Faculty Member Presents Baseball Research at Hall of Fame
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
A Pennsylvania College of Technology business faculty member recently presented research regarding minor-league baseball ticket sales at the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Chip D. Baumgardner, associate professor of business administration/management at Penn College, was a co-presenter with Michael Gallagher, of DeSales University, at the 27th Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, held May 27-29 at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Their talk was titled “The Culture of the Minor League Baseball Experience.”
Baumgardner and Gallagher tracked ticket sales of the State College Spikes during the team’s initial six years of existence (2006-11).
“While looking at ticket sales, we followed winning percentage and many weather variables, including chance of precipitation, humidity and temperature,” Baumgardner explained. “We expected to find a level of relatedness, but we found nothing.”
What the researchers did find was a statistical relationship to ticket sales on nights when the Spikes games included fireworks or promotional giveaways, such as bobbleheads and T-shirts.
Additionally, they found that games that featured celebrity appearances held no significance to ticket sales.
“Such information is invaluable to the Spikes and other minor-league baseball teams,” Baumgardner said.
Baumgardner holds a doctorate from George Mason University, master’s degrees from Penn State and Shippensburg universities, and a bachelor’s degree from Penn State.
The Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture is a unique forum, sponsored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and SUNY Oneonta. It provides academics and researchers with a platform to present and discuss a variety of topics concerning the game of baseball and how it relates to our culture and society.
To learn more about business administration majors at Penn College, call 570-327-4505.
For information about Penn College, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free 800-367-9222.
Chip D. Baumgardner, associate professor of business administration/management at Penn College, was a co-presenter with Michael Gallagher, of DeSales University, at the 27th Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, held May 27-29 at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Their talk was titled “The Culture of the Minor League Baseball Experience.”
Baumgardner and Gallagher tracked ticket sales of the State College Spikes during the team’s initial six years of existence (2006-11).“While looking at ticket sales, we followed winning percentage and many weather variables, including chance of precipitation, humidity and temperature,” Baumgardner explained. “We expected to find a level of relatedness, but we found nothing.”
What the researchers did find was a statistical relationship to ticket sales on nights when the Spikes games included fireworks or promotional giveaways, such as bobbleheads and T-shirts.
Additionally, they found that games that featured celebrity appearances held no significance to ticket sales.
“Such information is invaluable to the Spikes and other minor-league baseball teams,” Baumgardner said.
Baumgardner holds a doctorate from George Mason University, master’s degrees from Penn State and Shippensburg universities, and a bachelor’s degree from Penn State.The Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture is a unique forum, sponsored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and SUNY Oneonta. It provides academics and researchers with a platform to present and discuss a variety of topics concerning the game of baseball and how it relates to our culture and society.
To learn more about business administration majors at Penn College, call 570-327-4505.
For information about Penn College, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free 800-367-9222.