Date of Award
Spring 5-2018
Degree Type
Honors College Thesis
Department
Mass Communication and Journalism
First Advisor
Lindsey Maxwell
Advisor Department
Mass Communication and Journalism
Abstract
This study focused on the utilization of social media by collegiate athletic teams and how it relates to their interaction with their fan base. The aim of this study was to determine if a particular platform or post type gained the most fan interaction. The study also examined whether the men’s or women’s teams receive more interaction from fans. A random number generator selected three collegiate athletic teams from three different school in three conferences. Data was collected in the week leading up to the opening game. Ultimately, the results were not able to prove one type of post more likely to likes, shares, or retweets. Based on the results, men’s teams do receive more interaction on social media than women’s teams. No social media platform claimed the most likes, shares or retweets over the other. This study contributes to the field of social media analysis by revealing how collegiate athletics chooses to utilize social media and the effect it has on the fan base interaction.
Copyright
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Recommended Citation
Ishee, Emma L., "Sports Fan Interaction: A Comparison of Teams to Determine the Common Thread Between Fan Engagement Across Social Media" (2018). Honors Theses. 607.
https://aquila.usm.edu/honors_theses/607