It is not uncommon for a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I school to have an athletic apparel contract (AAC) with an established athletic apparel company. These relationships have evolved over time to the point that the AACs seem to have become institutionalized in collegiate athletics. Institutionalization refers to the repetition of organizational arrangements (Washington & Patterson, 2009) to the point that it exists as a 'norm' within a culture. While there are certain benefits to these contracts, there are also associated risks. AACs often include clauses requiring every student-athlete at the school to wear brand name apparel for practice and competition, regardless of satisfaction with the product. Considering volleyball is typically a non-revenue generating sport at many NCAA Division I schools, student-athletes are often required to wear a certain type of shoe due to contract restrictions. Problems may arise if the sponsored shoes do not meet the needs, specifically the health and safety needs, of the student-athlete. Coaches are often involved in the selection of the teams' shoes, while athletic trainers must manage any medical consequences resulting from ill-fitting shoes. Given the notion that AACs have been institutionalized in the collegiate athletic setting, including restricted shoe selection, this study was conducted to gain insight into the factors influencing volleyball shoe selection. The study was qualitative and involved semi-structured interviews with 11 volleyball coaches and athletic trainers in the Southeastern and Atlantic Coast athletic conferences. For purposes of data analysis, the researcher utilized the four dialogic moments as described by Markula and Silk (2011): recalling, listening around, close reading, and representing self and others. Results were presented according to coaches and athletic trainers, separately. Factors identified by coaches were the evidence of dissatisfaction, general benefits of a school's AAC, insufficient volleyball shoe options from sponsors, and medical concerns. Factors identified by athletic trainers included medical concerns, general benefits of a school's AAC, and insufficient volleyball shoe options from the sponsor. In general, results of this study supported the notion that AACs have become institutionalized in select NCAA Division I volleyball programs through the development of volleyball teams being a dependent beneficiary from their school's AAC. While the sponsored brands met participants' expectations in regard to the quantity of volleyball shoes provided, the sponsored brands did not meet participants' expectations regarding quality. Overall, participants were willing to overlook these negative concerns for the benefit of their athletic department as a whole. The subject matter adds value to the sport management profession by providing sport managers, Division I schools, and athletic apparel sponsors a perspective on the sponsor-school relationship as it pertains to athletic apparel contracts, but further research into other sports' shoe selection processes, as well as the student-athletes' and sponsored brands' perception of the effect of an AAC is needed. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Sport Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Science. / Summer Semester, 2014. / June 25, 2014. / Athletic trainer, Coach, Division I, Institutionalization, Volleyball / Includes bibliographical references. / Janelle E. Wells, Professor Directing Thesis; Jeffrey D. James, Committee Member; Joshua I. Newman, Committee Member; B. Cecile Reynaud, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_254495 |
| Contributors | Robinson, Amanda L. (authoraut), Wells, Janelle E. (professor directing thesis), James, Jeffrey D. (committee member), Newman, Joshua I. (committee member), Reynaud, B. Cecile (committee member), Department of Sport Management (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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