For this dissertation, I conducted an organizational ethnography of the Big South Boosters department. Executives within the department granted me access to their organizational operations over a four month time period. A June to September timeframe was chosen because it was identified by members of the department as the "busiest" and "most important" for their fundraising efforts. I elected to study booster department operations due to the complex inter- and intra-organizational dynamics of this specific type of organization. Athletic departments are increasingly relying on external funding (e.g., tuition reallocations, student fees, public funding) to offset their operating costs. Funding athletic departments with university and student funds in consistently being met with resistance and is causing athletic department administrators to utilize alternative methods to cover the expenses (athletes, coaches, support staff, travel, etc.) associated with college athletics. Thus, booster departments, organizations charged with raising external funds from individuals and corporations, are as important as ever in modern college athletics landscape. For this research project, I became a participant (as) observer within the Big South Boosters department. Through ethnographic methods such as observation and interviews, I analyzed the organizational operations and dynamics that drive the representations of culture that were created by members of the department. Drawing upon a circuit of culture model, I examined the role that organizational processes (such as organizational communication, political skill, organizational politics, and organizational identification) played in the production and effectiveness of branding and fundraising activities. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sport Management in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2013. / March 8, 2013. / Athletics, Boosters, Communication, Ethnography, Fundraising, Politics / Includes bibliographical references. / Joshua I. Newman, Professor Directing Dissertation; Michael D. Giardina, Committee Member; Jeffrey D. James, Committee Member.

Price fairness is defined as the psychological judgment of the price as reasonable, just, and acceptable (Bolton, Warlop, & Alba, 2003; Maxwell, 2002; Xia, Monroe, & Cox, 2004). Although it has been investigated in various service business areas, there has been little research of price fairness in the sports business (Darke & Dahl, 2003; Kimes, 1994; Kahneman, Knetch, & Thaler, 1986a, 1986b; Radzi, Zahari, Muhammad, Aziz, & Ahmad, 2011). As sports consumers show unique consumption patterns, it is necessary to examine price fairness forsports consumers. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to examine price fairness of the college football ticket price for sports consumers based on level of trust. To test the hypothesis, a quantitative method was employed. Two scenario type questions were created, and an independent t-test was performed to test the hypothesis. The hypothesis failed to be rejected, as shown by the inferential statistical results (n=100). It was indicated that perceptions of price fairness of the college football ticket were not significantly different based on levels of trust. These findings contributed to an extension of existing research of price fairness into sports management areas. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Sport Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester, 2013. / June 13, 2013. / Fairness, Price, Sports Consumers, Sports Ticket / Includes bibliographical references. / Yukyoum Kim, Professor Directing Thesis; Jeffrey James, Committee Member; Janelle Wells, Committee Member.

Increasing pressure from the public has raised expectations that corporations will be better citizens of their communities and society as a whole (Bennet, 2002; Carroll, 1999b; Epstein, 1989; Van Marrewijk, 2003; Wood, 1991). As a result, corporations have engaged in corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts. Research on this topic through mainstream management has mainly focused on the impact CSR activities have on consumer response (e.g., attitudes, behaviors, etc.) (Bhattacharya & Sen, 2001, 2004; Porter & Kramer, 2006). Research on CSR in the sport industry has followed a similar pattern, focusing on consumer responses to CSR activities. No research studies have explored the influence and perceptions pertaining to CSR activities in relation to important internal constituents (employees and volunteers) of sport organizations. Of particular interest is uncovering what employees and volunteers specifically believe are important CSR elements (ethical, discretionary, legal, economic), and what impact a sense of 'shared CSR values' with a respective sport organization would have on employee and volunteer responses. For example, will the perception of shared social values influence on organizational commitment provide insight on recruitment, retention and/or development strategies of employees and volunteers? Further, assessing any difference in sensemaking between these two groups would be of additional value to this line of enquiry, as the perceptions of the organization are understood as "tantamount to reality, since organizations are social constructions made up of and acting in accordance with shared perceptions," (Brickson, 2007, p. 865) particularly those of employees and volunteers of sport organizations. The present study explored how CSR impacts organizational members (employees and volunteers) of sport organizations. Specifically, the main purpose of the present study was to assess the level of perceived shared values as they relate to CSR (measured as corporate social orientation) between organizational members of sport organizations (i.e., employees and volunteers) and the sport organization. Further, the influence of the level of perceived shared corporate social orientation (CSO) on organizational identification was evaluated in the context of a proposed model, which included the relationship of perceived shared corporate social orientation on the organizational identification → value commitment relationship. Using a sample of sport organization employees and volunteers, the respondents completed an online survey composed of demographic items, the corporate social orientation scale, and items that measure organizational identification, value commitment and other outcomes that were not empirically tested (job satisfaction, volunteer satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behaviors). Correlation analyses were conducted on tenure and CSO values congruence (on total CSO and each dimension); on CSO values congruence (on total CSO and each dimension) and organizational identification; and on organizational identification and value commitment. Difference on organizational member responses on economic and non-economic CSO dimensions (legal, ethical, discretionary combined) was tested using paired t-test. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the differences on male and female ratings on ethical and discretionary elements. Perceived shared corporate social orientation was assessed as an absolute difference between an individual's rating of CSO dimensions, and the individual's perception of an organization's CSO. The impact of the level of shared social values (measured through CSO congruence) on organizational identification and value commitment was assessed through moderated regression analysis. Results of the study are as follows: 1. The evidence did not support a four-factor corporate social orientation structure, based on the primary and alternative models. However, the parsimonious model (v2) showed both convergent and discriminant validity for the four CSO dimensions. 2. Length of tenure of the organizational member did not show a significant relationship with their measured corporate social orientation congruence across all dimensions (profit, legal, ethical, and discretionary). 3. Employee measures of ethical corporate social orientation congruence were positively and significantly correlated with organizational identification. 4. Volunteer measures of CSO total and all corporate social orientation dimension congruence (profit, legal, ethical and discretionary) showed strong positive correlations with organizational identification. 5. Organizational identification showed a strong positive correlation with value commitment for all organizational members and at the stakeholder level (employees and volunteers separately). 6. Perceived organizational corporate social orientation ratings on profit was significantly different (greater) than the ratings on perceived importance of non-economic elements (legal, ethical, discretionary) for the organization. 7. While female organizational members did show higher ratings on ethical and discretionary corporate social orientation levels than their male counterparts, there was no significant difference in their ratings. 8. Significant moderation effects were found for profit, legal and overall corporate social orientation congruence on the organizational identification-> value commitment relationship (all organizational members) 9. Significant moderation effects were found for ethical, non-economic elements and CSO total (employees); Legal dimension (volunteers) on the organizational identification → value commitment relationship. The findings provided preliminary knowledge to assist in better understanding corporate social responsibility in sport. However, it is acknowledged that the study was exploratory and did not clearly demonstrate discriminant validity for the four traditionally accepted dimensions of CSO when tested with organizational members within the sport context (profit, legal, ethical, and discretionary) (Carroll, 1979). For this reason, future research areas are suggested (in Chapter Five) to address the possible development of a CSO measure appropriate for the sport industry and also recommends other possible types of analyses that will be useful to the management of sport organizational member relationships as they relate to corporate social responsibility. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sport Management and Recreation Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2010. / February 19, 2010. / Corporate Social Responsibility, Sport Organizational Members / Includes bibliographical references. / Jeffrey D. James, Professor Directing Dissertation; Gary Knight, University Representative; Michael Mondello, Committee Member; Yu Kyoum Kim, Committee Member.

Sport is often viewed as an apolitical, positive, socially integrative social practice that can lead to the development of people--socially, economically, politically and culturally. This functionalist rhetoric has led to the recent trend in development initiatives in the past two decades, which has led to the nascent field of Sport for Development. However, this functionalist view of sport has often disregarded the broader socio-historical, cultural and political roles that sport has played. For instance, the use of sport to assimilate indigenous people into the dominant western culture during the colonial era, often at the expense of indigenous peoples' own values, beliefs, and traditions. Specifically, I follow many critical scholars by suggesting that SFD programs that are conducted in indigenous communities are often planned, implemented and evaluated from a Western worldview, rather than from the worldview of the indigenous community (Darnell, 2010a; Darnell and Hayhurst, 2012; Forsyth and Wamsley, 2006; Giles, 2007; Nicholls, Giles and Sethna, 2010; Smith, 1999). Given this, in this research project I offer a critical commentary on SFD programs that are conducted within indigenous communities and suggest that there is a need to adopt a decolonizing praxis to SFD in indigenous communities. I provide this perspective by reflecting on a journey I took to visit the Suquamish Tribe of the Port Madison Reserve to talk to them about the Salish Tribal Canoe Journeys. I conclude by suggesting that there are key lessons that can be learnt from the Suquamish and the Salish Tribal Canoe Journeys in relation to adopting a decolonizing praxis to SFD in indigenous communities. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Sport Management in partial fulfilllment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester, 2013. / July 1, 2013. / development, indigenous, indigenous rights, self-determination, Sport for development / Includes bibliographical references. / Joshua Newman, Professor Directing Thesis; Jeffrey James, Committee Member; Michael Giardina, Committee Member.

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. 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. 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<.05; beta=.522) and design (t=5.934; p<.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<.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. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Sport Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Spring Semester, 2014. / April 14, 2014. / Activity trackers, Perceived quality, Product cues, Willingness to buy / Includes bibliographical references. / Jeffrey James, Professor Directing Thesis; Yu Kyoum Kim, Committee Member; Janelle E. Wells, Committee Member.

As a central component of the sports industry, athletes are now playing roles far beyond what they do on the field of play, including making contributions to society as philanthropists. Many professional athletes from around the world have established their own philanthropic foundations. However, given that professional athletes are now under frequent media scrutiny because of their celebrity status and perceived financial standing--and particularly once there are scandals or transgressions involving those celebrity athletes--the media will likely attenuate to those incidents via their respective platforms. Subsequently, this mass mediation will likely affect the general public' perceptions towards their philanthropy foundations since these organizations are in direct link with these famous athletes. Therefore, the aim of this research is to shed some light on the ways in which the media frames athletes' transgressions as they relate to those athletes' philanthropic foundations. In order to achieve this purpose, a content analysis was utilized to study the media coverage of a specific case: Tiger Woods' adultery affairs with multiple women behind his wife's back in 2009. By identifying what the multi-media have suggested about the impacts Woods' infidelity scandal has on his Tiger Woods Foundation, this case study will assess the extent to which the foundation is implicated in media due to his personal controversies. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Sport Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Fall Semester, 2014. / October 17, 2014. / athlete philanthropic foundation, athlete transgressions, media / Includes bibliographical references. / Joshua Newman, Professor Directing Thesis; Jeffrey James, Committee Member; Amy Kim, Committee Member.

Investigations on retention and graduation often focus on the overall issue of student persistence. Research has identified two variables that consistently predict persistence: the student's ability to integrate academically and socially, and the student's commitment to degree attainment. There has not been an abundance of supporting research on the subject dealing solely with student-athlete's integration and institutional and degree commitment. Therefore, there were two major purposes of this research. The first purpose was to examine the social and academic integration experiences of track and field student-athletes. The second purpose was to determine whether social and academic integration experiences will influence student-athlete's institutional and goal commitment to member institutions of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Atlantic Coast Conference. A survey instrument developed by Pascarella and Terenzini (1980), originally designed to measure the integration and institutional and goal commitment constructs of Tinto's model of student departure, was administered to track and field student-athletes enrolled in member institutions of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Three-way Analysis of variance tests revealed significant mean differences in social integration and academic integration when measured by race. However, no significant mean differences emerged in social integration and academic integration experiences when measured by gender and classification. Additionally, no significant differences emerged in institutional and goal commitment when measured by gender, race, and classification. Finally, hierarchical multiple regression revealed social integration and academic integration significantly influenced institutional and goal commitment when controlling for background characteristics. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that persistence efforts are applicable to student-athletes. Although student-athletes have a unique academic structure and face the intense athletic demands of competing at a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division IA level, it is important to foster social and academic integration experiences. Moreover, the benefits of positive student-athlete integration experiences will result in a positive interaction between institutional and goal commitment among student-athletes. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sport Management, Recreation Management, and Physical Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2007. / Date of Defense: June 27, 2007. / Higher Education, Guidance and Counseling, Commitment, Intercollegiate Athletics, Persistence / Includes bibliographical references. / Jerome Quarterman, Professor Directing Dissertation; Joy Gaston Gayles, Outside Committee Member; Susan Losh, Outside Committee Member; Michael Mondello, Committee Member; B. Cecile Reynaud, Committee Member.

The purpose of this study was to survey female basketball student-athletes, participating in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) member institutions, in order to determine their academic, collegiate athletic, and career athletic motivation based on academic standing and ethnicity. Another purpose was to validate the Student-Athletes' Motivation toward Sports and Academics Questionnaire (SAMSAQ), a newly developed instrument used to measure student-athletes' motivation. The Expectancy Theory of Motivation was used to discuss the perception of valence exhibited by the female basketball student-athletes. The research population for this study was N = 111. The population represented female basketball players at nine member institutions of the ACC. Two of the institutions did not participate in the research study. The research sample for this study was n = 100, which yielded a 90% response rate. Previous research that formed the basis for this study included ethnicity and motivation of student-athletes, academic standing and motivation of student-athletes, and limited literature regarding female basketball student-athletes' academic motivation. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) results revealed there was no significant difference between academic, collegiate athletic, and career athletic motivation when analyzing academic standing. Data results for ethnicity and motivation revealed there was no significant difference between academic motivation and collegiate athletic motivation, however, there was a significant difference when career athletic motivation and ethnicity were analyzed. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the SAMSAQ and the extraction method using principal axis factoring revealed two factors would be more beneficial in an explanation of variance instead of three or more factors. The two factors were noted as academic and athletic motivation. EFA enabled the researcher to determine the SAMSAQ may need to examine two constructs instead of three (academic, collegiate, and career athletic motivation). / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sport Management, Recreation Management, and Physical Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.. / Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2005. / Date of Defense: June 9, 2005. / Women's Basketball, Motivation, Student-Athletes / Includes bibliographical references. / Jerome Quarterman, Professor Directing Dissertation; Susan Losh, Outside Committee Member; E. Newton Jackson, Jr., Committee Member; Aubrey Kent, Committee Member.

The purpose of this research was to investigate how a selection of task variables and positive mood state would impact an overall latent interpretation of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Additionally, this study was designed to explore a previously untapped population in sport management research by sampling employees from a company involved in the manufacture of outdoor recreation products (n = 374). The organization was based in the United States and recorded nearly $100 million in sales for the year 2002. The survey data were gathered through group meetings during personal visits to each of three company locations. All levels of employees completed the questionnaires. An exploratory structural equation model outlining the relationships among a selection of task variables, job satisfaction, positive mood state, job self-efficacy, and organizational citizenship behavior was developed and empirically tested for its legitimacy and validity. The model proposed that the four exogenous task variables of task significance, task routinization, intrinsically satisfying tasks, and task autonomy would predict job satisfaction; while , positive mood state, and job self-efficacy would predict. The results suggested that task autonomy and intrinsically satisfying tasks predicted job satisfaction, while job satisfaction and job self-efficacy predicted OCB. Positive mood state was not determined to influence OCB in the current sample. The findings are discussed in the context of contributions to the field of sport management and organizational behavior in general. Future research suggestions are forwarded. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Sport Management, Recreation Management, and Physical Education in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2003. / June 5, 2003. / Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Job Satisfaction / Includes bibliographical references. / Aubrey Kent, Professor Directing Dissertation; Pamela Perrewé, Outside Committee Member; Michael Mondello, Committee Member; Jerome Quarterman, Committee Member.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (1996) has identified regular participation in physical activity as an important determinant of health. Unfortunately, many people are not getting an adequate amount of physical activity – 60% of adults and 50% of teens are not physically active on regular basis, and female adolescents tend to decline in physical activity levels from age twelve. This study was designed to investigate the effects of goal setting on female middle school students' physical activity levels and motivation toward exercise. Forty-six eighth grade females, enrolled in six, intact physical education classes from one K-12 charter school in the southeastern United States, were recruited for this study. A one-week baseline and six-week intervention was conducted to collect physical activity levels (step counts) by using the Yamax SW-701 electronic pedometer. The Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-2 (BREQ-2) was used to collect the motivation scores prior to and after the study. Participants were randomly assigned into either a goal setting or "do your best" group. Participants in the goal setting group used goal-setting strategies to include providing physical activity information, self-mentoring, feedback, resetting goals, and analyzing their own exercise behavior. The results indicated there were significant main effects of time (7 weeks) and interaction of time by group for step counts. Similarly, there was a significant interaction effect of time by group in motivation (autonomy), but no main effect of time was found. It was concluded that the use of a pedometer along with goal setting strategies did help motivate students to increase step counts. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Sport Management, Recreation Management, and Physical Education in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2004. / June 23, 2004. / Goal Setting in Sports and Physical Activity, Female Adolescents - Middle School Students, Measurement of Physical Activity, Goal Setting Theory / Includes bibliographical references. / Thomas Ratliffe, Professor Directing Dissertation; Tonya Toole, Outside Committee Member; Charles Imwold, Committee Member; Kristie Walsdorf, Committee Member.