Comparing Sport Consumer Motivations across Multiple Sports

Sport managers within intercollegiate athletics are faced with the challenge of generating more revenues to offset rising program costs. One option to consider is generating additional revenues from ticket sales for nonrevenue sports. Understanding the motives that drive consumers’ interest in nonrevenue sports will provide sport marketers with information that can be used to develop targeted promotional campaigns in order to foster increased attendance and, ultimately, offset costs to the programs. The current study sought to extend our understanding of sport consumers by identifying motives that influence an individual's interest in nonrevenue collegiate sports and to ascertain whether similar motives influence consumption across multiple nonrevenue sports. The results suggest that interest in three nonrevenue sporting events was based upon factors associated with sport in general. Respondents rated the sport-related motives (i.e., entertainment, skill, drama, and team effort) higher than the motives pertaining to self-definition (i.e., achievement, empathy, and team affiliation) and motives related to personal benefits (i.e., social interaction and family).