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Page 1: Differences in Official Athletic Website Coverage and ......pictures often contain a strong sexual appeal (9). The analysis of college baseball and softball team websites showed that

DifferencesinOfficialAthleticWebsiteCoverageandSocialMediauseBetweenMen’sandWomen’sBasketballTeamsinCommentary,SportsMarketingJuly22,2016Authors:SteveShih-ChiaChen,TerranDuncan,EricStreet*,andBrooklynHesterberg*CorrespondingAuthor:EricStreet,MS1048LemonRueWayLexington,[email protected],D.S.M.,isanassociateprofessorattheDepartmentofManagementandMarketinginMoreheadStateUniversity,Morehead,KY.HereceivedhisdoctorateinSportManagementfromUnitedStatesSportsAcademyinDaphne,AL.HecurrentlyservesasthechiefeditoroftheKAHPERD(KentuckyAssociationofHealth,PhysicalEducation,Recreation,andDance)Journal.([email protected])TerranDuncan,M.A.,isanassistantcoachofLindseyWilsonCollege’sWomen’sBasketball.ShereceivedherMaster’sdegreeinSportManagementfromMoreheadStateUniversity,KY.([email protected])BrooklynHesterbergisanundergraduateSportManagementstudentofMoreheadStateUniversity.SheisanassistantsoftballcoachatRowanCountyHighSchool,KY.([email protected])EricStreet,M.S.isadoctoratestudentattheUnitedStatesSportsAcademyinDaphne,AL.HereceivedaBAandMSinSportsManagementfromtheUniversityofKentucky.HecurrentlyworksasDirectorofFitnessandTrainingforLAFitnessinLexington,KY.([email protected])ABSTRACTSincetheimplementationofTitleIX,therehavebeensignificantgainsintheareaofequitybetweenmen’sandwomen’ssports.Institutedin1972,TitleIXhasleveledtheplayingfieldbyofferingthesameamountofopportunityforwomenasmen.DeficientmediacoverageinfemalesportsisalessexaminedandrecognizedissueamongvarioustypesofTitleIXviolationsincollegiatesports.Thestudyexaminediftherewasequalcoveragebetweenmen’sandwomen’sbasketballprogramsontheathleticdepartment’swebpagesandsocialmediawebsites.Thecollecteddataincludedtrafficsfortheathleticwebsite,Facebook,andTwitterpagesofSoutheasternConferenceinstitutions.Thefindingsindicatedthattherewasslightlymoremen’scoveragethanwomen’s(53%vs47%).Amongthose14schools,eightschoolshadmorecontentcoveragefortheirmen’steam.Onlysixwomen’sprogramsreceivedmoreofficialwebsitecoveragethantheirmalecounterparts.TheexacttendencyalsooccurredregardingthenumberoftotalTwitterposts.TheanalysisofFacebookpostsdisplayedanunexpectedresult,as13schoolshadmorepostsrelatedtowomen’steamsthanmen’steams.Theresultstendedtosupportthevitalpromotionalrolethatsocialmediamayplaytoincreasetheawarenessandpopularityofwomen’ssports.Ingeneral,theschools’officialwebsitestillmaintainedanacceptedcoverageproportiontowardbothgenderswithoutheavilygravitatedtowardmen’steams.Practicalimplicationsareaddressedforbetterutilizingsocialmediatopromotewomen’ssportsandmaintaingenderequityinmediacoverage.Keywords:SocialMedia,Facebook,Twitter,Blog,TitleIX

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IntroductionSincetheenactmentofTitleIXin1972,thislegislationhasempoweredandinspiredmanywomenandyoungladiestopursueandembracehighereducation,oftenincludingathleticparticipation.(11,4,21)However,untiltodaythegenderequityconcernandlackofsupporttowardfemalecollegiateathleticsportsarestillongoingandhard-pressedissues.Traditionally,theissuesassociatedwithgenderinequityincollegiateathleticsareoftenrelatedtodiscrepanciesinbudget,support,andavailablefacilitiesforbothmen’sandwomen’sprograms(1,13,14,20,and21).Whiletheinstitutionsaretryingtoachievegenderequityfortheirprograms,thetraditionalsocialgenderstereotypes,glorificationofmen’ssportsbymedia,andill-interpretationoftheTitleIXlegislationhaveallbecomepartofthestumblingblocks(20).UnbalancedmediaperspectiveandcoverageonfemalesportsTitleIXmaybeputinplacetoensurethatinstitutionsprovidefinancialequalityforbothgenders’programs,butitdoesnothaveanyauthorityorjurisdictiontocontrolpeople’sperceptionofhowtoviewbothgendersportsmorefairly.Therehasalwaysbeendifferentiationinthewaymaleandfemaleathletesaredepictedinmassmedia.Massmediaareshapeourperceptionsandculturalvaluesthroughsport(21).Pastresearchhasdocumentedthatpopularmediacoverageofsportcontributestoandreinforcesgender’sstereotypesthatperpetuatemalesuperiorityandfemaleinferiorityinsport(13).Underthelensofmedia,femaleathletesaremorelikelytoshowtheirfeminineattributesandbeautifulappearance(2,5).Theimageofstrongandpowerfulfemaleathletesandtomgirlexpressionareoftensuppressed.(5).Femaleathletesarenotonlyfeminized,buttheirathleticachievementsarealsotrivialized.Manystudiesclearlyindicatethatfemalesportsreceivedsignificantlyfarlesstelevisionbroadcastinghours,radioairtime,andnewspapercoveragespaceascomparedtomen’ssports(2,13,and26).Anexaminationofthecoverphotographsofcollegesportsmediaguidesrevealedtheirtwosetsofdata,inaseven-yeartimeframe,thepercentageoffemaleathletesoncovershadincreasedfrom47%(n=144)to51%(n=160).(5)Whiletheirfindingsmightsuggestgenderequitywithincoveragehastoimproved,thisimprovementoccursatasuperficiallevel.Thetotalamountoffemaleathletes’imagesatthecourtsidehaddecreasedfrom51%to41%,asdidtheirimagesinanactionpose.Morethan61%ofthecoverpicturesfeaturedfemaleathletesdressedlikefashionmodels,ratherthananathletes.ExaminationofpastmediacoverageoftheNationalCollegiateAthleticAssociationbasketballtournamentshowsthatthemen’stournamentgarnersfarmorecoveragetimethanthewomen’stournament(2).In2006,USATodaydedicated21,069squareinchestocoveringthemen’sandwomen’s2005-06NCAAbasketballtournaments.Thenewscoveragefocusedonthreeareas:(1)completedbracketrelease,(2)informationonSweet16/EliteEightteams,and(3)FinalFour/Championshipcoverage.Thepercentageoftotalcoveragespaceofthewomen’stournamentinallthreeareaswere24.4%,14.6%and25.2%,respectively(7).Acontentanalysisofcoveredstoriesinsportmagazines(i.e.,SportsIllustrated)revealedaratioofthetotalamountofmaleandfemalecoveragewasabout12:1(9).Eveniffemaleathletesdoreceiveafeaturearticle,itissubstantiallyshorterthanthoseabouttheirmalecounterpartsandthepicturesoftencontainastrongsexualappeal(9).Theanalysisofcollegebaseballandsoftballteamwebsitesshowedthatthebaseballteamhasbeengivenmorewrittencoveragethansoftball(9).Italsoreceivedmoretimelycoverageinupdatedscoresandstatisticalinformation.

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Whiletheextentofinequitieshasvaried,theunderlyingtrendinpastcontentanalysisclearlyshowsthatfemalesportsaresignificantlyunderrepresentedandemphasized(18).Ingeneral,anexplanationforthelargediscrepancyincoveragebetweenthetwogender’ssportsteamisthatthemediamustcatertotheneedsofthepublic.Thismeansitmustprovidemorecoverageofthemen’ssportsfavoredbytheaudiences(12).Bytrivializingandmarginalizingfemalesports,themediamayunintentionallyreinforcethenotionthatwomen’ssportisthelesserversionofmen’ssport(5).Theshortcomingofthislackofmediacoveragemaydiscouragefemalesfromparticipatinginsport.Youngwomenoftentimesmaynotbeabletoidentifythenecessaryrolemodelstoinspiretheminachievingsportexcellence(9).SocialmediaandcollegiateathleticsManyathleticadministratorsmayworryabouttheissueofstudent-athletes’inappropriateuseofsocialmedia,whichpotentiallycanstirupcontroversies,scandalsandriskforpotentialviolations(6).Nevertheless,thebenefitsofsocialmediainmarketing,brandbuilding,andinstantcommunityhaveoutweighedanyoftheconcernsandproblemsthatsocialmediamayimpose.Duetotheconstanturgencyofincreasingdepartmentrevenue,intercollegiateathleticprogramshaveactivelyutilizedsocialmediatosellticketsandengagefanparticipation(3).Oneclickaway,socialmediaisconsideredtobethemosteconomicalandfastestinteractivetooltocommunicatewithandreachmassivecollegesportfansandgrasptheirculturalvaluesandinterest.UniversityofUtah,NorthDakota,DukeUniversity,BostonCollege,andLouisianaStateUniversityallexperiencedgreatsuccessinusingFacebook,Twitter,andYouTubetodisseminatepromotionalinformation,blogs,gamestatistics,andfeaturedstories(3,22).UniversityofUtahhasboastedtosellingmorethan500ticketswithintwohoursviaitsathleticFacebookpage;andNorthDakotawasabletoincreaseitsaveragestudentattendancesix-fold(from144to960)bycreditingtheuseofsocialmedia(22).ManyschoolsalsosoughtsupportfromPublicRelationsfirmtodevelopappsandsocialmediastrategiesforteams(10).OhioStateUniversityistheclearfrontrunnerintheBigTenConference,whenitcomesto“Likes”onFacebook(23).Morethanonemillionresponsesthatwerepostedontheuniversity’sofficialFacebookpagein2011alone.ItwasnotedthatthoseschoolsinthePowerSixconferencesareallusingsocialmediatocombatthe“disappearedrivalries”thatarecausedbytheconferencerealignment(3).PurposePastliteratureclearlyindicatedthatgenderequitywaslaggingbehindinthecoverageofbothgenders’sports.Traditionally,men’ssportsoftenreceivefarmoreattentionanddominatemuchofthecoveragetimeandspace.Withtheriseanddevelopmentofsocialmedia,thesetoolsseemtobeanidealsolutiontocombatgenderinequityinsportmediacoverage,becausetheycouldpervasivelyreachouttothetargetedspectatorsmoreeconomicallyandeffectively.Thisstudyexaminedtheequityofsocialmediacoverage(morespecificallyTwitterandFacebookposts)ofmen’sandwomen’sbasketballontheofficialschoolwebsitesandofficialsocialmediasitesofallSoutheasternConference(SEC)affiliatedinstitutions.Theauthorsattemptedtoaddressthefollowingresearchconcerns.First,aretheinstitutions’websitesinthepowerfulSECconferenceheavilylopsidedincoveringmalesports.Secondly,willthesocialmediapostsandarticlesaffiliatedwiththeofficialathleticwebsitesshowasimilartendency?Andfinally,howdidthenumberandtrendofsocialmediapostsreflectthemarketingandpromotionalstrategiesofeachcurrentSECaffiliatedinstitution?Theresultswouldnotonly

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determineifthewomen’steamsreceiveanadequateamountofmediaattentionandcoverage,theymayalsoprovidethenecessaryandpracticalinformationtohelpallinstitutionseffectivelypromotetheirwomen’ssportprograms.MethodTheauthorsdecidedtoanalyzetheofficialathleticsocialmediasitesofallSouthEasternConference(SEC)affiliatedinstitutionsbecauseitisoneofthemostsuccessfulconferencesintheNCAAwithhighlyreputableanddecoratedprogramsinbothfootballandbasketball.Theanalysesspecificallyfocusedonthepostsontheathleticdepartment’sofficialwebpage,Facebookpage,andTwitterpageofbothmen’sandwomen’sbasketballteams.Bothgenders’basketballprogramshadastrongbasketballtradition,withacoupleofschoolsthathadwontheNationaltitlemultipletimes(i.e.,UniversityofKentuckyandUniversityofTennessee).Furthermore,bothmen’sandwomen’sbasketballarethemostpopularlyattendedcollegiatesportingeventbehindfootball.Thereshouldbeasubstantialamountoffollowersofsocialmediasitesthataredenotedtomen’sandwomen’sbasketball,thusmakingtheanalysismorerelevantandmeaningful.Asfortherecords,theSEChadsevenmen’steamwhofinishedwith20winsormoreandeightteamswereinvitedtoapost-seasontournament(threeintheNCAA,4intheNationalInvitationalTournament,and1intheCollegeBasketballInvitation)in2014.Thewomen’steamswereevenmoreimpressivewithseventeamswith20winsormoreandeleventeamsmadethepostseasonplay(eightintheNCAAandthreeintheNationalInvitationalTournament).ProcedureAllfeaturedarticlesandpostswrittenabouteachofthemen’sandwomen’steamswerecountedandrecordedattheendofthemonthfromOctober1,2013toApril30,2014whichcoveredthebasketballseason.Theauthorsrecordedallofthosearticlesandpostsfromthreesourcesthatarefoundoneachinstitution’sofficialathleticwebsite:(1)theofficialwebpagesofthebasketballteam,(2)theteam’sofficialFacebookpage,and(3)theteam’sofficialTwitterpage.Facebookpostswereparticularlylargeinvolume.Thetotalnumberofrecordedarticlesandpostsforboththemen’sandwomen’steamswerefurthercomparedforthegenderequityconcern.ResultsAmongallfourteenSECinstitutions,about53%ofthetotalarticles(n=2518)ontheofficialathleticwebsiteswererelatedtomen’sbasketball,whileonly47%(n=2331)werewrittenforthewomen’steams.Fourschoolshadmorefeaturedarticlesforthewomen’steamthantheirmalecounterparts.However,thetwoschools,Florida(312formen’svs.142forwomen’s)andMissouri(201formen’svs.153forwomen’s)withexcessivelymorearticlesfortheirmen’sbasketballteamstendedtoskewtheequityquotient.Althoughtherearemorefeaturedarticlesontheofficialathleticswebsiteformen’steamaremore,thisdifferencedidnotreachthesignificantlevel(pmorethan.05)Whendatawerecollected,VanderbiltUniversityandUniversityofMissourididnothaveateamspecificFacebookwebpageforthemen’steam,andUniversityofSouthCarolinadidnothaveFacebookpageforeithergender.IntermsofresultsfromtheFacebookpagesandTwitterpages,everymen’steamhadmorefollowersthanwomen’steamsonbothaccounts.However,thetotalnumberofpostsforwomen’sprograms(n=1369)weremorethanthoseformen’sprograms(n=916).TherearesignificantlymoreFacebookpostsforwomen’steamsthanthe

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men’steams(t=2.160,plessthan05).Thirteenuniversities’women’sFacebookpageshadmorepoststhanthemen’spages.UniversityofArkansaswastheonlyprogramthathadmorepostsonthemen’sFacebookpagethanthewomen’spage.Interestingly,thepowerfulUniversityofKentuckymen’steamhad77timesmoressubscribersthanthewomen’sprogram,yetonlyhadhalfoftheamountofpostsforthewomen’s.Intermsofthepostvolume,TwitterundoubtedlyhadbecomeamorepopularformofsocialmediathantheFacebookinthiscase.Althoughthereweremen’steamsthathadmoremonthlytweetsthanwomen’steams,thetotalofamongoftweetsforallwomen’sprograms(n=31,279)weregreaterthanthoseforthemen’sprograms(n=28,091),despitesthatthemen’sprogramshad3.7timesmoreTwitterfollowers.However,nosignificantgenderdifferencewasfoundinthetotalnumberoftweets.Successfulwomen’steamsareparticularlyimpressiveinreceivingsocialme–diaattention.UniversityofSouthCarolinawomen’steamhad3,728moretweetsthantheirmen’steam.Tables1and2illustratethesummariesoftotalfeaturearticlesandpostsfromtheofficialwebsitesandsocialmediapages.ReaderscanfindthefurthermonthlybreakdownofsocialmediapostsofeachinstitutioninTables3and4.

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DiscussionandConclusionTheprimarypurposeofthisstudywastodetermineiftherewasequityincoveragebetweenthemen’sandwomen’sbasketballteam’ssocialmediasitesandtheschoolwebsite.Ingeneral,therearestillslightlymoremen’scoveredstoriesintotalthanthoseforwomen’steams(53%vs.47%).However,thisdifferencewasstatisticallyinsignificant.Accordingtoananonymousunpublishedarticle,certainschoolswithastrongbasketballtradition,suchasNorthCarolina,clearlyhadfarmorefeaturedstoriesonitsofficialathleticwebsite.Smallregionalpublicuniversities’athleticwebsitesseemtoabidetothegenderequityrulebetterbyprovidingverysimilaramountofarticlesforbothgenders.WiththeexceptionsofFloridaandMissouri,mostoftheSECschoolsdidnotshowgrossdisproportionofmen’scoverage.Surprisingly,theauthorsoriginallyanticipatedagreaternumberoftweetsandFacebookpostsformen’steamsduetotheirpopularityandgreateramountofsubscribersandfollowers.Thefindingswerecompletelyopposite,withmoretweetsandpostsforthewomen’steams.

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ThetotalamountofFacebookpostsprovedtobeinfavorofthewomen’steamswithlargediscrepanciesinthenumberineachmonth.Thetotaltweetsforwomen’steamswasalsoslightlymorethanthoseforthemen’steams.Thesetwofindingssuggestastrongimplicationregardinghowsocialmediacanmarketandpromotefemalecollegesportsandreshapetheirunderprivilegedbrandimage.Therearestillcollegesportfanswhoareinterestedinwomen’ssportsandcaretosharemorenewsandinformationabouttheirbelovedfemaleathletes.Inlightofthisdata,morewomen’ssportfanswouldattendsporteventsassocialandfamilygathering.(4)Fansoffemaleathletespreferredtoreadfeaturedstoriesaboutathletes’personallivesmorethanthestatisticalinformationaboutathleticperformance.Socialmediaisagreatmeanstoconnectalargeaudience,sharegreatstories,andsendinvitationalmessageswithgreatefficiencyandlowcost.Collegiateathleticdepartmentsshouldconsiderhavingfull-timestafforrecruitingenthusiasticindividualstomanagetheirsocialmediapages.Inaddition,themarketingteammustworktobrandthewomen’ssportingeventsasentertainingfamilyandsocialgatheringeventsforstudentsandcommunitymembers.Failureinpromotingwomen’ssportsandtargetingpotentialfansofwomen’ssportsiscertainlyanunnecessaryfinanciallossoftheinstitution’sprogram,andmarketingmyopiaoftheathleticmarketingadministrators(8,24).ApplicationsinSportObviously,boththemen’sandwomen’sprogramscanbenefitfromsocialmediatremendouslyintermsofboostingsalesandsharinggamerelatedinformation.Accordingtotheresultsofthecurrentstudy,afewschools(i.e.,bothschoolsinMississippi,Vanderbilt,andSouthCarolina)arestillattheinfancystageinutilizingsocialmediatomarketathleticevents.ThenumberoffollowersandengagedtrafficwereclearlyfarlowerfortheseschoolsthanotherSECinstitutions.TheseschoolsshouldbetheidealcandidatestoadoptPublicRelationsstrategiesorhirepartnerstohelpincreasetheawarenessoftheirprogramsviasocialmedia(17).Intoday’ssociety,themediahavethepowertoshowcasefemaleathletesandbringthemtothespotlightinprimetime.Femaleathleteshaveremarkableaccomplishmentsthatreallydeservemainstreammediatoshowtheirrespect.Althoughthetruegenderequityinbroadcastingcoveragehasnotbeenachievedinmainstreammedia(TVandradios),itseemssocialmediaistheidealmeanstobalancethatinequitybygivingwomen’ssportsmorechannelsandspacetodisseminateanddelivernews,information,andactions.Itisimportanttonotethelimitationswithinthisstudyinordertoguidefutureresearchonthistopic.SincethisstudyonlyexaminedoneNCAAconference’ssocialmediaactivities,applyingthegeneralizedfindingstoallothermajorNCAAConferencesshouldbecautious.FutureresearchmayfocusoncomparingthesocialmediaactivitiesandfeaturedpostsontheofficialathleticwebsitesamongotherNCAADivision-IConferencesorotherdivisions.Furtherstudiesmayalsocoveralongerperiodoftimeorexaminedataofanothersportthatbothcatermen’sandwomen’steams.References1.Anderson,D.J.,Cheslock,J.J.,&Ehrenberg,R.G.,(2006).Genderequityinintercollegiateathletics:DeterminantsofTitleIXCompliance.TheJournalofHigherEducation,77(2),225-250.2.Billings,A.C.,Halone,K.K.,&Denham,B.E.,(2002).Manthatwasaprettyshot:Ananalysisofgenderedbroadcastcommentarysurroundingthe2000men’sandwomen’sFinalFourBasketballChampionships.MassCommunication&Society,5(3),295-315.

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