Hawkins featured in WalletHub.com story about professional hockey

Successful professional hockey teams today need a diverse fan base and revenue sources, says Billy Hawkins, a professor in the department of kinesiology who specializes in sport management. Hawkins recently spoke to WalletHub on the issues of professional hockey teams for a piece dissecting the best cities for hockey fans.

One thing fans have in their favor, he said, is the rise in "deterritorialized" viewing, meaning that fans can live most anywhere and, with access to cable or satellite TV, can watch their favorite team. "Also, attending one of the professional minor league hockey games at the fraction of the cost of attending a professional game can be a means for hockey fans to enjoy hockey and see some of the rising stars of the professional league," he added.

WalletHub's analysis found that climate was not an accurate predictor of hockey's popularity—it's no longer an exclusively cold-weather sport—and its popularity seems to be growing.