Below is a list of upcoming and past events consisting of seminars, guest speakers and one-day workshops. If you want to find out more about these events please email [email protected]. Alternatively, you can contact us on twitter using the handle @SportEcon.
Upcoming Events
Past Events
2023 European Sports Economics Conference and PhD Workshop - 21st to 25th of August 2023
The 9th Annual Sports Economics Workshop was held as part of the 14th European Sport Economics Association (ESEA) Conference at University College Cork, Ireland from the 23rd to the 25th of August 2023. Prior to this, the annual PhD workshop was held from the 21st to the 23rd of August.
More than 150 presenters and co-authors from around that world presented papers at our conference on the main UCC campus in Cork. The conference was a truly international. As well as a strong presence from Ireland, the UK and Europe, others have travelled from the United States, Canada, Ecuador, Columbia, Taiwan, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Keynote addresses were given from Prof. Jane Ruseski of West Virginia University and Prof Alex Bryson of University College London. During the 3-day event parallel session focused on the themes scuch as Sustainability, Labour, Performances, Management and Ownership, Officiating and Rules, Events, Competition Design and Competition, the Economics of Football, Participation, Volunteering and Funding, and Performance.
The 9th Annual Sports Economics Workshop was held as part of the 14th European Sport Economics Association (ESEA) Conference at University College Cork, Ireland from the 23rd to the 25th of August 2023. Prior to this, the annual PhD workshop was held from the 21st to the 23rd of August.
More than 150 presenters and co-authors from around that world presented papers at our conference on the main UCC campus in Cork. The conference was a truly international. As well as a strong presence from Ireland, the UK and Europe, others have travelled from the United States, Canada, Ecuador, Columbia, Taiwan, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Keynote addresses were given from Prof. Jane Ruseski of West Virginia University and Prof Alex Bryson of University College London. During the 3-day event parallel session focused on the themes scuch as Sustainability, Labour, Performances, Management and Ownership, Officiating and Rules, Events, Competition Design and Competition, the Economics of Football, Participation, Volunteering and Funding, and Performance.
21st of May 2022 - 2022 Sportseconomics.org Workshop
The 8th annual workshop on sport and economics was held on Thursday 21 of May 2022 at University College Cork online. Speakers include Alex Farnell (NUI, Manoot), Pat Massey (Compecon), Jane O'Sullivan (UCC) and Rob Simmons (Lancaster/UCC).
The 8th annual workshop on sport and economics was held on Thursday 21 of May 2022 at University College Cork online. Speakers include Alex Farnell (NUI, Manoot), Pat Massey (Compecon), Jane O'Sullivan (UCC) and Rob Simmons (Lancaster/UCC).
21st of May 2021 - 2021 Sportseconomics.org Workshop
The 7th annual workshop on sport and economics was held on Friday 21 of May 2021 online. The event attracted an excellent list of contributors from both home and abroad. We were particularly privileged to welcome Prof Pamela Wicker (keynote speaker) and Enja Marie Herdejürgen to the workshop albeit virtually for the first time. We were also delighted to welcome back Prof James Reade and Prof Rob Simmons.
The 7th annual workshop on sport and economics was held on Friday 21 of May 2021 online. The event attracted an excellent list of contributors from both home and abroad. We were particularly privileged to welcome Prof Pamela Wicker (keynote speaker) and Enja Marie Herdejürgen to the workshop albeit virtually for the first time. We were also delighted to welcome back Prof James Reade and Prof Rob Simmons.
21st of February 2020 - SkelligCRI Seminar Series
A GAA research event took place at UCC’s Skellig CRI Centre for Research & Innovation in Caherciveen, Co. Kerry on the afternoon of Friday 21st of February 2020 at 4pm.
This event was targeted at a public audience, where researchers showcased their research in GAA during 20 minute presentations, with 10 minutes for questions afterwards.
This event was targeted at a public audience, where researchers showcased their research in GAA during 20 minute presentations, with 10 minutes for questions afterwards.
24th May 2019 - 2019 Sportseconomics.Org Workshop
The 5th annual workshop on sport and economics took place on Friday 24th of May 2019 at University College Cork. The theme of the event wasdemand issues in sport. The full schedule is below. This event is free to attend. The gathering was funded by the Centre for Sports Economics and Law, Cork University Business School and the College of Business and Law at University College Cork.
23rd and 24th July 2018 - 2018 Sportseconomics.Org Workshop
The 2018 sportseconomics.org Workshop on sport and economics, will be held on 23rd and 24th of July 2018 at University College Cork. The event will be hosted in conjunction with the Centre for Economic Analysis of Risk (CEAR) at Georgia State University in the United States, The theme of the two-day event will be focused on ‘Sports Betting’ workshop
11th April 2018 - Guest Speaker - Prof. Bill Gerard (Leeds University Business School)
Wednesday April 12 - 1 - Prof Bill Gerrard, University of Leeds – “Analysing Defensive Effectiveness in the Invasion-Territorial Team Sports: Some Perspectives from Football and Rugby Union
It is often said in many of the invasion-territorial sports that “defence wins championships” but analysing defensive effectiveness beyond scores conceded can be a very complex problem. In part, as Anderson and Sally argue in The Numbers Game, the problem with defence is that it is essentially about non-observables, about trying to stop things from happening. So, defence analysis always involves an element of “what-if?” which makes it more subjective. There is also the ever-present problem that defence is a mirror-image of opposition attack creating numerous data interpretation issues and putting a premium on being able to separate out defensive effectiveness (which increases the likelihood of winning) from defensive workload (which often reflects the quantity of opposition attack and hence lowers the likelihood of winning). Combining his experiences in football and rugby union, Bill’s presentation will work through some of the common thinking behind the defence KPIs he has used with various teams in both sports
It is often said in many of the invasion-territorial sports that “defence wins championships” but analysing defensive effectiveness beyond scores conceded can be a very complex problem. In part, as Anderson and Sally argue in The Numbers Game, the problem with defence is that it is essentially about non-observables, about trying to stop things from happening. So, defence analysis always involves an element of “what-if?” which makes it more subjective. There is also the ever-present problem that defence is a mirror-image of opposition attack creating numerous data interpretation issues and putting a premium on being able to separate out defensive effectiveness (which increases the likelihood of winning) from defensive workload (which often reflects the quantity of opposition attack and hence lowers the likelihood of winning). Combining his experiences in football and rugby union, Bill’s presentation will work through some of the common thinking behind the defence KPIs he has used with various teams in both sports
9th February 2018 - Guest Speaker - Prof. David Forrest (University of Liverpool)
A seminar is taking place on Friday 9th of February in UCC at 3pm in Aras na Laoi, Room G.26. Details are below.
Unscripted drama: The impact of surprise, suspense and shock on television audiences for football Babatunde Buriamo, David Forrest, Ian McHale & J.D. Tena
The paper models minute-by-minute television viewing of 535 English Premier League football matches played between 2013 and 2017. Its starting point is the notion, popularised by Ely et al. in theJournal of Political Economy, that surprise and suspense are key ingredients in the appeal of most entertainment products. ‘Surprise’ refers to twists in the plot and ‘suspense’ to the thrill experienced when something important may or may not be about to happen. We operationalise surprise and suspense by constructing empirical counterparts and we test whether variations in them account for fluctuations in audience size within a match. We also add another concept to the investigation, ‘shock’, which refers to events unfolding unexpectedly given pre-match outcome probabilities. Results suggest that, while surprise and shock are relevant to decisions whether or not to continue to watch a game, suspense is in fact the principal driver of audience demand.
Unscripted drama: The impact of surprise, suspense and shock on television audiences for football Babatunde Buriamo, David Forrest, Ian McHale & J.D. Tena
The paper models minute-by-minute television viewing of 535 English Premier League football matches played between 2013 and 2017. Its starting point is the notion, popularised by Ely et al. in theJournal of Political Economy, that surprise and suspense are key ingredients in the appeal of most entertainment products. ‘Surprise’ refers to twists in the plot and ‘suspense’ to the thrill experienced when something important may or may not be about to happen. We operationalise surprise and suspense by constructing empirical counterparts and we test whether variations in them account for fluctuations in audience size within a match. We also add another concept to the investigation, ‘shock’, which refers to events unfolding unexpectedly given pre-match outcome probabilities. Results suggest that, while surprise and shock are relevant to decisions whether or not to continue to watch a game, suspense is in fact the principal driver of audience demand.
3rd November 2017 - Skellig Centre for Research & Innovation
On Friday the 3rd of November 2017 Robbie Butler will be presenting some sports economics research at the newly opened Skellig Centre for Research and Innovation in Caherciveen, Co. Kerry.
21st July 2017 - 2017 Sportseconomics.Org Workshop
The 3rd annual sportseconomics.org workshop on sport and economics was held on Friday 21st of July 2017 at University College Cork. The purpose of the workshop is to discuss and stimulate research ideas from those working in the areas of sports economics, sports management, coaching, public health, and related fields from Ireland and abroad.
10th March 2017 - Guest Speaker - Dr Paul Reis Mourao (University of Minho)
A evening seminar is taking place on Friday 10th of March from 3pm in Aras Na Laoi. Dr Paulo Reis Mourao, University of Minho, Portugal will be presenting a paper entitled 'Surviving in the Shadows – an economic and empirical discussion about the survival of the non-winning F1 drivers'. Dr Mourao is an applied economist, with diverse research interests, including regional economics, fiscal policy, public choice, and sports economics
22nd July 2016 - 2nd Sportseconomics.Org Workshop
The 2nd sportseconomics.org workshop on sport and economics took place Friday 22nd of July 2016 at University College Cork. The purpose of the workshop is to discuss and stimulate research ideas from those working in the areas of sports economics, sports management, coaching, public health, and related fields from Ireland and abroad. The keynote address will be given by Professor Rodney Fort, a Professor of Sport Management at the University of Michigan. If you have any questions about the event please email us at [email protected].
18th May 2016 - Lunchtime Seminar
A lunchtime seminar is taking place on Wednesday May 18th from 12pm-1pm in Aras Na Laoi 2.15, University College Cork. This will consist of four 10 minute presentations with a combined 20 minutes of collective questions afterwards. The contributors will include Robbie Butler (a discussion of Pay TV broadcasting model), John Considine (on the economics of stadiums in Ireland) , Sean O'Connor (on sports capital expenditure) and David Butler (on bidding efficiencies in thoroughbred foal auctions).
6th April 2016 - Waterford Institute of Technology Sports Seminar
On Wednesday the 6th of April both David Butler and Robbie Butler are participating in a WIT Sports Seminar. David Butler will present a paper at 2pm. The title of David's paper is Mystics and the Market – An Empirical Analysis of Premier League Score Predictions. Following this there will be a roundtable discussion which will involve a number of topics including leadership in sports, woman breaking new ground in sport and individual v team sports.
28th October 2015 - Economics Society Event
On Wednesday 28th of October from 7pm-8pm in West Wing 5, University College Cork, David Butler and Robbie Butler will be giving a joint lecture for the UCC Economics Society entitled, The English Premier League; Media & Sponsorship. The talk will focus on the football industry in England, how it is perceived by the media and how commercial aspects have evolved over the last 20 years. David Butler will focus on the role of the media, in particular the economics and psychology of pundits, while Robbie Butler will give an analysis of the evolution of the football shirt sponsor. The talk is intended to be fun yet informative.
17th July 2015 - 1st Sporteconomics.Org Workshop
The 1st
Sportseconomics.org workshop
on the economics of sport takes place on Friday 17th of July
2015 in University College Cork. There will be presentations from Dr
Seamus Kelly (UCD), Dr Elish Kelly (ESRI), David Butler (University College
Cork), and a keynote speech by Prof Rob
Simmons (University of Lancaster). The work covered will
include modelling the development of footballers, participation in Irish sport,
migration patterns in European football and contract duration and player performance.
To register to attend the workshop please follow
this link.
15th-19th May 2015 - Seminar Series
Between the 15th and 19th of May there will be six presentations given on Sports Economics and related topics in University College Cork. The areas this work will cover include research on international selection and competitive balance in football, the effect of local rivalry on performance in sport, funding and participation in Irish sports and rule changes in League of Ireland. There will be two presentations on 15th, 18th and 19th taking place in Aras Na Laoi room 2.15, UCC from 12-1pm.
22nd April 2015 - Guest Speaker - Prof. Bill Gerrard (Business & Sports Analytics Unit at Leeds University Business School)
On
Wednesday the 22nd of April 2015 Prof.Bill Gerrard will give a talk
entitled ‘From Analysis to Analytics: An Action Case Study of Evidence-Based
Practice in Elite Team Sports’. The talk will take place in Aras Na Laoi room
2.15, UCC from 3-4pm.
7th October 2014 - Guest Speaker - Austin Houlihan (Deloitte)
On the 7th of
October in Brookfield Health Science Complex Room G05 Austin Houlihan, Senior
Consultant in the Sports Business Group of Deloitte, will give a talk entitled ‘The
Global Game: Investment or Passion?’ from 11.00am to 12.00pm. Austin is better known
as the project manager of the Deloitte Football Money League and author of the Deloitte Annual Review of
Football Finance.
6th October 2014 - Economics Society Event - Dr. Robbie Butler (UCC)
On the 6th
of October 2014 Robbie Butler will give a seminar to the UCC Economics Society
about some of the latest findings from Sports Economics. The talk will take
place in the Western gateway Build G14, UCC from 6-7pm.
7th February 2014 - Guest Speaker - Prof. Rob Simmons (University of Lancaster)
On Friday
the 7th of February 2014 Prof. Rob Simmons will give a talk entitled ‘Betting
anomalies: evidence from parimutuel and fixed odds betting markets’. The talk
will take place in Aras Na Laoi room 2.15, UCC from 3-4pm.
