AdSport Scholars is a collaboration between AdSport (www.adsport.com), a Phoenix-based sports sponsorship consultancy, and the W.P. Carey School of Business. This partnership offers an opportunity for students in the Barrett Honors College who are interested in focusing their undergraduate thesis within the fields of sports marketing or sports media studies to work with AdSport as they develop their topics and collect their data.

A select group of AdSport Scholars are first identified by W.P. Carey Professors John Eaton and Daniel McIntosh. Students are then required to submit a prospectus that outlines how their thesis fits into the field of sports marketing. After relevant topics are selected, AdSport joins the newly formed group of Scholars for a roundtable discussion to provide further direction for each student.

From development of the topics to data collection and finishing with the thesis defense, AdSport is available to the Scholars to offer their expertise within the sports industry. Topics have been wide-ranging from the effect of heritage nights on Hispanic marketing efforts within the NBA to athlete branding on social media to how traditions are created and sustained within college athletics.

The final work presented by the AdSport Scholars will offer students the opportunity to showcase their research on a professional platform within sports marketing.