2008 Issue

The objective of the current study was to explore and describe the relationship between coaches’ extra-role behaviors (precisely organizational commitment – OC and organizational citizenship behavior – OCB) and the organizational effectiveness (OE) of athletic departments. OC was measured through 12 items that represent its three dimensions: affective, normative, and continuance commitment (Meyer, Allen, & Smith, 1993; Turner & Chelladurai, 2005). OCB was measured using five items that represent its three dimensions: sportsmanship, civic virtue, and helping behaviors (Podsakoff & Mackenzie, 1994). Following the current tendency in the literature (Cunningham, 2002; Putler & Wolfe, 1999; Smart & Wolfe, 2000), OE of athletic departments was investigated in four dimensions: athletic achievement, student-athletes education, social performance, and financial performance. Coaches (N = 241) from NCAA Division I universities responded to the questionnaire. The results indicated coaches’ commitment and citizenship behaviors were not good predictors of effectiveness of athletic departments. Coaches’ extra-role behaviors either explained small changes in effectiveness or did not explain effectiveness.

Sport chaplaincy has been evolving since the latter half of the twentieth century, and many professional teams and professional organizations utilize the services of chaplains. Several licensing and credentialing organizations do train chaplains, counselors and mentors, but they are not necessarily aimed at sport chaplains. Chaplains have become more prominent in collegiate athletics as well and as such several training programs have developed for collegiate sport chaplains. Collegiate institutions, parachurch organizations and nonprofit faith-based organizations offer the programs that do exist. However, in collegiate athletics there is no governing body that oversees the training requirements or qualifications of chaplains. This has led to some chaplains providing counseling, therapy, and suicide intervention, which may go beyond their qualifications and thus require additional extensive training and/or licensure. The work of chaplains with student-athletes at public institutions also raises the issue of the separation of church and state. The promise of sport chaplains is that they provide holistic care, support, and education beyond wins and losses. Problems arise because there are no established qualifications or training criteria. The issue at hand is trying to balance the benefits of having chaplains while addressing the concerns that have arisen as a result in the growth of sport chaplains.

This research examined all 430 amateurism student-athlete reinstatement (SAR) cases between 2004 and 2006. This paper reports on the trends in the SAR staff decision making process, including the benchmark results of cases on the basis of the bylaw violated by the athlete and the mitigating factors considered by the SAR staff. Results indicated athletes violating professional teams and agent legislation face the most significant penalties, and the SAR staff permits mitigating factors such as unique personal circumstances and the actions of the athlete to influence the penalty issued. These findings lead to practical recommendations and prudent practices for compliance officers, coaches, athletes, and other stakeholders in intercollegiate athletics. Further, this research may serve academicians who wish to be of service and provide meaningful contributions to contemporary intercollegiate athletics policy. The implemented research method that examines the written case analysis of the SAR staff may serve as a useful paradigm for future research addressing the policy concerns of academics and practitioners in the field.

Nontraditional workers, such as volunteers and part-time employees, are a vital component of university athletic departments. However, few researchers have explored the psychological characteristics and attitudes of nontraditional workers or have compared nontraditional workers with traditional full-time workers. Moreover, no study was found that has compared the differences among different groups of nontraditional workers. In the current study, the researchers compared organizational commitment and sport identity among four different work statuses (volunteers, practicum/internship workers, part-time workers, and full-time workers) in a university athletic department. Full-time and practicum/internship workers indicated significantly (p<.05) higher sport identification than volunteers and part-time workers. Volunteers and practicum/internship workers reported significantly higher affective and normative commitments than part-time employees and significantly lower affective commitment than full-time employees. Thus, it is recommended that athletic departments hire part-time workers cautiously and alternatively consider the potential increased use of practicum/internship workers and volunteers.

Canadian university athletic directors’ perceptions of the benefits and barriers in attempting to establish gender equity were examined to determine the potential of U.S. Title IX athletic gender equity policy in Canadian institutions of higher education. A 26-item survey was completed by 37 of the 50 athletic directors in Canadian Interuniversity Sport. Findings indicated Canadian administrators generally agreed with American athletic equity policy in both its areas of application and means of compliance. However, athletic directors, particularly more experienced ones, reported some opposition towards the concept of ‘proportionality.’ It was concluded that the Canadian governing body should move forward by analyzing a wider range of the literature borne out of Title IX’s evolution in its 36-year history.

This study examined the perceptions of Senior Woman Administrators’ (SWA) involvement in financial decisions through the utilization of open-ended questions. Additionally, this research analyzed the actual versus desired level of participation in financial decision making areas by (SWA) utilizing gender role stereotyping as a framework. Prior studies have indicated the importance of experience with financial decisions and budgets for SWA to advance their intercollegiate athletics careers. The qualitative analysis of the perceptions of the SWA indicated partial support for the desire to have increased involvement in key financial decision making. Furthermore, the quantitative analysis revealed in each of the decision areas (operations, budgeting, capital outlay, salary considerations, media broadcast contracts, and sponsorship advertising), a significant main effect was found in which SWA indicated a desire for greater participation in decision making.

The subject of academic corruption in intercollegiate athletics has been of significant concern and empirical inquiry for over 100 years. There are many character and ethical issues that pervade intercollegiate athletics such as academic fraud, cheating in recruiting, sense of entitlements, illegal inducements from boosters, and academic fraud. The author makes an argument that many of the problems relating to the culture of college sports and character development cannot be repaired without changing the culture with regard to academics and academic integrity. The faculty driven movement toward academic integrity in college sports is explored, along with the efforts of outside groups, such as The Drake Group and the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics (who have emerged as the leading faculty driven reform movements), along with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the area of reform. Reform plans by these groups are juxtaposed with historical considerations; along with the relationship academic integrity has to reclaiming the morals and character of college athletics.

The purpose of this preliminary study was to examine the opinions of athletic directors, faculty athletic representatives, senior women administrators, and head coaches regarding the impact of the academic performance rate (APR) in intercollegiate athletics. The participants of the study returned a total of 127 questionnaires, but only 75 were used due to non-responsive or incomplete answers to questions. The participants were asked one open-ended question about the impact of the APR in intercollegiate athletics. The data was analyzed for common themes and results found that overall, 64% of the participants felt the APR will have a positive impact on college athletics. The respondents felt the APR will help improve the graduation rates of student-athletes as well as make head coaches more accountable for the type of student-athlete being recruited. On the other hand, 32% of the respondents felt the APR will have little or no impact on intercollegiate athletics and were very critical of athletic reform as a whole. This inquiry was pursued in an effort to understand how these views may influence the implementation of the APR and, in the broader sense, future athletic reform.