The present study uses a novel measure of over performance (percent deviation from career average) to analyze the contract year phenomenon in the NBA. Historically, the literature has pointed toward over performance across almost all statistical measures of performance. However, previous research has assumed that all players are universally affected by the presence of a contract year in the same manner. The present study finds significant results that contradict previous research by dividing the sample of players into subgroups by age, career PER and position. Furthermore, the results of this paper’s statistical analysis illustrate the first examples of systematic underperformance in a contract year. More specifically, this study finds that for certain subsets of players, shooting percentage, usage percentage and field goal attempts decrease in the presence of a contract year.

Diversity efforts implemented by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) hope to improve the Association through the addition of multiple voices in athletics. Notably, the Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) designation is intended to encourage and promote the involvement of female administrators in meaningful ways in the decision-making process in intercollegiate athletics. This role, created under Article 4.02.4 of the NCAA constitution, is to be filled by the highest ranking female in each NCAA athletic department or member conference (Levick, 2002; Raphaely, 2003). Given the evolving definition and nature of the SWA designation and of female managerial roles (Eagly & Karau, 2002), there exists a question as to whether the SWA designation has provided the scope of decision-making and authority suggested in the NCAA definition of the designation. Research must show if SWAs are able to use their power and give different opinions. It must also uncover if there is still a need for the SWA role and if the title is still appropriate for this designation.

In this ethnography (anthropology thesis) I explored the binary gender division in modern sports culture through the analysis of stereotypes shaped by the history of women's sport, iconography of female athletes portrayed by mainstream media, and the reinforcement of stigma and pressure to conform to social norms by the normalized everyday discourse of college men and women at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. Even though Title IX brought significant gender equality to sport in terms of women's access to athletic participation and facilities, I argue that there is still much work to do to modify social attitudes toward women's sports. While CMS female student-athletes have a keen awareness of the existing gender disparity of athleticism and make criticisms of the male-dominated hegemony, they sometimes reproduce the very same disparity they are subjected to by reinforcing internalized stereotypes through articulations of female homosocial spaces, feminine ideals, and the worthy emulation of men's sports. Thus, I argue that women hold a great deal of agency to promote gender equality in sports culture through a reevaluation of the way they think and talk about traditional masculinity and femininity, athletic performance, body image, and sexuality.

This study compares the predictive ability of newly introduced strokes gained measures on PGA Tour earnings performance with that of more conventional golf statistics. It is found that the strokes gained measures explain slightly more of the variability in the distribution of earnings. Strokes gained on the approach shot are determined to be the most valuable relative to the other strokes gained metrics.

There has been in the past, and likely will continue to be, an obvious lack of printed material dealing with the discipline of basketball. The wide spectrum of everything that is to be taught, as well as how it is to be introduced (in the writer’s opinion) has been neglected. Rather than focusing on one phase or a limited number of areas of interest, this work attempts to serve as a comprehensive basketball coaching manual for a beginning mentor. It should also serve well for one who wishes to reevaluate or revise his coaching philosophy. Careful thought has been given to the analysis of those fundamentals and techniques which are to be taught to ensure their compatibility. A brief history helps to introduce the work. Special attention has been given to the significant events which influenced change in the way the game is played. Rules changes, better athletes and wider fan appeal have contributed to altering coaching methods. An example might be that in the late 1930’s, when the jump ball was eliminated after each field goal, a brief resting period was also eliminated.

From 1997 to 1999 and 2003 to the present, Major League Baseball has had a luxury tax on high payroll teams. This paper analyzes the impact of the tax as a budget constraint on teams’ ability to reward and retain high performing players. In contrast to other papers, we use wins above replacement (WAR), a popular sabermetrics statistic, to measure performance. Using this metric, we quantify the number of top performers, how this performance is rewarded with salary, and how salary impacts players’ mobility decisions. We conclude that when using WAR, the distribution of performance is not heavy tailed and rather follows an exponential distribution. Our results suggest that there are fewer top performers in periods with a luxury tax/budget constraint. We use efficiency wage theory to understand this decrease in top performers as the result of a decrease in motivators. We understand two different mechanisms of motivating performance: (1) under a stochastic budget constraint, managers did not choose to extend the contracts of top players; and (2) under a fixed budget constraint, managers decreased the monetary reward for an increase in performance. Both these mechanisms decrease the motivation for top talent to perform highly.

The writer of this thesis with the counsel of Dr. Lee F. Jones of the Education Department, and Dr. E. Kelly Thompson, President of Western, decided to make a survey of the status of physical education in the Ohio Valley Conference by means of a questionnaire and through personal interviews. With the materials obtained from the questionnaire and personal interviews with the Directors of Physical Education of the various colleges a proposed program of physical education was organized for Western Kentucky State College.

A question asked by many baseball fans during the past two decades has been, “Do baseball players really earn multimillion dollars salaries by simply playing a game?” Previous studies have attempted to show that they go generate enough revenue for a given club to justify these exorbitant earnings. In fact, these studies show that, until recently, baseball players have been exploited by owners who have been reaping major profits at the expense of the players. Most studies utilize fan attendance to generate revenue figures in their respective regression equations. The intent in this paper is to determine if baseball players salaries are dependent solely on their ability to draw fans to their respective balls parks. Once a fan drawing power estimate is established, analysis will be made as to whether salaries are based upon this factor. Estimating the average amount fans will spend while attending games will also allow the comparison of revenue estimates with salaries. And finally, a brief investigation will determine if free agent status has any bearing on salary in conjunction with fan drawing power. Data from the 1991 baseball season, from all twenty six major league teams, for both hitters and pitchers, are included in this study. The analysis of this data was made through the two equation model perfected by Scully in his often referenced paper of 1974, where he estimated baseball players marginal revenue products, allowing comparisons to player salaries. The results demonstrate that in 1991 player salaries were not based solely on their ability to draw fans to the ballpark. Establishing a fan revenue figure also shows that, on average baseball players do generate enough revenue to substantiate salaries in the $2.0-$2.5 million range. Finally, utilizing a free agent attribute illustrates that simply playing baseball over six years will substantially increase salaries, regardless of the player’s status. In fact, the non-free agent players earn two and one half times less than their free agent counterparts but have the same revenue generating abilities. The final conclusions are the choice of the reader; the author has only attempted to collect the facts and present them for your review.

The relationship between athletic participation, sex role orientation and self-esteem has received little attention from researchers and the relationship of these variables among females has not received as much attention as it has among males. It has been theorized that participation in sports, particularly team sports, may effect an increase in self-esteem due to increased positive body image and tend to “masculinize” women and/or attract females who possess or value more masculine traits and behaviors. To address these issues, a comparison of sex role orientation and level of self-esteem was made with female varsity athletes, recreational athletes and nonathletes at Western Kentucky University. The instruments utilized in the study were the Bem Sex Role Inventory, the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, and an activity instrument on which the women indicated activities in which they had participated since and including the ninth grade. The activity instrument also asked for certain demographic information. The three groups of women were matched according to age, socioeconomic status and marital status. Significant differences were found between the three groups on sex role orientation. There was a much larger proportion of varsity athletes classified as androgynous when compared to the recreational athletes and nonathletes. In addition, a larger proportion of nonathletes was classified as feminine, and fewer were classified as masculine when compared to the varsity and recreational athletes. Indicated was a trend for an increasing number of females to be classified as androgynous and masculine as athletic participation increased. No significant differences were found between the groups with regard to level of self-esteem. Possible explanations for the finding are explored.

This study presents the results of a comparison of traditional grass-twist backstops frequently used on indoor ranges with one of corrugated cardboard design. The findings indicate that the corrugated cardboard design is substantially superior. The four factors selected for testing were: Arrow pass-through levels and subsequent arrow repair costs Arrow penetration levels, tested over several distances and using several bow weights Arrow-stopping potential with beginning and inexperienced archers Storage Testing showed the first three factors supporting the corrugated cardboard design. The last factor, storage, was found to be about equally supportive of both designs. Several recommendations are made. These recommendations include the adoption of the corrugated cardboard backstop design for use on indoor ranges and the use of shorter distances in the instruction of beginning and inexperienced archery students.