A Geographical Investigation of Football and Its Fans at Auburn University
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A Geographical Investigation of Football and its Fans at Auburn University by Orion Michael Stand-Gravois A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Auburn University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Auburn, Alabama May 7, 2012 Copyright 2012 by Orion Michael Stand-Gravois Approved by Philip Chaney, Chair, Associate Professor of Geology and Geography Tom Martinson, Emeritus Professor of Geology and Geography Gregory Kowalski, Professor of Sociology Abstract In Auburn, AL, football, and especially college football, reigns supreme. Particularly, interest is placed on the Tigers, the team representing the local institution, Auburn University. This research paper investigates the spatio-temporal role of football at Auburn University and presents findings that are indicative of the spatial characteristics of Auburn’s football fan region and their relationship with the team. Sources used to map Auburn’s fan region included records of 2010 season ticket holders and Auburn booster club locations and membership figures. The fans are predominantly found in Alabama and Georgia. Heavy concentrations are seen in Auburn, as well as major urban centers with close proximity to Auburn such as Atlanta, Birmingham, and Montgomery. Questionnaire surveys of Auburn fans found that the majority of participants had attended Auburn and/or had family members who had attended Auburn. Fans commonly mentioned words like family, tradition, and atmosphere when describing why they liked Auburn Tigers football. ii Acknowledgments First and foremost I offer my sincerest gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Philip Chaney, who has shown unwavering confidence and support in my work throughout the entire process. Dr. Chaney was very instrumental in my decision to become a Geography major several years ago as an undergraduate and I am very thankful for having the opportunity to work with him during my graduate studies. Without his assistance, encouragement, and patience, none of this would be possible. I would also like to thank my other committee members: Dr. Tom Martinson and Dr. Gregory Kowalski. Dr. Martinson, along with Dr. Chaney, is someone that strongly contributed to my interest in Geography as an academic subject. His lectures on the geography of Latin America were among my favorite classes at Auburn. I feel honored that he took time out of retirement to help with my work. Dr. Kowalski’s Sports in America sociology class helped me realize the validity of sports research. I greatly appreciate his willingness to be a member of my committee as I know he is very busy with his own department. The Auburn University Ticketing Office, Alumni Association, and Special Collections and Archives Department have all provided assistance with my data collection and much of this would not be possible without their help. Thanks to all my classmates that have been so supportive during my graduate career. Specifically, I would like to thank Avery Werner for editing some early drafts of iii my work. Thank you to Sherry Faust, who has always provided positive words and smiles. Finally, thank you to my girlfriend, Carrie Melius, and my parents, Jim Gravois and Lucille Stand, for all your love and support during this process. iv Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................... iii List of Tables ................................................................................................................. viii List of Figures ................................................................................................................... x Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 2: Sports Geography ......................................................................................... 7 Studies of Sports Region Mapping ....................................................................... 8 Studies of Sports Fan Characteristics ................................................................. 18 Chapter 3: Methods ...................................................................................................... 23 Chapter 4: Geography of Football in America and the South ....................................... 27 Origin and Evolution of Football in the America and the South ........................ 27 Factors in Popularity: Modernity, Violence, and Religion ................................ 40 Importance in Contemporary Culture and Society ............................................. 44 Chapter 5: Origin and Evolution of Football at Auburn University .............................. 51 Auburn’s Transition from a Road Team to a Home Team ................................. 57 Economics of Auburn University Football and Impacts on Local Community . 71 Summary ............................................................................................................. 76 Chapter 6: Spatial Characteristics of Auburn’s Football Fan Region ............................ 77 Season Ticket Holders ........................................................................................ 77 v Booster Clubs ...................................................................................................... 84 Auburn Radio Network ....................................................................................... 86 Alumni and Current Students.............................................................................. 87 Google Search Frequencies ................................................................................. 89 Summary of Auburn Fan Region ........................................................................ 92 Chapter 7: Spatial and Demographic Characteristics of Auburn Football Fans ............ 93 Distance from Jordan-Hare Stadium ................................................................... 94 Rural / Urban....................................................................................................... 96 Gender ................................................................................................................. 98 Age .................................................................................................................... 100 Marital Status .................................................................................................... 102 Games Attended ................................................................................................ 104 Relationship with Auburn University ............................................................... 108 Importance of being an Auburn Tiger .............................................................. 112 Auburn University license plate ownership ...................................................... 112 Time spent tailgating......................................................................................... 114 Most important reason for attending ................................................................. 116 “I like Auburn Tigers football because…” responses ....................................... 118 Summary ........................................................................................................... 120 Chapter 8: Summary and Conclusions ......................................................................... 121 References ................................................................................................................... 125 Appendix 1: Copy of survey ...................................................................................... 133 Appendix 2: Survey results for each question ............................................................. 136 vi Appendix 3: “I like Auburn Tigers football because…” responses ............................. 142 vii List of Tables Table 1: Google search frequency leaders for “college football” ................................. 17 Table 2: States with most Auburn regular season games played ................................... 53 Table 3: Cities with most Auburn regular season games played .................................. 54 Table 4: Alternate / neutral cities with most Auburn regular season games played ..... 55 Table 5: Auburn’s most played regular season opponents ........................................... 56 Table 6: Host cities of opponents with most Auburn regular season games played ..... 56 Table 7: Top 10 states with most Auburn season ticket holders ................................... 77 Table 8: Top 10 states outside of the South with most Auburn season ticket holders .. 79 Table 9: Top 15 counties with most Auburn season ticket holders ............................... 80 Table 10: Top 15 counties with most ticket holders per 10,000 residents ..................... 81 Table 11: Top 20 MSAs with most Auburn season ticket holders ................................ 83 Table 12: Top 10 MSAs outside of the South with most Auburn season ticket holders 83 Table 13: Top 10 MSAs with most Auburn season ticket holders per 10,000 residents83 Table 14: Top 20 Auburn University booster clubs with highest membership ............. 85 Table 15: Top 10 Auburn booster clubs outside South with highest membership ........ 86 Table 16: States with most living addressable alumni ..................................................