2013 Issue

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the organizational culture at a Historically Black College/University (HBCU) on Black male student athletes’ experiences. This in-depth qualitative case study involved an institutional document analysis, participant and site observations, and three focus group interviews. Data sources for the study included five institutional documents, a HBCU campus, three athletic events, and 17 Black male student athletes. Organizational culture theory (Schein, 2010) was applied as a theoretical framework to investigate the impact of key artifacts, espoused beliefs and values, and basic assumptions within the culture of a HBCU on Black male student athletes’ holistic experiences in college. Three basic assumptions were identified from the analysis of the data sources: 1) “Eastern Atlantic University (EAU) student athletes are students first,” 2) “An expectation for student athletes’ holistic development,” and 3) “EAU is an extension of the African American community.” Key findings revealed a congruency between the stated culture at the HBCU and Black male student athletes’ socialization processes, which facilitated positive educational experiences. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

The impact of Twitter on sport organizations has been examined from a number of perspectives and theoretical frameworks (Dittmore, Sanderson, Clavio & Pegoraro, 2013). Much of that research has focused on individual motives for using Twitter, such as interactivity and information seeking, but a yet unexplored area is why organizations use Twitter. The current study examines intercollegiate athletic administrators’ views of the perceived utility of Twitter as a form of marketing or communication. One hundred eighty-eight usable responses from the population of athletic directors, sport information directors, and marketing directors from 340 NCAA Division I schools were used. Results show the majority of official athletic department Twitter accounts are run by Sports Information/Media Relations and the top three target publics are alumni, students, and existing ticket holders. Additionally, three factors were identified on the scale indicating communication purpose: Interpersonal, Informational, and Promotional. For the interpersonal factor, Athletic Directors and Marketers scores statistically significantly exceeded scores of Sports Information Directors, however, classification within Division I had no statistically significant effect.

This research examined the effects of brand music on viewers’ attitudes toward a collegiate football team advertisement. The brand music under investigation featured custom-designed song lyrics that embodied the unique brand attributes and characteristics of the Florida Gators, the athletics program of the University of Florida. Extant research on background music in advertising, as well as theoretical perspectives of conceptual fluency and semantic relevance, guided this investigation. Ninety-seven subjects were randomly assigned to two experimental conditions in which brand music or music from Billboard charts was featured in the background of a commercial advertisement for the Florida Gators football team. MANOVA was utilized to investigate a series of hypotheses and data were analyzed using multivariate and univariate procedures. Findings revealed that sport brand music had positive effects on perceptions of musical fit, brand attitude, and attitude towards the advertisement. Implications for sport marketing researchers and practitioners are forwarded.

One of the primary challenges of Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) collegiate athletic programs is revenue generation, particularly in light of increasing costs and competition. Surprisingly, a limited number of studies have investigated factors related to athletic department-generated revenues. A statistically significant multiple regression model was created, explaining 76.7 percent of the variance in annual generated revenues among FBS programs. Factors such as conference affiliation, success in football and men’s basketball, enrollment, and time were identified as important in predicting revenue generation. The Revenue Theory of Costs was put forth as a framework for better understanding the financial behavior of intercollegiate athletic programs.

The purpose of our study was to gain the perspective of male and female ATs employed in the Division I setting, regardless of marital status, to evaluate factors and strategies used to maintain WLB. The study was aimed at gaining the perspectives of both genders, as although issues pertaining to WLB have been focused largely around female ATs, there is some evidence that it can impact both male and female ATs. A total of 42 (27 female-ATs and 15 male-ATs) ATs employed in the Division I collegiate setting volunteered. Our results indicate that work demands, communication, and control over work schedules negatively impact WLB for the AT, where in comparison supervisor support, support networks, and time away positively influenced WLB. Like coaches and sports informational professionals, ATs experience issues because of many of the organizational and structural factors related to the nature of the Division I setting. Many of those factors are not avoidable, however factors such as support from a supervisor, job sharing between co-workers, and prioritizing time away from the role of the AT appears to help stimulate WLB.

Conference realignment has fundamentally impacted the landscape of intercollegiate athletics in a myriad of ways, one of which is the competitive relationships schools share with each other. The loss of traditional rivals has left many teams, schools, and fan bases the task of finding new teams to fill the void (Maisel, 2011; Thorburn, 2010; Ubben, 2011). The current study utilized various individual and group theories to qualitatively investigate fan reactions to their favorite teams moving to a conference separate from their traditional rivals. In particular, participants were asked to describe their initial and lasting impressions of their favorite teams no longer playing their traditional rivals, their perceptions of conference realignment in general, and to describe the ways conference realignment has and will impact their favorite and traditional rival teams. Through interviews with sixteen fans of intercollegiate teams impacted by conference realignment, fundamental need for rivalry was identified as the core category, along with three supporting categories; derogation of the rival, life cycle of the rivalry, and replacing the rivalry. The current study can help academics and practitioners understand how fans replace a traditional rival that is lost as a consequence of conference realignment. Areas for future research are also discussed.

Despite the variability across college divisions, conferences, institutions, and athletic teams, recent post-collegiate athletes share a range of common experiences throughout their careers. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of former athletes from Division I and Division III nonrevenue sports regarding their athletic experiences. Through a mixed methods questionnaire, participants from six Midwestern conferences (n=229) reflected on their athletic and academic careers, major influences, and lessons that have impacted them both positively and negatively. Numerous themes emerged from participants’ responses, including overall satisfaction with the college experience, preparedness for life beyond athletic competition, and direct application of work ethic and time management skills to post-collegiate life. The results from this study provide added validation for American colleges and universities to continue the support and improvement of lower-profile athletic programs.

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) conferences have developed codes of ethics to encourage ethical behavior and discourage unethical behavior; however, ethical violations continue to occur across intercollegiate athletics. Given peer leaders have a strong influence on others’ behaviors; this study focuses on perceptions of team captains perceptions of conference codes of ethics. A total of 291 team captains were surveyed across three different NCAA sports (basketball, soccer, golf). Overall, team captains agreed with the themes most commonly found in conference codes of ethics. However, team captains were rather neutral as to their role in encouraging ethical conduct from their teammates (M = 4.27) and their responsibility for encouraging ethical conduct among their teammates (M = 4.50). Further, they were only somewhat familiar with their conference’s code of ethics (M = 3.64) and did not feel strongly that their teammates followed their lead with regard to ethical conduct (M = 3.79).

The purpose of this study is to explore the University of Evansville (UE) brand, particularly efforts undertaken by UE directed at establishing greater brand identification, brand affinity, and brand equity through the rebranding of their mascot, Ace Purple. The mascot Ace Purple has been the face of the UE’s Athletic Department for over ninety years. University officials recognized the importance in seeking the feedback from groups of stakeholders, as a university mascot is a critical piece of its marketing and branding efforts. In order to decipher stakeholder attitudes, a survey instrument was developed to assess the attitudes regarding Ace Purple held by key constituents. Six stakeholder groups were included in this analysis, including alumni, parents, students, employees and board members, donors and volunteers, and athletic supporters. The survey contained four questions which sought to determine how UE stakeholders felt about Ace Purple. There were 2,076 respondents to the survey. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s chi square analyses and logistic regression was employed to compare stakeholder group opinions. Results determined all stakeholder groups, except the alumni. supported a makeover. Employing a single case study approach, this case discusses a stakeholder-driven approach to redesigning a mascot for the purposes of enhancing an institution’s and athletic department’s brand image.

Based on Complex Adaptive Systems theory, a head coach change is likely to impact players in a number of ways.  To measure the potential impact on Academic Progress Rate (APR), all head coaching changes in NCAA Division I FBS football (n =160) between the academic years of 2003-04 and 2010-11 were examined using the NCAA APR database.  Results indicated APR scores in the year of a coaching change were significantly lower than average APR scores, the nature of change (i.e., positive vs. negative) did not impact APR scores, internally hired coaches produced the highest APR scores, teams with the highest winning percentages had the greatest APR scores, and the two variables that significantly contribute to predicting APR in the year of a coaching change were average APR scores and academic year.  These results can be used by college athletics stakeholders for academic programming and human resource decision-making during times of coaching transition.

Given the ever-changing landscape of intercollegiate athletics, university administrators must constantly reexamine the direction of their athletic programs. Despite evidence suggesting limited profitability of athletic endeavors, many institutions sustain investment in Division I athletics. Yet, select institutions have reconsidered their commitment to Division I athletics and chosen to de-escalate from what they have deemed failing courses of action. While prior research has investigated organizations remaining committed to failing courses of action, limited research has considered the factors for reversing such behavior. Based on the theoretical framework of escalation of commitment, the purpose of this study was to investigate the factors for initiating de-escalation of commitment within the context of Division I athletics. Phone interviews were conducted with decision makers (n = 32) involved in the development and implementation of institutional de-escalation initiatives at eight institutions (N = 8). Data collected revealed three primary themes regarding factors for de-escalation in Division I athletics: (a) resource commitment, (b) student-athlete experience, and (c) philosophical inconsistency. Implications from this investigation speak to the necessity of institutions to consider alternative courses of action given the increasing level of commitment with Division I athletic participation.

The exposure of college baseball has grown dramatically in recent years due to increased television coverage. For many communities, the expenditures of sport tourists related to attending baseball games can significantly benefit the athletic department, local business, and the community as a whole. Thus, the purpose of this study was to address the lack of economic impact studies on college sporting events. In order to assess the economic impact of the selected college baseball season, expenditure patterns for the study sample (n = 256) were analyzed across eight spending categories including: retail, eating and drinking places, lodging, game tickets and concessions, recreational activities, entertainment, auto, and other. Results from this study suggest sport tourists attending home baseball games at this university provide a significant economic impact to the local economy. On average, sport tourists spent approximately $106 per game which benefited both the athletic department and local businesses. Information provided by this study can be utilized in several ways by athletic departments, local businesses, and tourist destinations. For university athletic departments, this information can go a long way in supporting revenue-producing decisions, which research suggests is among the top issues facing athletic administrations.

The purpose of the current study was to compare the athletic and academic team performance incentive clauses of Division I men's head basketball coaches participating in the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. A secondary purpose was to conduct a comparative analysis between the 2009 and 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball athletic and academic team performance contract incentives. A content analyses was conducted on the 68 coaches' compensation contracts listed in the 2012 USAToday Coaches' Compensation database. Results indicated these coaches had potential athletic team performance incentives equaling $13,174,858.00 compared to potential academic team performance incentives of $1,230,328.00. When compared to the previous results of Wilson, et al. (2011), Non-Automatic Qualifying (N-AQ) conference school coaches' annual pay increased 87.5% from 2009 to 2012 with average salaries increasing from $357,440.00 in 2009 to $513,872.00 in 2012. Automatic Qualifying (AQ) conference school coaches experienced a reduction in potential academic incentive payouts, while (N-AQ) conference school coaches experienced a 1074% increase in possible academic incentives from 2009 to 2012 with academic incentives increasing from $19,500 in 2009 to $229,000.00 in 2012. These results indicate the intercollegiate "arms race" continues to expand regardless of conference affiliation in Division I men's basketball head coach compensation.

This study sought to gauge college sport video-game consumers' ability to identify National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college football players, whose likenesses are featured in such games. The study also measured whether consumers perceived the use of athletes' likenesses as sponsorship of these games, as well as whether certain demographic, usage, and other criteria may influence their positions on whether athletes should be compensated for such use, in excess of their current athletic scholarships. Findings point to the ability of consumers to identify athletes in the video games overall, and at a significantly higher percentage for nationally known football players whose likenesses are utilized in the games. Unsurprisingly, knowledge of college football as a sport, and of the video game series itself, significantly correlated with increased likelihood of identifying digital representations of real-life players. These and other findings, and their implications for NCAA policy and pending litigation related to student-athlete likenesses, are discussed.

The authors examined approximately 1,000 high school quarterbacks that are recruited into collegiate athletics to determine what factors impact the player's decision to transfer to another school, change their position from quarterback, complete their eligibility (and presumably graduate), to be drafted into the National Football League and/or to make a professional roster at any level. Results suggest that minority student-athletes are more than twice as likely to change their position. Players that attend universities near their hometown see significant benefits, perhaps because of greater access to their hometown's social network. Attending a university closer to home decreases the likelihood that the player transfers to another school, increases the probability that the player stays a quarterback, increases the likelihood that the player completes their eligibility, increases the likelihood of being drafted into the National Football League and playing at any professional level.

Over the past 40 years, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has established itself as the dominant intercollegiate athletics association within the United States, in part by expanding opportunities for schools to become members of the association. As a result, many universities decision makers decided to change their school's athletic affiliation to the NCAA. The purpose of the present research is to examine the impact that five social identities---size, women's college, historical black college and universities, and geography---have on the likelihood that members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) move the NCAA. Previous research by Washington (2004-2005) illustrated that colleges were simultaneously influenced by multiple identities. Results from a logistic regression model showed that NAIA universities that are categorized as historical black colleges, women's colleges, and located in the New England and Rocky Mountain regions are more likely to move to the NCAA when other schools in those particular identities move to the NCAA. These results could help the NAIA to target specific schools for membership as well as talk to those schools that are leaving to better explore why they are moving to the NCAA.

The purpose of this study was to examine cultural narratives of intercollegiate media guide covers and to compare present findings with previous research by Kane and Buysse (2005) which revealed that there had been a shift from non-action images of female athletes toward images of athletic competence and a decline in gender differences between female athletes and male athletes. Content analyses of 476 guides from the 2009-2010 season reveal a return to gender differences, as female athletes were less likely than male athletes to be portrayed on court and in action. Images were also mediated by the type of sport and the location of specific conferences aligned with geographical locations. Results represent a shift backward and suggest that the battle for accurate, responsible media portrayals of female athletes as competent sportswomen was only temporarily won.