Contemporary Issues in Sports Consumer Demand

***Please note that registration for this event may close early due to room capacity. Please register early to guarantee a spot at the luncheon.***

Professor Nicholas Watanabe, The University of Mississippi

The field of sports economics traces back to the early works of Simon Rottenberg (1956) who theorized about the unique structure of the professional sports marketplace. In subsequent years, sports economists have continued to advance the understanding of how sport organizations operate, why consumers demand sport products, as well as how sport interfaces with various aspects of law, society and culture.

In this talk, two empirical lines of research will be discussed. First, the most recent research in regards to ticket pricing practices in professional sport will be discussed, and how the industry is still evolving to try and maximize revenue and demand. In the second study, an economic model of demand for college football will be presented to discuss whether the NCAA’s amateurism rules in regards to compensating players may be hurting consumer interest.

Nicholas Watanabe

Nicholas Watanabe, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Sports Administration at the University of Mississippi. He graduated with his doctorate from the University of Illinois. His research focuses on economics, management, and communication in sport, and has been published in: Journal of Sport Management, Sport Marketing Quarterly, International Journal of Sport Finance, and Oxford Handbook of Sports Economics Research, etc.

Dr. Watanabe is on the editorial board for the Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics and Managing Sport and Leisure. He has been featured in the Boston Globe, Yahoo! News, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and has also spoken on the business of sport at Beijing Sport University in China, and the University of Western Cape in South Africa.

DABE Luncheon Information
Reservations and prepayment required using the registration system at the top of the page. Registration generally closes at 10am one business day prior to the luncheon. However, registration for this event may close earlier due to room capacity. Please register early to guarantee a spot at the luncheon.