Institutional Barriers Impeding Collegiate Sport Club Operational Effectiveness
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17161/jis.v18i2.22331Keywords:
sport clubs, collegiate recreation, bioecological model, university bureaucracy, constraintsAbstract
Collegiate sport clubs constitute an important sport outlet for college students, with club operations managed by member students serving in governing roles. While clubs are given autonomy to operate, they must navigate a complex institutional environment with regulative pressures that can impede club operations. This research explored the institutional barriers that impede collegiate sport clubs from operating effectively. Guided by a bioecological framework and social constructivist epistemology, we facilitated focus groups with 29 collegiate sports clubs, interviewed four recreational sport administrators, and collected 29 public documents pertaining to club operations across three universities in the United States. Thematic analysis across the data sources revealed three overarching themes, pointing to institutional rules, policies, and procedures (regulations on club eligibility, executive boards, resource allocations, financial activities, risk, travel, marketing); university constraints (limited university resources, organizational problems, interorganizational conflict); and club constraints (poor communication, poor planning and documentation, poor decisions, centralized leadership) as factors impeding club operations. Study implications include reducing bureaucratic red tape, training club leaders, creating a sport club council, supporting club resource acquisition, and increasing club’s division of labor and communication.
Metrics
Downloads
References
Basadur, M., Basadur, T., & Licina, G. (2012). Organizational development. In M. D. Mumford (Ed.), Handbook of organizational creativity (pp. 667–703). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-374714-3.00026-4
Berkeley, T. R., Harriman, N. E., & Gray-Chassie, T. (1995, March 15–18). Leadership training for special educators [Conference paper]. American Council on Rural Special Education Conference 1995, Las Vegas, NV.
Birnbaum, R. (1988). How colleges work. Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Blom, R., Borst, R. T., & Voorn, B. (2021). Pathology or inconvenience? A meta-analysis of the impact of red tape on people and organizations. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 41(4), 623–650. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X20924117
Bozeman, B., & Anderson, D. M. (2016). Public policy and the origins of bureaucratic red tape: implications of the Stanford yacht scandal. Administration & Society, 48(6), 736–759. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095399714541265
Braun, V., Clarke, V., Hayfield, N., & Terry, G. (2019). Thematic analysis. In P. Liamputtong (Ed.), Handbook of research methods in health social sciences (pp. 843–860). Springer.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1999). Environments in developmental perspective: Theoretical and operational models. In S. L. Friedman & T. D. Wachs (Eds.), Measuring environment across the life span: Emerging methods and concepts (pp. 3–28). American Psychological Association Press.
Bronfenbrenner, U. & Morris, P. A. (2007). The bioecological model of human development. In W. Damon & R. M. Lerner (Eds), Handbook of child psychology: Theoretical models of human development (pp. 793–828). John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Bryant, L. A., & Clement, D. (2015). Coping strategies of female peer leaders participating in college club sports. Recreational Sports Journal 39(1), 16–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/ rsj.2013-0032
Carter, W. B. (2005). The age of innocence: The first 25 years of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, 1906 to 1931. Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law, 8(2), 211–291.
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions (3rd ed.). Sage.
Crowley, J. (2006). The NCAA’s first century: In the arena. National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Cridland, E. K., Jones, S. C., Caputi, P., & Magee, C. A. (2015). Qualitative research with families living with autism spectrum disorder: Recommendations for conducting semistructured interviews. Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 40(1), 78–91. https://doi.org/10.3109/13668250.2014.964191
Czekanski, W. A., & Lower, L. (2019). Collegiate sport club structure and function. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 11(2), 231–245. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 2159676X.2018.1433711
Czekanski, W. A., Lower-Hoppe, L. M., Marsh, P. & Petersen, J. (2023). Partnerships in collegiate sport clubs: A social exchange perspective. European Sport Management Quarterly, 23(4), 1004–1023. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2021.1952467
DeHart-Davis, L. (2008). Green tape: A theory of effective organizational rules. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 19(2), 361–384. https://doi.org/10.1093/ jopart/mun004
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.). (2011). The SAGE handbook of qualitative research. Sage.
DiMaggio, P. J. & Powell, W. W. (1991). Introduction. In W. W. Powell & P. J. DiMaggio (Eds.), The new institutionalism in organizational analysis (pp. 1–38). University of Chicago Press.
Dugan, J. P., Turman, N. T., & Torrez, M. A. (2015). When recreation is more than just sport: Advancing the leadership development of students in intramurals and club sports. Recreational Sports Journal, 39(1), 37–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/rsj.2015-0008
Filo, K., Cuskelly, G., & Wicker, P. (2015). Resource utilisation and power relations of community sport clubs in the aftermath of natural disasters. Sport Management Review, 18(4), 555–569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2015.01.002
Flosdorf, M. L., Carr, B. H., Carr, J. W., & Pate, J. R. (2016). An exploration of the sport club president’s experience. Recreational Sports Journal, 40(2), 106–119. http://dx.doi.org /10.1123/rsj.2016-0007
Franklin, D. (2013). Evolution of campus recreational sports: Adapting to the age of accountability. In NIRSA: Leaders in Collegiate Recreation (Ed.), Campus recreational sports: Managing employees, programs, facilities, and services (pp. 1–23). Human Kinetics
Guba, E. G. (1981). Criteria for assessing the trustworthiness of naturalistic inquiries. Educational Communication and Technology, 29(2), 75–91. https://doi.org/10.1007/ BF02766777
Haines, D. J., & Fortman, T. (2008). The college recreational sports learning environment. Recreational Sports Journal, 32(1), 52–61. https://doi.org/10.1123 /rsj.32.1.52
Hattke, F., Hensel, D., & Kalucza, J. (2020). Emotional responses to bureaucratic red tape. Public Administration Review, 80(1), 53–63. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13116
Kallio, H., Pietilä, A. M., Johnson, M., & Kangasniemi, M. (2016). Systematic methodological review: Developing a framework for a qualitative semi‐structured interview guide. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 72(12), 2954–2965. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan .13031
Kara, A. (2021). Covid-19 pandemic and possible trends for the future of higher education: A review. Journal of Education and Educational Development, 8(1), 9–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.22555/joeed.v8i1.183
Kim, B. (2010). Social constructivism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology (pp. 55–61). CreateSpace.
Leung, F. H., & Savithiri, R. (2009). Spotlight on focus groups. Canadian Family Physician, 55(2), 218–219.
Lewis, G. (1970). The beginning of organized collegiate sport. American Quarterly, 22(2), 222–229. https://doi.org/10.2307/2711645
Lower, L. M. & Czekanski, W. A. (2019) Effective management of scarce resources: A case study of American collegiate sport clubs. Managing Sport and Leisure, 24(1-3), 119–140, https://doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2019.1591295
Lower-Hoppe, L. M., Brgoch, S. M., Bailey, R. L., Ryder, A., Lowe, C., Dahl, S., & Wray, D. E. (2020). How do collegiate sport clubs achieve organizational effectiveness? Journal of Applied Sport Management, 12(2), 40–50. https://doi.org/10.7290/jasm120204
Lower-Hoppe, L. M., Czekanski, W. A., Marsh, J. P., Petersen, J., & Brgoch, S. M. (2021). The collegiate sport club model: Development of a conceptual framework. International Journal of Sport Management, 22(3), 241–271.
Lower-Hoppe, L. M., Talcott, A., Cioletti, A., Springer, D., Czekanski, W. A., & Buning, R. J. (2023). What makes collegiate sport club programs successful? Exploration of how success is measured and perceived. Recreational Sports Journal, 47(2), 148–158. https://doi.org/10.1177/15588661231203969
Lumineau, F., Eckerd, S., & Handley, S. (2015). Inter-organizational conflicts: Research overview, challenges, and opportunities. Journal of Strategic Contracting and Negotiation, 1(1), 42–64. https://doi.org/10.1177/2055563614568493
Manning, K. (2017). Organizational theory in higher education (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315618357
Mull, R. F., Forrester, S. A., & Barnes, M. L. (2019). Recreational sport management: Foundations and applications (6th ed.). Sagamore Publishing.
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). (2022). NCAA Division I institutional involvement in a student-athlete’s name, image, and likeness activities. Retrieved from https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/ncaa/NIL/D1NIL_InstitutionalInvolvementNILActivities.pdf
National Intramural-Recreational Sport Association (NIRSA). (2018). About NIRSA. Retrieved from https://nirsa.net/nirsa/about/
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Sage.
Piaget, J. (1952). The origins of intelligence in children. International University Press.
Rundio, A., & Buning, R. J. (2022). Collegiate sport club service delivery: Moving between motivations and constraints to beneficial outcomes. Journal of Park & Recreation Administration, 40(2), 2–18. https://doi.org/10.18666/JPRA-2021-11046
Scott, W. R. (1991). Unpacking institutional arguments. In W. W. Powell & P. J. DiMaggio (Eds.), The new institutionalism in organizational analysis (pp. 164–182). University of Chicago Press.
Shenton, A. K. (2004). Strategies for ensuring trustworthiness in qualitative research projects. Education for Information, 22(2), 63–75. https://doi.org/10.3233/EFI-2004-22201
Sirmon, D. G., Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Gilbert, B. A. (2011). Resource orchestration to create competitive advantage: Breadth, depth, and life cycle effects. Journal of Management, 37(5), 1390–1412. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310385695
Skyberg, H. L. (2022). Diversity, friction, and harmonisation: An ethnographic study of interprofessional teamwork dynamics. BMC Health Services Research, 22(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-07596-0
Smith, R. A. (2011). Pay for play: A history of big-time college athletic reform. Illinois Press.
Springer, D. (2021). Student development implications of loose coupling between university sport club subsystems (Doctoral dissertation).
Springer, D. & Dixon, M. A. (2021). College student development within the context of formalized sport in American higher education. Journal of Intercollegiate Sport, 14(1), 189–209. https://doi.org/10.17161/jis.v14i1.11755
Springer, D., Lower-Hoppe, L. M., & Dixon, M. A. (2024). Deconstructing the structure of collegiate sport club programs. Managing Sport & Leisure, 1–17. Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2024.2314579
To, C., Kilduff, G. J., & Rosikiewicz, B. L. (2020). When interpersonal competition helps and when it harms: An integration via challenge and threat. Academy of Management Annals, 14(2), 908–934. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2016.0145
Tracy, S. J. (2010). Qualitative quality: Eight “big-tent” criteria for excellent qualitative research. Qualitative Inquiry, 16(10), 837–851. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800410383121
Tudge, J. R., Payir, A., Merçon‐Vargas, E., Cao, H., Liang, Y., Li, J., & O'Brien, L. (2016). Still misused after all these years? A reevaluation of the uses of Bronfenbrenner's bioecological theory of human development. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 8(4), 427–445. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12165
Warner, S., & Dixon, M. A. (2013). Sports and community on campus: Constructing a sports experience that matters. Journal of College Student Development, 54(3), 283–298. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2013.0044
Warner, S., Dixon, M. A., & Chalip, L. (2012). The impact of formal versus informal sport: Mapping the differences in sense of community. Journal of Community Psychology, 40(8), 983–1003. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.21506
Weese, W. J. (1994). The ABC’s of time efficiency for campus recreation administrators. Recreational Sports Journal, 18(3), 16–19. https://doi.org/10.1123/nirsa.18.3.16
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Leeann Lower-Hoppe, W. Andrew Czekanski, Daniel Springer, Brittani Becher, J Patrick Marsh, Richard 'JR' Rathjens
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright is held by the authors.
