Dimensionalizing The Makeup of a Sports Fan.

Uncovering Drivers of Fandom.

A large sports network and partnering university wanted to understand the differences in fan avidity and consumption motives across generations, as well as the reasons behind changing consumption preferences (i.e., how and why fans prefer to consume sports).

Using a combination of an online community of Gen Zers, Millennials, Gen Xers, and Boomers and a nationwide survey among sports fans spanning the four generations, I measured motives for fandom, as well as identity, avidity, passion, consumption patterns and preferences, and demographic information. Leveraging all of this data allowed me to conduct a needstate segmentation to identify the core needs that sports was fulfilling for each generation.

This research was then presented at the 2019 North American Society for Sport Management Conference.