This case focuses on a dilemma an intern with GLL must solve regarding social media and its annual tournament. The case outlines the organizational details regarding GLL’s operation and annual tournament, as well as their current social media strategy. This case provides an opportunity for students to: 1) examine effective tactics for using social media to develop community, 2) develop strategies non-profit sport organizations could use to promote community building, 3) identify cost-effective social media tactics for engaging a rapidly changing audience, and 4) articulate how to effectively utilize volunteers to share social media responsibilities. The case is intended for use in event management, organizational behavior, and/or marketing courses and provides an opportunity to highlight how research can and should inform practice.

This case focuses on the Little League Softball World Series and the potential interest and growth of youth softball. The case outlines current trends and highlights potential opportunities to grow the game after a 2020 decision to move the Little League Softball World Series from Portland, Oregon, where it had been hosted for over 25 years, to Greenville, North Carolina. This case challenges students to (a) examine how sports organizations must be intentional about growing a sport, (b) develop new solutions to involve the local community, and (c) find new and effective ways to promote a girls’ sport (and an international event at the local level) in a manner that advances women in sport. It is intended for use in strategic management, event management, and/or contemporary sport issue courses. The case provides instructors with the opportunity to highlight the importance of advancing diversity in youth sport, with an emphasis on community impact, and effective strategies to promote women in sport.

Sport programs are often charged with creating a sense of community (SOC), and it is thought that doing so will benefit participants on and off the field of play. Since SOC is specific to the setting (Hill, 1996) and most research has been conducted outside of sport, the literature has not yet fully demonstrated how and when SOC is created within a sport context. Utilizing a grounded theory and phenomenological approach, this study investigated the mechanisms for creating SOC within a sport setting. Twenty former US college athletes were interviewed regarding their sport experiences. The results revealed that Administrative Consideration, Leadership Opportunities, Equity in Administrative Decisions, Competition, and Social Spaces were the most salient factors that fostered SOC. The results contribute to community building theory, and provide practical solutions for enhancing the participant experience.

As scholars conduct more research on the social benefits of community sport, the need for an instrument to measure sense of community is increasingly necessary. Utilizing previous grounded theory research specific to sport and community building, the purpose of this study was to test previous sport and sense of community theory through the creation and validation of a measurement scale to gauge sense of community. The authors tested a 21-item tool comprised of 6-subscales (i.e., Administrative Consideration, Common Interest, Competition, Equity in Administrative Decisions, Leadership, and Social Spaces) among samples of young sport participants using the three-phase method of item generation, confirmatory analyses, and concurrent validation. The resulting analyses yielded a valid and reliable instrument to measure sense of community in sport. This research suggests refinement to previous sport and sense of community theory and provides needed utility for this theory that has been grounded in the sport experience.

Despite the overwhelming emphasis on job satisfaction in sport management research, scholars continue to advocate for the distinctiveness and importance of evaluating both job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The purpose of this investigation is to develop a model of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction for intercollegiate coaches. Fifteen head coaches participated in semistructured interviews. Results revealed a sport industry specific three-factor model. Desirable job factors (Player-Coach Relationships, Recognition, and Social Status) were related only to satisfaction. Industry Standard Factors (Sport Policy, Salary, Recruiting, Supervision, and Life Balance) were related only to dissatisfaction. Performance Dependent Factors (Flexibility and Control, Program Building, and Relationships with Colleagues) were related to satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The results support the distinctiveness of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction as constructs, and also demonstrate a continued need for examining job attitudes within context. As sport managers understand the particular expectations of their employees and their industry they can better diagnose and solve employee issues.

Athletes may be especially primed to become referees; yet, we do not know what former athletes think about this career choice. To address the worldwide referee shortage, it is important to better understand athletes’ perceptions of refereeing. From a Career Contingency Model framework, it is evident athletes’ perception would influence their decision to consider refereeing. This study’s aim was to examine athletes’ perceptions of the refereeing environment (RQ1) and identify referee recruitment barriers (RQ2). Utilizing a descriptive phenomenological approach, 23 current and former athletes took part in semistructured interviews based on their lived experience as an athlete. The participants identified the officiating environment as a high-stress environment with financial instability, while time and lack of knowledge and support were identified as recruitment barriers. The results contributed to the burgeoning line of research attempting to address the global referee shortage and provide both theoretical and practical implications for sport managers.