The Attention Gap in College Sports: Gender, Race, and the Popularity of College Athletes on Social Media

In The Attention Gap in College Sports, Joshua Woods delves deeply into data on social media activity among college teams and college athletes and critically examines the ways attention—and attempts to gain it—are reconfiguring power and profit in college sports. Since a landmark ruling in collegiate athletics granted student athletes the right to profit from their name, image and likeness (NIL), thousands have pursued endorsement deals and business ventures. Important shifts in the time since have accelerated the rise of what this book refers to as an “attention economy,” wherein the value placed on athletic performance and success has moved perceptibly online and toward public visibility and influence. The chapters in this book seek explanations for the uneven distribution of NIL opportunities and how these are driven, in part, by gender and race. This book also considers the broader ways in which these opportunities are reshaping college sports, fan engagement and athlete well-being. This book’s analysis theorizes the relationships between attention capital and other forms of capital, building a sociological perspective on attention, why it matters in the field of college sports and its far-reaching implications in other fields and across society. Grounded in its command of social media data and its discerning view, The Attention Gap in College Sports is a valuable look at consequential issues happening within college sports. Its important discoveries about social media use in this competitive landscape contribute meaningfully to conversations about sport and society, sports media, and sports business and management.