The purpose of this study was to determine if differences exist among NCAA divisions I, II and III as well as between Athletic Directors and Primary Women Administrators with regard to the perceived competencies and preparatory coursework required of athletic administrators. A mail survey utilizing a six point forced choice Likert rating scale was constructed from a review of the literature and modifications of the survey instrument "Athletic Club Managers Survey" developed by Lambrecht (1986). The questionnaire contained 46 competency statements and 30 course content area statements as well as a set of demographic questions. The 1987-88 NCAA Directory listed 466 institutions which employed both an Athletic Director and a Primary Woman Administrator. Two hundred five of these institutions were systematically randomly selected and received two questionnaires, one for the Athletic Director and one for the Primary Woman Administrator. Three hundred and forty-nine questionnaires were returned yielding an 85% response rate. It was hypothesized that there were no significant differences between the responses of athletic administrators from the three divisions of the NCAA with regard to the competency and course content area statements. The analysis of variance technique was used to analyze the data. Where differences existed the Newman-Keuls test was employed to determine the location. The null hypothesis was rejected for 20 competency items and 17 course content area items. Athletic Directors and Primary Women Administrators were also studied. Fifteen competency items and 14 course content area items were rejected in this comparison. The top six ranked competency items were: 1. Enforce NCAA Rules, 2. Human Relations, 3. Staff Communications, 4. Decision Making Process, 5. Budget Preparation and Control, and 6. Interpret NCAA Rules. These top six ranked competency items were the same in each division, although the order of importance varied. Competency items were rated higher than course content area items. Of the top 16 items with means above 5.0, only three items were course content area items. Public Relations, Speech and Writing were the top three ranked courses. Results of this study indicate that there is limited significant difference among the three NCAA Divisions or between Athletic Directors and Primary Women Administrators in their perception of competencies and coursework necessary for athletic administrators. / Graduation date: 1990

The purpose of the study was to investigate the extent to which a relationship existed between the set of predictor variables including age, sex of the athletic director, years of experience as athletic director at the institution and the highest terminal degree held and the male and female head coaches' perceptions of the role of athletic director. The role of athletic director was defined in terms of the dimensions of Initiating Structure and Consideration as determined by the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire - Form XII (LBDQ).Hypotheses were developed to determine if relationships existed between: (1) the set of predictor variables and the dimensions of Initiating Structure and Consideration as perceived by female head coaches; and (2) the set of predictor variables and the dimensions of Initiating Structure and Consideration as perceived by male head coaches. Hypotheses were also developed to determine the significance of increase which the addition of the sex designation of the athletic director has on the dimensions of Initiating Structure and Consideration as perceived by male and female head coaches,The population of the study consisted of athletic directors and 101 male and female head coaches from 34 women athletic departments from selected midwestern states. The universities selected were from those listed in the 1979-80 AIAW National Directory as having an enrollment of 1000 or more students.Athletic director data were obtained through the use of the Athletic Director Information Sheet (ADIS) which provided a list of male and female head coaches and demographic data. Head coaches completed the LBDQ. Scores for the dimensions of Initiating Structure and Consideration as determined by the male and female head coaches' responses to the LBDQ and demographic data as determined by ADIS responses were analyzed by multiple regression analysis to determine whether or not relationships significant at the .05 level existed between the set of predictor variables of the athletic director and the Initiating Structure and Consideration scores from the male and female head coaches.Findings1. The set of predictor variables including age, years of experience as athletic director at the institution, terminal degree held, and sex designation of the athletic director were found to be significantly related to the scores of female head coaches on the Initiating Structure dimension.2. There was no significant relationship between the set of predictor scores and the scores of the female head coaches on the Consideration dimension.3. No significant relationship existed between the set of predictor variables and the scores from the male head coaches on either the Initiating Structure or the Consideration dimension.4. The addition of the sex designation of the athletic direction provided no significant increase in the proportion of explained variance in predicting either male or female head coaches' perceptions on the Initiating Structure and Consideration dimensions from the set of predictor variables.Conclusions1. Female head coaches perceived athletic directors as exhibiting more of the characteristics of Initiating Structure which are associated with the formal or structural aspects of the organization.2. The age, sex, number of years as athletic director at the institution and the degree held did not produce a significant relationship when associated with the Initiating Structure and Consideration dimensions as perceived by the male head coaches.3. The sex of the athletic director did not significantly affect the relationship that existed between the athletic director and the male and female head coaches. 4. The Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire - Form XII provides one method of examining head coaches' perceptions of leader behavior of athletic directors on the dimensions of initiating Structure and Consideration.

<p> As technology development has made the world better, the benefits of such development are also increasingly related to sports activities. Many sports devices have been combined with Information Technology (IT). One great example is an IT-combined sport device called "Activity Tracker." It is a device that is worn on the body and records a user's body status such as calories burned, steps walked, or heart rates. With people's increasing attention to their health, it is expected that the popularity of the devices will increase. To aid in the sales of activity trackers in a competitive market, the manufacturers should be familiar with the impact of product cues such as brand, price, and design on consumers' perceived quality, which will influence their willingness to buy. </p><p> The study was quantitative; paper and pencil questionnaires were utilized. The instruments were derived from three existing studies. The study participants were Florida State University undergraduate and graduate students; 200 questionnaires were distributed to students enrolled in Lifetime Activity Program (LAP) courses and/or visiting a recreation center on campus. The final sample size was 144 participants. The data was analyzed using several statistical methods with PASW Statistics 20.0. From the descriptive statistics, the frequency counts and/or mean scores were computed for profiling the participants. The Cronbach's alpha scores, and item-to-total correlations were utilized to assess the internal consistency of the factors measured with the questionnaires. The assumptions of multiple regression, including as normality, linearity, homoscedasticity, and multicollinearity were assessed. Multiple regressions were utilized to gauge the extent to which price, brand, and design influence perceived quality. As the final step, a simple regression was utilized to measure the relationship between perceived quality and willingness to buy. </p><p> Examination of this data revealed several significant results regarding the relationships between product cues, perceived quality, and willingness to buy. While brand (t=6.779; p&lt;.05; beta=.522) and design (t=5.934; p&lt;.05; beta=.450) had a positive impact on perceived quality, price (t=-1.681; p>.05; beta=-.139) had no significant impact on perceived quality. Perceived quality (t=6.060; p&lt;.05; beta=.453) had a positive impact on willingness to buy; however, the variance (20%) accounted for in willingness to buy was low, meaning that there may be mediating variables between perceived quality and willingness to buy.</p>

<p> The problem addressed is the lack of empirical research describing the delivery of individualized learning material in a secure and mobile manner. The goal was to investigate the effectiveness of deploying training materials to National Football League (NFL) players during a recent NFL season. </p><p> Over the past few seasons, NFL teams have started to deliver player training material to mobile devices. The training material is sensitive and includes planning documents for upcoming games. An effort was made to survey a representative at each of the 32 NFL teams in order to gain insight on effectiveness, security, and process. Nearly half of the league responded with 14 of the 32 franchises reporting back. </p><p> The results demonstrate that mobile devices can be an effective means to distribute educational materials to individuals in secure manner. The iPad was identified as a suitable platform for delivery of instructional material. Security elements such as encryption and using mobile security products should be strongly considered. The results are discussed in detail. A set of standards and guidelines were created based on the responses provided by club employees. </p>

<p> The success of Chinese professional athletes is attributable to the government-run elite sport system; it is seen as one of the most effective and successful systems at nurturing high-skilled athletes. However, within the Chinese professional sport system, tensions between athletes' athletic skills and overall personal development have been widely documented. Among all studies, very few have employed in-depth interviews with professional wushu athletes. In this study, the researcher utilized in-depth semi-structured interviews with professional wushu athletes from three of the 25 professional wushu teams in mainland China. The study was conducted in order to understand the potential conflicts between athletes' athletic skills development and overall personal development. Findings revealed that athletes bear the training at great cost to their future potential as self-sufficient members of Chinese society. Their academic, social, and vocational skills are subject to deep neglect that negatively impacts their post-competition careers. The system considers investment in preparation for the post-competitive lives of the athletes to be a distraction from, or even an impediment to, their success in competition. It is suggested that the Chinese sport system undertake a review and reformation of its approach to wushu training to provide athletes with the skills needed to successfully navigate a life outside of athletics.</p>

<p> The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to test the full-range leadership theory and measure the relationship, if any, between team captains&rsquo; leadership styles and team outcome (by winning percentage). Analyzing the relationship between team captains&rsquo; leadership styles and performance would add knowledge to the existing research on leadership development in the area of sport. A review of literature yielded few studies of athlete leadership and performance compared to coach leadership. Discovering potential relationships between athlete leadership and performance may challenge beliefs that coach leadership is more important than other types of informal leadership. The study involved the surveying of student-athletes, team captains, and coaches of collegiate athletic programs from a single Division III College located in the Midwest. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5x) was used to assess the four leadership constructs: transformational, transactional, passive-avoidant, and laissez-faire leadership of team captains. Results of the correlation indicated a significant relationship between transformational and transactional leadership mean scores and team performance via winning percentage. ANOVA regression results indicated that no significant differences existed between team captain&rsquo;s mean scores that could be attributed to the survey participant&rsquo;s role on their respective team. Recommendations for future research include replication with a larger sample, including more schools and various sports.</p>

This thesis has analyzed the roles of meet personnel responsible for the conduct of a collegiate style wrestling tournament. The personnel considered were the meet director, matchmaker, announcer, head scorer, assistant to the head scorer, individual statistics recorder, timekeeper, assistant timekeeper, match scorer, assistant match scorer, referee, head referee, and judge.The data were gathered through library research and collated into job descriptions. An analysis of the official rules of collegiate wrestling provided the edited rules section for each of the meet personnel.The findings of the study were presented in handbook form with each section providing a separate job description. The job descriptions were further organized into six areas of personnel function. The qualifications, location, assistants, equipment, duties, and governing rules of each official were reported.

<p> This purpose of this mixed model study was to ascertain the implicit leadership theory (ILT) content held by National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I baseball teams. Data were collected during the 2012 baseball season from 34 Division I programs, and 1032 coaches and players participated in the research. </p><p> As an information-processing approach to understanding leadership, ILT is concerned with the knowledge structures persons maintain and utilize when identifying and interacting with leaders. Ample ILT research has examined such structures within the business context. This study, however, is believed to be the first in-depth exploration of ILT content within the sports domain. </p><p> Leadership categorization and connectionist architecture served as the theoretical bases for the study's four research questions, which addressed: the effect that the target cues <i>leader</i> and <i>coach </i> had on ILT (RQ1); the impact that team context (RQ2) and player tenure (RQ3) had on ILT; and whether a sports ILT existed&mdash;and if so, how it differed from a business ILT (RQ4). Research was conducted in four sequential steps using qualitative and quantitative methods. Importantly, no external or explicit measures were used to collect data, as such instruments can bias implicit perceptions. The primary tools for processing quantitative data were principal components analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. </p><p> A 21-item, 5-factor ILT model for NCAA Division I baseball was derived from factor analysis processes and generalized across two separate data sets. This model demonstrated the existence of a sports ILT, as it differed noticeably from models that explain ILT content within the business domain. Data also indicated that team context had some correlation with ILT differences, whereas player tenure did not. Furthermore, results showed that players do delineate between the targets <i>leader</i> and <i>coach</i>; that is, being perceived as a leader within Division I baseball may not correspond with holding an official organizational/team position. </p><p> This study's findings strengthen the idea that leadership is social-cognitive phenomenon that differs according to context. Implications for applying these findings within Division I baseball are discussed. Additionally, this research might be cause for revisiting some of the previous models of leadership within sports studies.</p>

<p> Over the past few decades, the money and attention associated with Intercollegiate Athletics (ICA) has exploded. At the same time, however, many ICA departments claim to be at a financial crossroads with coaching salaries and operational costs soaring upwards. Not surprisingly, ICA departments are responding by focusing on increasing their fundraising in innovative ways. Perhaps the most interesting of these is in the area of hybrid&mdash;or blended&mdash;giving, which combines cash with a deferred gift. While these gifts have the potential to help generate substantially more revenue for ICA, unfortunately there is limited empirical research surrounding them. </p><p> In an effort to broaden this research base, this study examined hybrid gifts in Division I ICA at both the macro and micro levels. Specifically, an explanatory sequential mixed methods design was used to assess the state of hybrid-gift development among all 346 Division I ICA departments. This was accomplished through an online survey of the senior development director at every Division I ICA department; the 33-question survey had a 64% response rate and employed demographic, Likert-style, and open-ended questions. Following this mapping of the current Division I ICA hybrid-gift landscape, two purposely selected comparative case studies of Division I ICA departments were undertaken to better explain the complexity of hybrid gifts by digging deeper into the nuances of ICA philanthropy and hybrid-gift development. </p><p> Analysis of the data indicates hybrid-gift development is trending upward with a number of unique and new opportunities. Findings centered on building a culture of philanthropy and strategic process that includes education, communication, and collaboration; identifying the trajectory of hybrid-gift donors; and the new opportunities that hybrid gifts create, such as both short- and long-term approaches, re-cultivation of donors, and elevated partnerships. Further analysis used the lens of behavioral economics, specifically, framing, anchoring, loss aversion, and what you see is all there is to enrich the findings. </p><p> Taken together, the study responds to a yawning gap in the literature on philanthropy. In particular, the study informs best practices for ICA development, leaders, and donors, and generates potentially transferable philanthropic insights into higher education and nonprofit philanthropy.</p><p>

Les pratiques sportives alternatives connaissent une croissance importante. Jadis considérées marginales, ces pratiques sportives, telles que la planche à neige, le skateboard ou encore le vélo de montagne, s'institutionnalisent. Le but de cette thèse etait de proposer une explication du processus d'institutionnalisation de l'une de ces pratiques sportives, soit la planche à neige, dans un contexte déterminé, soit le contexte canadien. Le concept de champ développé par Pierre Bourdieu fut mis à contribution pour tenter de (re)construire le champ de ce sport à plusieurs époques différentes afin de voir comment la dynamique d'intéraction entre les différents agents et les différentes institutions a contribue à l'institutionnalisation de la pratique sportive. À ce titre, nous avons remarqué que le processus d'institutionnalisation de la planche à neige au Canada peut être divisé en deux phases: la décennie '80 et la décennie '90. L'opposition entre les skieurs et les planchistes couplée au contexte de pratique particulier de la planche à neige sont les deux vecteurs qui contribuent à former les premières institutions au cours des années '80. Nous les avons appelées les contre-institutions. Pendant les années '90, la croissance du nombre de participants, l'acceptation généralisée des planchistes dans les centres de ski, la création des premières institutions pancanadiennes et l'acceptation du sport aux Olympiques engendrent une augmentation du capital symbolique des institutions et agents reliés à la planche à neige à l'intérieur du champ plus large des sports de glisse canadiens. En retour, cette hausse significative mène, au tournant du siècle, a une institutionnalisation relativement complète de cette pratique sportive. En réaction à ces résultats et pour faire écho aux recherches de Lamprecht et Stamm (2001), nous proposons, en dernier lieu, une discussion critique du terme 'sport alternatif' qui débouche sur la création d'un modèle pour la compréhension de l'institutionnalisation des pratiques sportives en général.