<p> Title IX of the U.S. Education Amendments of 1972 has significantly improved women&rsquo;s access to previously male-dominated areas of education in the United States, but few of these studies have focused on the experiences of women currently in the higher education field. This study explored female head athletic trainers&rsquo; perceptions of the role of U.S. higher education institutions in preparing and supporting their achievement of leadership positions in U.S. collegiate sports: it also explored their views on potential changes in current higher education curricula and certification processes. This phenomenological study used Ridgeway&rsquo;s status construction theory as its theoretical lens for examining the role of higher education in participants&rsquo; career progressions. Data were collected from a purposeful sample of 9 female head athletic trainers from various intercollegiate schools in the United States. The trustworthiness of findings was increased through use of the constant comparison data analysis method and sharing transcripts and excerpts of findings with participants. The study findings showed that the participants perceived higher education program preparation and support as limited in both helping women achieve collegiate leadership positions and overcome barriers to professional advancement. Suggestions for improving athletic training educational programs included adding mentorship and role models, experiential learning and interactions with sport personnel, networking opportunities, leadership training, and courses in gender roles and biases. This study promotes positive social change by identifying underlying gender biases inhibiting women&rsquo;s promotions into sport leadership roles and by providing policy and curricular suggestions for addressing these, thereby promoting greater social equality.</p>

<p> Transitions are defined as "any event or non-event that results in changed relationships, routines, assumptions, and roles" (Goodman, Schlossberg, &amp; Anderson, 2006, p. 33). A particular transition unique to student-athletes in comparison to other college students is the end of their collegiate athletic eligibility. The purpose of this study is to understand how female student-athletes competing in NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic programs perceive their preparedness for post-collegiate careers as they undergo transitions. Using basic interpretive qualitative research methods and interview protocol developed from Schlossberg's theory of transition, 20 female participants in NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports were asked to describe the situation surrounding the end of their collegiate sports career and their post-competition plans, the support they received to prepare for careers, the strategies they used to prepare, and their own self-assessment of their transition (Schlossberg, 1981; Goodman, Schlossberg and Anderson, 2006). </p><p> The words and descriptions the participants attributed to their own experiences of transition and career development provided insight into this phenomenon. Participants reported having sufficient resources at their institutions to be prepared for their lives post-competition, but because of their schedule demands, lacked experience they felt necessary to gain entry into their chosen professions. The lack of experiential learning opportunities and unfamiliarity with student services outside of athletic contributed to their feelings of inadequate preparation. Implications for this research are to help student affairs practitioners, athletic administrators, faculty, and coaches better understand the areas that impede student-athlete career development. </p>

<p> The current funding situation for community college athletics and future funding remains unclear (Byrd &amp; Williams, 2007). The purpose of the qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences and perceptions of athletic directors to understand the financing issues with athletic programs. Sixteen athletic directors from the state of California were interviewed until the point of data saturation on the topic. Analysis of the interview responses revealed that managing the athletic programs, the budget, and Title IX are ways athletic directors can deal with the financial issues. The results of the current research study may provide current and future business leaders with information that will facilitate making decisions about financing community college athletic programs.</p>

<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..