Team Sports Women's Professional Team Sports example essay topic

Review of Literature Thesis There is a definite correlation between the economics of professional women's sports and their ultimate success. As most success in sport leagues, teams and associations are measured by longevity, win / loss records, and most importantly, revenue, the footprint of female competition at the professional level has not been paramount at any point in our history. Professional women's athletics is characterized by an economic model and a level of acceptance amongst the masses that differs immensely from their male counterparts. In this review of literature I plan to examine the major issues contributing to the struggle women's professional team sports experience, in comparison with individual sports. To better understand the disconnect between female buying power and the support by females of women's professional sport, I will use industry facts and expert opinions to look closely at the economic pitfalls of professional women's sports and how that contributes to their ultimate demise. Participation and Buying Power In the post-Title IX era, female participation in sport has skyrocketed.

In 1970, one in every twenty-seven girls played high school varsity sports; compared to one in three today (6). Overall, women currently outnumber men as active sports / fitness participants (1). Since 1991, women have also out-purchased men in athletic shoes and apparel, they participate in most purchasing decisions for men and families, as well as their own, and buy disproportionate to their participation in sport. In short, women control 81% of total sports apparel dollars (6). Hence, the argument that women are not interested in sport and that they do not purchase apparel, remains untrue (3). Team Sports Women's professional team sports have had a difficult time establishing themselves as a staple in a booming industry.

Some argue that the masculine image of team sports has inhibited women from participating professionally in the United States (4). The best examples of women's sport at the professional level would be basketball and soccer. Both of these sports are widespread in the United States, both sports enjoy immense participation, yet they struggle economically. WNBA Women have been playing competitive basketball since 1892. In 1976, women's basketball became and Olympic sport and has experienced much success at the collegiate and amateur levels since. The first professional league was launched in 1978 and folded 3 years later.

Two other leagues were created in 1996! The American Basketball League (ABL) and the WNBA. The ABL ceased operation in 1999, while the WNBA continues to thrive. Financial woes were the cause of each team's demise and experts argue that the WNBA's survival is due to its NBA affiliation (2). It's an interesting phenomenon that basketball, an American sport, has seen several European leagues and organizations survive throughout the years (4). WUSA Being the most recent failure in women's professional sports, the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), folded in 2003, just 5 days before the Women's World Cup began.

John Hendricks, Chairman of the WUSA Board of Governors, said that, ! SSa shortfall in sponsorship revenue and insufficient revenue from other core areas of the business proved to be the hurdles which the WUSA could not overcome in time for planning the 2004 season (5). !" Individual Sports Individual sports in professional women's athletics, such as golf, bowling, billiards, and tennis, have a much longer, more widely accepted, more easily followed history than that of team sports (4). The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) was established in 1950 and has since become an international organization. In 2003 Serena Williams signed a contract with Nike that could make her the richest woman in sport (BBC Sport, Dec. 11 2003.) Sponsorship and Broadcasting Weaknesses Dr. Donna Lopiano, editorial writer for the Women's Sports Foundation Business Newsletter, has coined seven primary sports sponsorship weaknesses in the development of the women's sports marketplace and the active female consumer.

Five out of these seven components apply strictly to the marketing of professional women's sports leagues. 1) Investing in start-up women's professional leagues. Successful pro sports leagues can no longer be created by wealthy individuals alone. Rather, such leagues demand partnerships consisting of print and electronic media partners, corporate sponsors and individual investors (3). Women's and men's sports are different products and should be served by different corporate investment entities. 2) Lack of affirmative female consumer-friendly!

SS educator!" sales force outreach efforts. Male and female consumers are different. The former pursues sport! As a symbol of masculinity and tradition; whereas, the female consumer is a! SS shopper!" who requires someone willing to explain the benefit of the experience and the difference between products. 3) Print and electronic advertising is also lacking.

Female consumers are interested in causes. They are more likely to buy from companies who support their causes given equal quality and value of product. 4) Confusion in identifying the target market. The women's sports market consists of three sub markets: active female, active and inactive female who understands sports and is a spectator of men's sports, and the active and inactive female that is a new spectator to women's sports. This female is not likely to be reached during the 10 am! V 2 pm!

SS soap opera!" media buy, but is more likely to be in the workforce than not. 5) Failure to leverage existing sports sponsorship or athlete endorsement commitments. It is not enough to just pay the endorsement fee. Developing the markets and new products requires careful attention. Too often companies will buy women's sports sponsorship and then leave it to wither on the vine when they fail to spend time and money creating extensions or using their media buying clout to obtain regional or national television coverage (3).

Corporations have to make the same all-out investment in women's sports as they have in men's sports, if they want them to deliver the same results. Low budgeting and one-shot deals are detrimental to women's leagues (3). Marketing to the active female consumer should be at the forefront of the industry. Sporting goods are not investing as effectively as they could. Advertising needs to be re tailored to address the female as a bona fide athlete, rather than a sex object. Continuity investment, year-round commitment and sound TV sponsorships need to emphasize exposure and market saturation, rather than playing second fiddle to men's sports (3).

Women's Sports Business Facts The actual shortcomings of the sponsorship weaknesses within the professional women's sports arena reveal the current uneven state that leagues are in. Team sport industry figures support this theory: Fact: far 11 official sponsors of the 1999 Women's World Cup paid $44 million in That is what a single company pays to sponsor the Men's World Cup ( IEG Sponsorship Report, 1997) Fact: far Women's sports overall sponsorship has passed the $1 billion mark in total sponsorship Men's sports sponsorship is at $25 billion ( Sport Business Journal, 2001) Fact: far During its first year the WUSA's average viewership was 425,000 on TNT fae It was put on the lesser-known PAX network and averaged 100,000 households ( Zimbalist, Andrew, 2003) Fact: far The minimum salary for a WNBA veteran is $42,000 and WNBA player salaries have been capped at $622,000 per The minimum salary for an NBA first-round draft pick in his second year is $512,435 ( WNBA, NBA 2003) Fact: far According to Oxygen / Markle Pulse poll, 56% of women agree with the statement that seeing successful female athletes makes them feel proud to be a woman ( Marketing to Women, March 2001.) In conclusion, it is safe to state that the validity of the women's sports market has its pitfalls, but how soon we forget that the NFL took nine tries before the men's professional football league took hold (3). Industry figures agree that the problem with the survival of women's professional sport is not participation, is not interest, but is indeed a business blunder. Taking the sponsorship and TV deals more seriously and approaching them with greater risk, could be the tell-tale sign of establishing women's professional athletes for years to come.

Bibliography

1)! SS The Future of Women's Sport. !" Women's Sports Foundation Business Newsletter. web (2) Goodwin, Randy and Ladd Koch man.! SS Market Efficiency and the Women's NBA. !" American Business Review. West Haven: June 2004.
Vol. 2, Issue 2; pg. 135, 3 pigs. (3) Lopiano, Donna Ph. D.! SS Pitfalls in the Development of the Women's Sports Market. !" Women's Sport Foundation Business Newsletter (4)! SS Professional Women's Sport in America Today. !" Japanese Women's Sport. web (5) Schmid, Pam.! SS Women's Pro Sports Leagues Face Uphill Battle. !" Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune. Abilene Reporter News; June 30, 2004.
6)!" Women's Sports & Fitness Facts & Statistics. !" Compiled by the Women's Sports Foundation: June 1, 2004.