The overarching mission of the Journal of Amateur Sport (JAS) is to provide scholars an outlet in which to share scholarship relevant to the amateur sports realm. We define amateur sport as those who participate and govern at the youth, recreational, community, international, and intercollegiate level. We acknowledge the tenuous debate surrounding the amateurism of intercollegiate athletics, thus at this time we welcome examinations that are focused on the less commercialized avenues of college sport participation and governance (especially NCAA Division II, III, and other less publicized governing bodies and settings). While submissions from all disciplines are encouraged, including sociology, communication, and organizational behavior, we recommend that authors familiarize themselves with articles published in the journal prior to submission, to ensure the submission will be of interest to the JAS audience. Similarly, we welcome a wide array of methodological and structural approaches, including conceptual frameworks, narratives, surveys, interviews, and ethnographies.
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Revisiting Interscholastic Competitive Balance: A Decade of Trends on Policy, Participation, and Public/Private Schools
In 2015, Johnson et al. completed the first comprehensive national review of interscholastic competitive balance policies that established a baseline for approaches to ensure fair and equitable high school athletic competition. The review concluded that several types of policies were created to curb the disproportionate amount of success achieved by private schools. Such policies were in addition to enrollment classifications, which are a staple of competitive balance in every state. In the decade since that evaluation, polices have evolved. The purpose of this study was to replicate the 2015 study to determine the current status of policy implementation, and identify trends that could help guide interscholastic stakeholders. Results indicated more schools exist overall, and more than half of all states have made policy adjustments. Specifically, there was a 3.2% increase in public schools (16,978), a 6.8% increase in private schools (2,760), a 150% increase in states that use enrollment multipliers (20), a 25% decrease in states that use separate playoffs (3), a 167% increase in states that use success factors (8), and a 350% increase in states that use socioeconomic factors (9). The implications of these trends related to enrollment, public/private schools, athletic success, wealth, and the theory of distributive justice are discussed.
Copyright (c) 2025 James Johnson, Adam Navarro, Tyler Ratts http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
A Gamified Intervention to Enhance First Year Student-Athletes' Academic Self-Efficacy and Well-Being: A Mixed Methods Study
Student-athletes hold lower academic efficacy beliefs than non-athletes (Jolly, 2008) and often report struggling with academics during their first year of college (Huml et al., 2019). Stress, burnout, and mental health concerns have increased since the pandemic, impacting academic performance and self-efficacy. Gamification can enhance motivation and self-efficacy and appeals to this generation (Kapp, 2012). The purpose of this intervention was to increase academic self-efficacy, reduce perceptions of academic stress, and shift stress mindsets in first year student-athletes. We utilized a mixed methods approach grounded in a pragmatic paradigm. Student-athletes (n = 24) and a comparable non-athlete control group (n = 35) completed measures of academic self-efficacy, perceived academic stress, and stress mindset at three points during the semester. Student-athletes attended workshops and completed tasks to practice and develop various mental tools and skills, and participated in semi-structured interviews to evaluate the program. Data analysis revealed significant differences between student-athletes and non-athletes in academic self-efficacy, one of four perceived academic stress subscales, and stress mindset (p < .001 for all) following the intervention. Student-athletes evaluated the overall program and workshops as beneficial. Qualitative data analysis produced seven themes and guided recommendations for practitioners and campus-level programming.
Copyright (c) 2025 Amber M. Shipherd, Dean A. Wallace, Joann C. Wakefield, Hanna Lantz http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Analyzing the High School Athletic Administrator Role: Pressing Issues Facing the Position
In working to provide meaningful athletic programs that benefit student-athletes and other key stakeholders in the department (Grant, 2024; Martin et al., 2025), high school athletic administrators embrace substantial and wide-reaching responsibilities (Forsyth, 2024). As these demands continue to evolve (Fraina et al., 2021; Price et al., 2022), the role has become more complex and susceptible to negative experiences if not properly managed (Conant, 2017; Park and Curtner-Smith, 2018; Sullivan et al., 2014). Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the most prominent issues specific to the athletic administrator role and their perceived importance for effectively fulfilling the position. With the support of the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA), a survey was distributed to its national membership, ultimately securing 680 responses. A total of seven athletic administrator issues were analyzed and each rated as important by participants. One issue in particular (i.e., AD Responsibilities) was viewed as extremely important, with two issues (i.e., Providing ADs the Proper Tools to Manage and Relationship with Administration) deemed to be of very high importance. To pursue deeper meaning into these results, four interviews were then conducted with athletic administrators. This study offers key insight for practicing high school athletic administrators to understand the pressing issues impacting the position and their influence on one’s ability to lead an athletic department.
Copyright (c) 2025 Tyler J. Ratts, Eric W. Forsyth, Zachary C. T. Evans, James E. Johnson, Michael Fraina, Warren A. Whisenant http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The role of athletic identity and sport motivation in collegiate eSport burnout
College eSports have experienced rapid growth, yet research on psychological aspects of eSports is lacking, which has resulted in calls for greater understanding in this area. In traditional sports, athletic identity (Gustafsson et al., 2007) and sport motivations (Li et al., 2013) have been linked to athlete burnout, and as collegiate eSports become more structured and eSport athletes’ training becomes more intensive, their athletic identities and motivations may influence their burnout potential. While eSport athletes’ identity and sport motivations have been studied separately, no research has examined their relationship with college eSport athlete burnout. Therefore, the purpose was to determine the extent to which participation frequency, athletic identity (AI), and eSport motivations predicted college eSport athletes’ burnout. Collegiate eSport athletes (N = 98; M age = 20.55, SD = 2.33) were assessed on their self-reported eSport frequency, athletic identity, sport motivations, and burnout. A series of separate multiple regression analyses on burnout dimensions and global burnout showed that amotivation and external regulation were positive predictors of global burnout, and amotivation was also a positive predictor of reduced sense of accomplishment. In addition, amotivation, AI-self-presentation, and external regulation were positive predictors of eSport athletes’ exhaustion. Finally, amotivation and AI self-identity were positive and negative predictors (respectively) of eSport devaluation. Results suggest that amotivation is a predictor of burnout in college Sports and that certain aspects of athletic identity may buffer against burnout in eSport athletes.
Copyright (c) 2025 William Russell http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Motives and Points of Attachment Influencing Adult Spectator Attendance at High School Football Games
In the United States, high school sports is a growing industry segment. Given the rise in media coverage, including digital streaming and television rights, and increased revenue opportunities through ticketing and sponsorship deals, high school athletic staff and other marketing professionals working in this sector can benefit from understanding spectator motives to inform decision-making. Past literature points to distinct differences in spectator motives by level of play, yet high school spectators remain relatively unexplored. This study leveraged a survey (57 items) of attendees’ (N = 564; representative of 217 cities across 22 states) motives (i.e., excitement, family, nostalgia, role model, skill, social, and vicarious achievement) and attachment points (i.e., identification with the community, players, and the team) influencing their attendance behavior while accounting for differences by event type and gender. Multiple regressions tested the proposed research questions, and MANOVA isolated differences based on event type (i.e., special event versus regular season) and gender. Results pinpoint differences in factors affecting attendance among the groups considered. Findings add to the limited literature exploring interscholastic sports and will prove valuable to industry professionals (e.g., athletic directors, coaches, marketing professionals, and sponsors). Keywords: interscholastic sports, attendance, spectator motivation, attachment points
Copyright (c) 2025 Dr. Armin Marquez, Dr. Beth A. Cianfrone, Dr. Timothy Kellison http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Determinants of Attendance in Women’s College Volleyball: An Empirical Analysis
The current study examined attendance at NCAA Division I women’s volleyball matches from 2021 to 2023, focusing on key factors influencing fan turnout. Despite record-breaking attendance and increased media visibility, limited research has explored the determinants of volleyball match attendance. The purpose of this study was to analyze how scheduling, team performance, opponent quality, and promotional efforts impact attendance. The dataset included 15 teams and 712 matches across three seasons, with variables measuring match characteristics (e.g., weekend, evening start times), team performance (e.g., win percentage, past tournament appearances), opponent ranking, and institutional factors (e.g., enrollment, gender composition). Results indicated that evening matches and conference games significantly increased attendance, while promotional events led to moderate gains. However, team win percentage and past success were not significant predictors, suggesting that attendance is more event-driven than performance-based. Matches against unranked opponents were associated with lower attendance, emphasizing the importance of opponent strength. These findings provide valuable insights for athletic departments, emphasizing the importance of strategic scheduling and targeted promotional initiatives to drive fan engagement and ensure the continued growth of women’s collegiate volleyball.
Copyright (c) 2025 Lily Barker, Alexander Traugutt http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
“I recruit parents just as much as I do kids”: The evolving relationship between intercollegiate coaches and parents
Parents play a large role in their child’s development, and this influence continues into their child’s early adulthood (i.e. emerging adulthood; Darlow et al., 2017; Dotterer, 2022). This continued involvement holds true for many intercollegiate athletes (Dorsch et al., 2016; Parietti et al., 2017). An area that research has not examined is how parental involvement impact intercollegiate coaches and how they respond. The purpose of this study was to examine how coaches view parental involvement in athletics, specifically what is the current coach-parent dynamic in intercollegiate sport. Fourteen head coaches participated in this qualitative interview study. Thematic analyses were conducted and the following themes emerged: parent-coach interaction, everybody knows what the line is, and mother/father differences. Overall, coaches are interacting with parents in various ways, and this study helps to start the discussion regarding the intercollegiate coach-parent dynamic.
Copyright (c) 2025 Megan L Parietti, Sean Dahlin http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
A scoping review of factors within the higher education ecosystem influencing student-athlete mental health and wellbeing in North America: Insights and a model for mental health promotion
The purpose of this research was to synthesize peer-reviewed literature identifying factors in the organizational ecosystem that impact post-secondary student-athlete mental health in North America. We adopted a holistic definition of mental health considering outcomes related to both mental illness and multidimensional wellbeing (i.e., psychological, emotional, and social wellbeing). A structured scoping review method was used to search seven databases. Data from included studies (N = 57), were summarized according to the socioecological model of health and analyzed using thematic synthesis. Post-secondary sport environments that promoted mental health and wellbeing supported student-athlete psychological need satisfaction and were characterized by: (1) growth-oriented motivational climates, (2) harmony between academic and athletic roles, (3) equity and inclusion, (4) social support, (5) positive relationships, (6) ethical leadership, and (7) health-promoting organizational operations. We propose a theoretically and empirically informed conceptual model illustrating features of post-secondary sport that interact to promote student-athlete mental health and wellbeing. These findings illustrate the need for multidimensional approaches to mental health promotion and further organizational research, particularly in Canada. This review highlights the mental health impacts of environmental demands and resources that can support effective institutional interventions to safeguard student-athlete mental health despite inherent stressors of competitive sport.
Copyright (c) 2025 Jillian Stringer, Aisha Tasawar, David L Pearl, Margaret Lumley, Andrew Papadopoulos http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
A Content Analysis of Interscholastic Sport Management Research
Despite nearly 8 million participants, and millions more stakeholders in the form of parents, administrators, and coaches, interscholastic sport research is scarce. To determine the scope of existing interscholastic sport research the current study investigated all sport management journals listed on the NSSM list of Journals Serving the Community of Sport Management Scholarship. results indicated that of the 37,107 journal articles on the NASSM list 931 focused on some aspect of interscholastic sport. When removing 505 medical studies and 78 law studies, the number of sport-specific studies totaled 348, which is less than 1% of all sport management publications. Although results demonstrate research growth from the 1970s to 2024, particularly in the amount of qualitative research, the scale of research is strikingly small. Fortunately, most existing research focuses on the participants at a developmentally impactful time of their lives, and newer journals appear to welcome interscholastic inquiry.
Copyright (c) 2025 Dr. James E. Johnson, Dr. Nick Elam, Dr. Mickey Fraina, Dr. Eric Forsyth, Ms. Megan Donahue http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The Pursuit of Work-Life Balance by High School Sport Practitioners in the Athletic Director-Head Coach Dual Role
With wide-reaching benefits afforded student-athletes through their participation and communities investing time and resources into the promotion of meaningful athletic programs, leaders within a high school athletic department face substantial expectations within their role. For those who decide to embrace a dual role of athletic director and head coach, the increased responsibilities facilitate greater levels of role conflict and role overload that can negatively impact the ability to achieve work-life balance within one’s personal life if not properly addressed. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to examine the strategies employed by these high school sport dual role practitioners for pursuing work-life balance. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 participants represented across school classification (i.e., 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A) and sport coached, and a thematic analysis yielded three main themes (i.e., recognizing the challenge, setting boundaries, and incorporating family into work) that detail the efforts implemented for work-life balance. From a theoretical perspective, findings add further insight into the impact of role conflict and role overload on work-life balance, especially in the context of high school athletics, while practitioners in the athletic director-head coach dual role can use the perspectives shared by participants to ensure they are effectively balancing their professional and personal life amidst these role demands.
Copyright (c) 2025 Dr. Tyler Ratts http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
An Analysis of Sport Employee Identification of NCAA Division I Compliance Employees
The current study examined NCAA Division I compliance employees utilizing Sport Employee Identification (SEI; Oja et al., 2020). Little academic inquiry has focused on the various ways sport employees, like NCAA compliance employees, identify with their organization. The current study attempted to establish SEI as an applicable construct in sport scholarship and examine potential outcomes of SEI. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine if SEI contributes to organizational behavior outcomes of job satisfaction, lower turnover intentions, and organizational citizenship behaviors with NCAA Division I compliance employees. The researchers utilized a demographic form and a 24-item survey including the SEI instrument, job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and the relationship between SEI and organizational citizenship behaviors. Data analysis consisted of confirmatory factor analysis, multiple one-way analysis of variance to analyze the connection between demographic variables and SEI, and regression analyses to examine the relationship between SEI and potential organizational behavior outcomes. A total of 217 responses highlighted job satisfaction and lower turnover intentions as outcomes of SEI, while organizational citizenship behaviors lacked enough support as an outcome of SEI. The findings have the potential to assist intercollegiate executives in better managing their compliance personnel and understanding compliance identification processes.
Copyright (c) 2024 Morgan Melchert, Benjamin Downs, Khirey Walker, James Johnson http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
School Characteristics and Interscholastic Tournament Success
Interscholastic sports are part of the educational mission of the schools. However, parents, athletes, and others seem to emphasize winning, causing success (or, at least, the possibility of success) to be the target of state policies to promote competitive balance, following from an egalitarian approach to the theory of distributive justice. For example, most states have divided schools into separate class tournaments based on school enrollment. Many have also attempted to counteract perceived advantages held by private (non-boundary) schools by using multipliers to artificially increase private schools’ enrollment. Some states compensate for poorer schools’ perceived disadvantages by artificially decreasing enrollment for those schools with a high percentage of the student body eligible for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). To enact effective policies, however, it is helpful to know what school characteristics are linked with winning. This project is a case study examining high school boys’ basketball in Indiana with a basic research question of what school characteristics influence tournament success. The literature and many current state policies propose that being private, larger, urban, wealthier, and from certain regions of the state might all improve tournament success. Each is examined for its effects on winning a state championship and on a more-expansive measure of success based on how far in the tournament a team progresses using data collected for all entrants in the Indiana boys’ basketball tournament over a 26-year period. The relative size of the student body seems to be the most consistently important factor in tournament success across classes. Being a private school or being an urban school are only factors in success for the classes of smaller schools. The region of the state is not shown to be significant to success. Of particular note, though there has been an increase in state policies targeting an imbalance caused by economic factors, there has not yet been an empirical finding of a link between these economic factors and success. This study does find limited evidence of such a link as schools with a lower percentage of students eligible for NSLP are more successful in the tournament. These results can help refine the knowledge of what does and does not affect tournament success and can guide policy changes aimed at improving competitive balance.
Copyright (c) 2024 John Harter http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
An Investigation into How the Intense Nature of Youth Sport Participation Influences Women’s Collegiate Basketball Player’s Experiences of Burnout
Burnout is one area of athlete well-being garnering increasing attention (Coakley, 1992; Gould & Whitley, 2009). Burnout can cause athletes to become disempowered in their sport participation, leading to fatigue and dropout. Therefore, efforts to reduce athletes’ likelihood of experiencing burnout are important. Further, often overlooked in the college athlete literature are the experiences of college athletes’ youth sport experience, even though almost all college athletes participate in competitive youth sport. Guided by the conceptual framing of burnout (Coakley, 1992; Raedeke & Smith, 2001) and Côté and Vierimaa’s (2014) developmental model of sport participation, the study sought to examine the youth sport experience of current and former college athletes to determine how youth sport experiences of burnout influenced their experiences of burnout at the collegiate level. Findings from eleven semi-structured interviews suggest youth sport experiences impact athletes’ experiences of burnout at the collegiate level, although the excitement surrounding athletes’ transition to college often represses burnout. Implications for athletic department administrators, as well as youth sport providers for addressing burnout are introduced.
Copyright (c) 2024 Hana Adent, Edward Horne, Ashley Martin-Cuellar, Todd Seidler http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Analyzing the Expectations of Interscholastic Athletic Directors on the Role of Head Coaches Within a Performance Appraisal
With the lasting positive benefits afforded student-athletes through their participation, high school athletics exist as the most significant body within the sport industry (Fraina et al., 2022). Given the impact that coaches have on student-athletes (Gould & Carson, 2010), increased importance is placed on the ability of athletic directors to effectively evaluate the performance of those tasked with leading individual programs in the athletic department, which is maximized when head coaches are positioned as active participants within this process. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative study was to capture the expectations of high school athletic directors on the role coaches should play in their evaluation. Participants (N=25) represented interscholastic athletic directors across school classification (i.e., 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A) and school type (i.e., public and private), and saturation was determined to have been met at this sample size. Semi-structured interviews were utilized for data collection, with a thematic analysis relied upon that yielded five main themes (i.e., self-evaluation, response of coaches to the evaluation process, impact of athletic director-coach relationships, goal development, and alignment of views for coaching success). Practitioners can consider the findings from this study to ensure their department positions coaching evaluations in a way that provides coaches a meaningful opportunity to play a key role in this process.
Copyright (c) 2024 Tyler Ratts http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Women collegiate sport employees: Organizational elements of workplace and engagement
This study investigated the representation of women collegiate sport employees in the United States. Previous job engagement research has not focused exclusively on women in collegiate sport organizations. Utilizing person-organization fit (P-O fit) and perceived organizational success to predict engagement, the relative neglect of identifying antecedents of job engagement for women sport employees was explored. The analysis revealed that American collegiate sport employees’ P-O fit influences job engagement; however, women’s perceived organizational success did not influence their engagement in the workplace. Moreover, the findings uncover how women sport employees’ fit influences their job engagement in the sport workplace. The implications of this study indicate the approach for enhanced organizational performance and capacity of women sport employees.
Copyright (c) 2024 Ali B. Mondt, Tyler Hajek, Marcella Otto http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of a Pilot Online Conflict Management Workshop for High School Sport Leaders
Conflict and conflict management in sport have received less attention from researchers and practitioners compared to other settings (i.e., business, personal relationships). Studies have focused on athlete perspectives and team outcomes of conflict (Holt et al., 2012; Paradis et al., 2014a), but lack an exploration of explicit strategies for managing conflict. Further, peer leaders of sport teams struggle with facilitating relationships and managing conflict on their teams (Voelker et al., 2011). The purpose of this two-phase study is to explore conflict in sport and potential conflict management resources for youth athletes. In Phase 1, a needs assessment, two focus group interviews with high school team captains identified current sources of conflict, barriers to addressing conflict, and their use of specific conflict management strategies. These results and the COM-B framework (Michie et al., 2011) informed the design and implementation of an online conflict management workshop. In Phase 2, twelve high school student leaders from the same school participated in the online workshop. A mixed-method evaluation measured individual changes in two variables associated with conflict management (cognitive flexibility and problem-solving ability) through surveys and focus group interviews post-workshop. Results indicated this pilot workshop was effective in increasing perceptions of cognitive flexibility and problem solving (i.e., a more positive outlook on problems, a rational problem-solving style, and less avoidance of problems). Results also support the use of a novel framework for managing conflict. The success of this workshop shows promise for future implementation and offers a resource for adolescent athletes.
Copyright (c) 2023 Lauren M. Secaras, Andrew Driska, Karl Erickson http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The Bradley-Terry Model in Binary Outcome Driven Rankings: An Application in Amateur Hockey
Ranking systems serve critical roles in sport settings, most notably in determining playoff participants and seeding. Many ranking methodologies exist that are flexible enough to incorporate many input measures and produce models that are highly predictive of game outcomes. However, there are circumstances—especially for amateur sport leagues—in which more complex inputs are either unavailable or not desirable, as they may lead to adverse performance incentives. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to highlight a ranking methodology that only considers binary game outcomes, i.e., wins and losses. Specifically, we consider the efficacy of the Bradley-Terry Model to efficiently rank sport teams for playoff consideration. We apply this method as a case study to the New England Prep School Ice Hockey Association (NEPSIHA), and compare the accuracy of their current ranking system to the Bradley-Terry model using simulation methods. We show that Bradley-Terry significantly outperforms NEPSIHA’s current method, especially when teams face unbalanced strengths of schedule. This result holds under various league competitive balance distributions.
Copyright (c) 2024 Connor Meissner, Jeremy Losak http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Media Framing and Sources Quoted in Coverage of the Name, Image, and Likeness Debate
Athletes competing at NCAA institutions acquired the ability to profit from the use of their name, image, and likeness (NIL) on July 1, 2021. The time period leading up to this point was marked by contentious debate about college athletes and “amateurism” in the sports media. To better understand the nature of this mediated debate, the current study investigated framing in media coverage of NIL rights with a particular focus on the types of sources quoted by journalists during a two-year period from 2019-2021. A total of 113 media articles were identified for analysis. NCAA officials were the most consistently quoted sources in this media coverage, appearing in 59.3% of articles. Overall, media coverage often privileged the NCAA’s viewpoint that any disruption to the amateur “collegiate model” would be detrimental to the future of college sport. In contrast, current college athletes were quoted in just 5.3% of articles. Although other sources, such as politicians (quoted in 47.5% of articles), often spoke on behalf of college athletes about the rights they should be entitled to, the actual voices of athletes themselves were largely absent from this mediated debate. The exclusion of athletes’ voices is relevant given ongoing discussion about amateurism and the rights of college athletes.
Copyright (c) 2023 Peyton Woods, Adam Love, Jeffrey A Graham http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Martial Arts Participation, Aggression, and Self-Control
The recent emergence of mixed-martial arts (MMA) as a professional sport has led to an increased interest in martial arts in the United States. While the visibility of the violence that constitutes mixed martial arts might be cause of concern, MMA is not indicative of martial arts participation as a whole. The martial arts have become an increasingly popular form of leisure that draws a broad, diverse group of participants. This study explores the relationships between martial arts participation, aggression, and self-control. Using the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ) (1992) and Tangney’s Brief Self-Control Scale (BSCS) (2004), my findings show that compared to non-participants, individuals who participate in martial arts training are less verbally aggressive, less hostile, less angry, and exhibit more self-control.
Copyright (c) 2023 Matthew Wilkinson http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Student first? A case study examining the student-athlete support services at an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) Institution
The purpose of this study was to examine the current student-athlete support services at an NCAA Division I FBS level institution through the lens of high impact educational practices. The researchers considered the overall college athlete experience by identifying and describing what resources student-athlete support services provide, how college athletes are (or are not) utilizing these services and applying high impact educational practices to these services. Employing a qualitative approach, 14 semi-structured interviews with college athletes and administrators presented several themes addressing the implementation of high impact educational practices. The results presented are of importance to athletics administrators interested in understanding how to develop meaningful student-athlete support services, while supporting college athlete interests and constraints. Athletics administrators can learn to establish on-campus programming for their college athletes in addition to creating a comfortable climate and connection between college athlete support services and on-campus resources.
Copyright (c) 2023 Farah Ishaq, Peyton Stensland, Marcella Otto http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The Collegiate Sport Experience: Reconceptualizing Sport Venues and College Athlete Satisfaction
Academic institutions across the country have and will continue to spend billions of dollars annually on facilities to recruit and retain their athletes. However, most facility research in sport focuses on consumer satisfaction instead of athlete satisfaction despite the fact satisfied athletes are going to (a) be more likely to initially commit to a school and (b) be retained by a school. Thus, it is important that researchers shift from mainly focusing on sport spectators to also focusing on college athletes, the primary users of sport facilities. Accordingly, a conceptual model of collegiate athlete satisfaction with competition venues was developed from a critical review and research synthesis of the general facility management and sport facility management literatures. The proposed model created from the literature review includes financial, functional, aesthetic, and atmospheric indicators, and uses norms as comparative standards as its theoretical foundation. From this model and corresponding narrative explanation, sport researchers and athletic department administrators should gain knowledge and guidance about how to better utilize sport venues to enhance the college sport experiences of their athletes.
Copyright (c) 2023 Marshall Magnusen, Patrick Marsh, Jeffrey Petersen http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Game Attendance in Luxury: Purchase Motivations of Suites and Club Level Seating in Division I College Football
At the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level, athletic departments generate revenues from ticket sales, and premium seating areas provide spectators with upgrades in exclusive parts of stadiums for a substantial fee. The focus of this study was to determine purchase motivations for college football premium seating, where emergent themes were discerned from data provided by actual premium seating users and expert athletic administrators. Results indicated the following prevalent themes (and sub-themes) on motivations to purchase luxury suites: experience (comfort and amenities, watching the game), entertainment (family and friends, corporate), prestige, and support. In club level seating, the results indicated purchase motivations included: watching the game (view, seat setting), upgraded amenities (climate comfort, food and beverages/alcohol), prestige, and support. Chiefly, the findings indicated college football premium seating spectators are distinct from general seating attendees, and expanded premium seating research beyond just administrator perceptions with corporate clientele in professional sport. Keywords: college football, FBS, luxury suites, club level seating, premium seating, attendance, motivators, sport consumer behavior, Division I, ticket sales
Copyright (c) 2023 K.C. Mayer, Olzhas Taniyev, Corinne McPadden http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
A wealth of research has analyzed how NCAA programs market and advertise for their athletic offerings. Although research into the marketing of NCAA football programs have dominated the literature, this study examined an under-researched element of NCAA marketing and advertising: advertising through paid online search techniques, especially as COVID-19 has moved many marketing efforts online. As a result, this study reports on Google Adwords strategies of a stratified random sample of 250 NCAA Division I, II, and III programs. Results suggest few NCAA programs engage with Google Adwords strategies (9.2%; 23 of 250 programs), while those that do are often Division I programs from Power 5 Conferences. Additionally, one institution spent over $18,000 per month on Google Adwords advertising, while another institution in the same athletics conference spent just under $500. Implications for NCAA program advertisement and online marketing—including in a COVID-19 environment—will be addressed.
Copyright (c) 2022 Joshua Childs, Guillermo Ortega, Jase Kugiya, Zachary Taylor http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Youth Sport Spectating among Parents During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant changes to family life and youth sports activities around the globe. In efforts to promote continuity and youth participation in sports, and in lieu of risks for spreading the virus at competitions and games, the youth sport environment adapted to meet emerging health and safety protocols. The cancellation of youth sports and shifts to virtual spectating (i.e., watching children play sports online) were often enacted to protect families, yet little is known about how these changes physically, socially, and psychologically impacted parents and the family system. In response, we conducted a mixed-methods study to explore the lived experiences of parents of youth sport participants during the COVID-19 pandemic. This novel and exploratory research discovered several shifts in the physical environment of youth sport, including challenges with technology and limitations in the number of spectators at youth sporting events. Findings also revealed an array of psychosocial experiences among parents including feelings of grief, frustration, and sadness due to restrictions and sport cancellations, as well as fewer child-parent interactions and a diminished connection to sport in response to virtual spectating. We developed a conceptual model of how shifts in the youth sport environment influenced parent spectators. Our findings have important implications for practice and inform future areas of research regarding youth sports and the family system. Keywords: parent spectators; youth sports; COVID-19 pandemic; family systems
Copyright (c) 2022 Dr. Jerry F. Reynolds II, Dr. Samantha Bates, Dr. Matt Moore http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Athletic Success and Donation Intentions: Does Sense of Community Mediate?
As Division-I FBS expenditures continue to rise, it is of paramount importance for universities to better understand the benefits received as a result of athletic success. Specifically, previous research has identified a strengthened campus sense of community and increased donation levels as potential beneficial outcomes of football success. However, it is not clear how football success, sense of community, and donation intention operate cumulatively. Therefore, this study sought to explain the effect of football success on donation intentions, with the mediating effect of campus sense of community. FBS students (N = 253) reported their perceptions of football success, campus sense of community, and intentions to donate to their universities’ annual funds, as well as the athletic departments. Two separate mediation analyses indicated partial mediation for both annual fund donation intentions and athletic department donation intentions. Team identification was also found to be a positive, significant predictor of sense of community, (p < .05). These results suggest university administrators may anticipate institution-wide benefits from football success, but they may be contingent upon students’ identification levels with the football team.
Copyright (c) 2022 Addison Pond, James Allen, T.C Greenwell, Youngjik Lee http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Impact of Early Sport Specialization on Interscholastic Athletes and Programs
Early sport specialization (ESS) is a popular pathway for athletic development with implications for enhanced skill acquisition but also adverse mental and physical outcomes (LaPrade et al., 2016). As such, adolescent athletes may face a dilemma regarding whether to play multiple sports or immediately narrow the focus to one. Coaches are positioned to influence motivational climates and sport-specific skill development (Amorose & Anderson-Butcher, 2007), making it important to understand their perceptions of ESS. Interviews were conducted with thirteen coaches of girls’ volleyball and basketball teams to gain an understanding of ESS as it pertains to athletes and programs at the interscholastic level. Participants identified influences and impacts of ESS, specifically how it can affect participation and competitiveness of interscholastic sports.
Copyright (c) 2022 Shea Brgoch http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Investigating Student-Donor Memberships Within Collegiate Athletics
The purpose of this study was to discover the primary characteristics associated with offering student-donor memberships within collegiate athletics. The secondary purpose was to detail the best practices for properly implementing a student-donor membership”. Through semi-structured interviews, the unique insights of 10 NCAA Division I Power-5 fundraising and development associates were able to be explored. The results of this study produced five factors associated with student-donor memberships: structure, benefits, membership fee, communication, and branding. These findings fill a gap in the existing literature due to there being no previous research conducted on student donor programs within collegiate athletics. Furthermore, this study illustrates the common characteristics among student-donor memberships and what we already know about athletic annual funds. While no current research exists on how student-donors fit into the donor life cycle, the results of this study further the knowledge on this highly important yet under examined group.
Copyright (c) 2022 Austin Bogina, Dr. Brian Gordon http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
An Examination of Motivations, Attitudes and Charitable Intentions for Running in a Charity Event
Running, as a form of leisure time physical activity is generally popular due to its low-cost entry, easy access to practice, and the convenience and accessible nature of the activity. Specifically, one type of running experience sought by many is charitable running or running for a cause (i.e., cause-related sport event). While there is a growing body of literature on charity sport events, little is known about how the charitable motives and participant identity with the event affect future behaviors associated with the cause and the event. Grounded in identity theory, the purpose of this article was to examine the effect of salient identities and charitable motives on future intentions associated with a cause-related event. Data were collected from the second annual Norfolk Freedom Half Marathon, in Virginia, via an online survey that was sent to all registered runners (1,372) one week after the race and 557 participants responded. We found charity motives to be the dominant influence on both charitable and purchase intentions in cause-event participants. This study contributes to the existing amateur sport literature as one of the first to report on a military-oriented sport event with military affiliated participants; the creation of the Charitable Motives in Sport Scale (CMISS), the Runner Identity Scale (RIS) and the Military Identity Scale (MIS); and the addition of a new military/runner identity typology, which we hope would be useful for future military-affiliated running events.
Copyright (c) 2022 Eddie Hill, Stephen Shiparo, Lynn Ridinger, Edwin Gomez http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Harmonious or Conflicted? A Qualitative Study of Father-Coach and Daughter Relationships in Youth Sport
Representatives of some Canadian sport organizations have called for more research with parent-coaches in order to inform policy and educational initiatives. The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of relationships between father-coaches and their daughters. Sixteen participants (eight father-coaches and eight daughters) completed individual interviews, which were transcribed verbatim and subjected to a dyadic analysis. Four dyads were coded as harmonious and four dyads were coded as conflicted. Certain factors differentiated between the harmonious and conflicted dyads. For example, in the harmonious dyads father-coaches adopted a relationship-oriented coaching approach and were consistent in their behaviors between home and sport settings. In the conflicted dyads, father-coaches adopted a more intense coaching approach and behaved differently in home versus sport settings. Father-coaches in the conflicted dyads were also much harsher on their own daughters compared to father-coaches in the harmonious dyads. These differentiating factors offer guidance that may inform training and educational opportunities specifically geared toward parent-coaches.
Copyright (c) 2022 Isabel Ormond, Nicholas L. Holt http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Perspectives on Native American Imagery from Students at a Premiere Tribal University
Haskell Indian Nations University is the sole 4-year intertribal university in America and their athletics department is called The Fightin’ Indians. Their logo and name seem to contradict most of the research describing the negative impacts of Native imagery. Interviews were conducted with current students at Haskell University to understand their feelings towards Native imagery overall. When exploring the usage of Native imagery by Haskell it was apparent the students felt as an all-Native institution there was a sense of ownership to utilize the imagery but were aware it misrepresented some Native people. The students also discussed how their imagery may influence outsiders’ perspectives. This study helps us understand a unique situation and should lead to future research around Native American imagery in sport.
Copyright (c) 2022 Zach Scola, Zach Wilkerson, Brian S. Gordon http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0