The Five-factor Consumer Behavior Model For Intercollegiate Football Tickets Consumption

Ticket prices for college football events have more than doubled in the past decade (Howard & Crompton, 2004). During the current economic downturn, people are often faced with the dilemma of whether to buy or continue to buy football season tickets. Collegiate football ticket sales supply over 20% of the athletic department revenues (NCAA, 2008) and are an important part of the income stream, as pre-sold season tickets are guaranteed income. Thus, some researchers have tried to explore the season-ticket holders’ interest for collegiate football for both men’s and women’s basketball. However, few studies were conducted to identify factors influencing collegiate football season ticket consumption. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the theoretical constructs of a five-factor consumer behavior model for intercollegiate football tickets consumption. The participants were spectators of a NCAA Division IA football annual player draft game. Two hundred and twenty questionnaires were distributed at all the entrances and in each section of the stadium with a return rate of 91% (n=201). Around half of the participants were current season ticket holders (54.2%) and married (49.2%). Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was utilized to analyze the factorial validity of the five-factor consumer behavior model for intercollegiate football tickets consumption (Accomplishment, Game Attractiveness, Joy & Excitement, Facilities and Enrichment). The results support the conclusion that the five-factor consumer behavior model for intercollegiate football tickets consumption possesses an adequate degree of validity (RMSEA = .049, SRMR = .072, CFI = .99, chi-square/df ratio = 1.49 and ECVI = 1.39