<p><b>Background</b>: Participation in college athletics comes with inherent risks. Many of these risks relate to the psychosocial safety and well-being of college athletes. These risks include depression, suicide, alcohol abuse, substance abuse, and the development of an eating disorder. This study specifically examined the current state of psychosocial needs amongst college athletes, the availability of services that address psychosocial needs, the comfort level college athletes have with seeking services, and the identification of barriers that influence whether or not a college athlete seeks necessary help. </p><p> <b>Methods</b>: This study used a web-based survey to gather information from a proportionate stratified random sample of both college athletic directors (<i>N</i> = 132) and college athletes (<i>N</i> = 349) across all NCAA division levels. Descriptive statistics, parametric tests, and multivariate tests were used to analyze the research questions. This study used NCAA division level and the profile of a college athlete&rsquo;s sport as independent variables. The researcher created composite scores for athletic, academic, and psychosocial services to serve as dependent variables. The researcher also created a composite score for perceived barriers. </p><p> <b>Results</b>: There were multiple significant findings for this research study. One key finding was that Division I and Division II college athletes had significantly higher psychosocial needs than Division III college athletes. Another key finding was that Division I college athletes experienced significantly lower levels of comfort in seeking psychosocial services than Division II and Division III college athletes. Furthermore, Division I college athletes reported significantly higher levels of barriers to seeking necessary services than Division II and Division III college athletes. </p><p> <b>Implications</b>: These significant findings point clearly to the fact that more must be done to ensure the psychosocial safety and well-being of college athletes. This includes athletic departments more clearly understanding the needs of their college athletes, having services more readily available, finding ways to promote a college athlete&rsquo;s disclosure of a psychosocial risk, and working to address current barriers that prevent college athletes from seeking help. One idea for improving the current state of services explored in this research is the interprofessional collaboration of social workers with college athletic departments. </p>

<p> Most high school students have the opportunity to participate in athletic programs during a transformative time in their personal and academic development. Very little qualitative research examines how former high school athletes perceive these experiences after they graduate. In this descriptive, exploratory study, former athletes viewed their participation as a key experience that continues to affect them positively two to five years later. During semi-structured interviews, they spoke of having developed and maintained new capacities for leadership, greater personal accountability, and healthier overall lifestyle choices. They also learned how to relate to others, both on and off the athletic field in more authentic and caring ways, and thus how to establish and maintain lasting relationships. Many of these outcomes echo aspects of <i>self-concept </i> and <i>character development</i> as described in the literature. Although athletic coaches' behaviors were described as both positive and negative, participants were generally able to overcome the negative aspects. Especially when budget cuts threaten many non-academic and extra-curricular offerings, the results of this small and geographically limited study point to the need to further explore how high school athletics may have lasting positive effects on participants.</p>

<p> Academic performance of collegiate student-athletes compared to non-athletes has been studied extensively. Results of these studies have been mixed in their findings of student-athletes academic performance in comparison to the nonstudent-athlete population. These conflicting results may be due to differences in level of competition or demographic characteristics of the subpopulations examined. This indicates that there is more to the relationship between athletic participation and academic performance than participation in sport alone. Based on achievement goal theories' assertion that goal oriented behaviors remain relatively consistent between the sport context and the classroom, looking at how an athlete is involved in sport rather than just if they are involved in sport may provide further insight into this relationship. Being a team leader, rather than just a team member may be one of the delimitating variables involved in this relationship. This quantitative study examined the relationships between NAIA collegiate student-athlete's leadership role in the athletic setting and their level of academic success, their task goal orientation, and their use of organizational planning and time management skills. Participants included student-athletes participating on interactive sport teams at a private liberal arts university that competes in the NAIA Midwest Collegiate Conference. Results revealed no statistically significant relationship between leadership role and GPA, <i>p</i> = 0.27 or in the relationship between leadership role and organizational planning and time management skills <i>p</i> = 0.20. There was a statistically significant relationship found between leadership role and task goal orientation <i> p</i> = 0.02. Although the results of this research found no significant relationship between GPA and leadership role, the findings from this study provide insight into other variables that may affect a student-athlete's academic performance. The finding that task goal orientation is significantly related to leadership role in the athletic setting may provide an important link in academic performance of student-athletes in other school settings. Future research is recommended to replicate this study at other colleges and universities where the student-athletes might have different demographics to provide further insight into these relationships.</p>

This event study analyzes the share price reactions of the owning corporation investors in relation to the Chinese and Korean football clubs' success. Guangzhou Evergrande FC, Beijing Guoan FC, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC, and Pohang Steelers FC are examined which are owned by Evergrande Group, CITIC Group, Hyundai Motors Company, and POSCO Group, respectively. It is assumed that successful events of the football clubs such as winning championships and major players and head coach acquisitions will have a positive boost to the daily returns of the owning corporations. The results are strongest for Pohang Steelers FC but other football clubs also suggest similar trends. The findings offer some tangible support for the assumption that the recent global arms race in transfer spending by football clubs can create value for the owners and suggest that the investments may lead to positive returns.

<p>This study attempted to identify the issues confronting athletic directors at the NCAA Division I FBS membership institutions from the following athletic conferences: American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, Mid American Conference, Mountain West Conference, and Sun Belt Conference. These conferences are considered to be non-BCS automatic qualifying conferences. Since the literature showed a lack of research on most of the issues that impact the university athletic director, this research attempted to present an enhanced perspective of the issues that the athletic director must confront in his or her career and daily life. The researcher utilized an explanatory sequential mixed methods research design to identify and explore the issues. Twenty-two of sixty-one athletic directors responded to a thirteen item electronic survey. Follow-up interviews were administered to six of the athletic directors who indicated a willingness to participate. Athletic directors identified fundraising, managing the budget and finance issues, and student-athlete welfare as the top three issues affecting his or her career. Athletic directors identified the following as those issues that consumed most of their time: fundraising, managing his or her department's budget, and staying current on NCAA regulations. Athletic directors identified the following as their most stressful issues: fundraising, budget, decision making, personnel, the pending autonomy of the high resource conferences, and general uncertainty. Warning signs identified by the athletic directors included: national lawsuits, declining attendance (both alumni/fans and students) at sporting events, and decreasing state support. In addition, individual athletic directors identified the following issues that may impact the future: negative impact on the United States Olympic movement due to significantly increased emphasis on football and men's basketball, impact of non-practioner perspective in governance of collegiate athletics, and possible significant change in the definition of amateurism.

This thesis comprises three studies that empirically evaluate the perceptions of sports managers and academics of the importance of competencies for sports managers in Taiwan. First, a systematic review technique is conducted to review the literature on competency-based studies in sports management and this is followed by three empirical studies. Study I is designed to develop an appropriate research instrument for the evaluation of the perceptions of the importance of competencies to the successful conducting of a sports manager's job in Taiwan. Study II analyzes the underlying features in these competencies and provides a comparison of the perceptions of the two populations. Study III identifies and evaluates the process of curriculum construction in three leading academic institutions and its relationship to competency-based education. The thesis concludes that although there are many globaUshared phenomena in the development of sports management, the perceptions of important competencies of sports managers may vary in different local contexts and thus locally based analysis is necessary to identify culturally specific features.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Georgia Southern University, 2008. / "A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education." Directed by Linda M. Arthur. ETD. Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-86) and appendices..

The National Basketball Association (NBA) generated well over $4 billion in revenues during the 2014-15 season. I analyze the value of a win to a team in terms of revenue and examine the potential underpayment or overpayment of players and superstars throughout the league relative to their marginal revenue product (MRP). My findings suggest that players are overpaid, especially superstars. However, it is important to consider the fixed-revenue streams a team receives before assuming a player is simply overpaid compared to his MRP. In congruence with previous literature, I find that veterans are overpaid at the expense of younger players’ lower salaries. I also look at the drivers of a player’s salary and find that general managers tend to overpay for points relative to other statistics.

<p> The purpose of this quantitative, correlational research was to assess the relationship between academic motivation and sport motivation among NCAA Division I student athletes enrolled at colleges and universities in the southern and western regions of the United States. The theoretical foundation was based on the Self-Determination Theory. The Self-Determination Theory includes three specific types of motivation: intrinsic, extrinsic, and amotivation. The study was comprised of three research questions, which were designed to determine the relationship between academic and sport intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and amotivation among NCAA Division I student athletes. The research was undertaken at two public higher education institutions in the southern and western portions of the United States. The sample for the study included 91 NCAA Division I student-athletes. The analysis involved nonparametric Spearman&rsquo;s correlations. The findings indicated a statistically significant relationship between academic and sport intrinsic motivation among NCAA Division I student-athletes (<i>r_p</i> = 0.210, <i>p</i> = 0.046). The findings indicated no statistically significant relationships between academic and sport extrinsic motivation (<i>r_p</i> = 0.126, <i> p</i> > 0.05) and between academic and sport amotivation among student-athletes (<i>r_p</i> = 0.091, <i>p</i> > 0.05). The results justify further research on student-athlete motivation. </p><p>

abstract: Resettled refugees face numerous challenges including unsafe living conditions, loss of permanent shelter, adjustment to a new culture, loneliness, and separation from family, friends, and community. Of particular importance is the lack of a feeling of sense of community (SOC) within their new surroundings. SOC is not only worthwhile as an outcome of its own, but may also predict additional positive outcomes such as resilience and cultural adjustment. Literature has shown participation in sport can develop youth positively and build social skills, while studies in other regions of the world have also found a sport team setting to be a place for immigrants to experience SOC. In this study, I use a congruent mixed methods approach to both explore the experience of SOC for youth refugees in a soccer club, and examine the relation of SOC to resilience and cultural adjustment. Using photo-elicitation and semi-structured interviews with 11 youth participants, the qualitative portion of the study explored SOC among youth participants. Findings note the presence of SOC as matched to theoretical frameworks both specific to sport, and to a more general theory of SOC. Further data were collected through questionnaires distributed to club members. Results from the quantitative analysis indicate a significant positive relation between SOC and resilience, and SOC and perceived acculturation. This study’s contribution is to illustrate how refugee youth in a sport club in the United States experience SOC, and the impact of that SOC. Results suggest practical implications for sport managers who wish to provide positive sport experiences for youth refugees. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Community Resources and Development 2018