Athletic Directors’ Perceptions of Environmental Control Over Interuniversity Athletics

1995 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison J. Armstrong-Doherty

Interuniversity athletic departments face an ever-increasing number and complexity of factors in their environment, which may impact on their organizational activities to varying degrees. The head athletic directors at 34 of the 45 (76%) Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (CIAU) member institutions rated the degree of control of 15 environmental elements over seven basic activities of the athletic department. The athletic department was perceived to function relatively independent of broad environmental control, with the exception of establishing and supporting a philosophy of interuniversity athletics. It appears that perceived control is a multidimensional phenomenon that varies across the environmental elements and the activities of the athletic department.

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney Fort

It is widely held that collegiate athletic directors are trapped in an expenditure arms race.  But the arms race explanation completely omits the actual consideration of the university budgeting process.  In its place, the arms race logic imposes strained assumptions about the cooperative setting and the naïveté of university administrators, along with a curious distinction of one type of revenue to reach its conclusions.  And the interpretation of the data on spending and benefits from college sports has not been done particularly well in the past. This paper presents an alternative principal-agent explanation that is based on the observed actual financial (budget) relationship between university administrators and their athletic department and consistent with the entirety of the aggregate-level data on college athletics finance.  Empirically discerning between the two models is crucial since each generates decidedly different policy implications.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-116
Author(s):  
Lawrence Brady ◽  
Tracy Trachsler

As athletic departments at the college/university level are trying to creatively balance the financial demands of supporting athletic programs with employee satisfaction and departmental needs, the topic of the dual-role employee tends to appear in conversation. The question remains, with all of the demands, in both administration and coaching, is it possible for a single person to successfully accomplish the job obligations in both areas?


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-17
Author(s):  
Jamee A. Pelcher ◽  
Brian P. McCullough

Sport organizations have begun to widely implement environmental sustainability into their daily operations, but more needs to be done to properly plan and implement these initiatives to ensure their long-term success. Specifically, college athletic departments struggle to be proactive in their approach to environmental sustainability despite the vast resources available to leverage in order to deeply commit to being an environmentally sustainable department on campus. This case study examines the strategic planning of sustainability initiatives in the Smallville University Athletic Department. This case provides students with an opportunity to (a) explore the importance of sustainability in sport, (b) analyze the role of stakeholders in a sports organization, (c) investigate common barriers to implementing sustainability in college athletics, and (d) consider creative options for implementing sustainable initiatives.


1995 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Armstrong-Doherty

Increasing financial constraints have led athletic directors in Canadian universities to consider alternative sources of funding to supplement traditional university and student support. A profile of the current structure of athletic funding was developed to provide a better understanding of who is paying for interuniversity athletics and to address concerns about the possible implications of this support. Athletic directors at 34 Canadian universities reported the amounts of financial resources received from various sources during the previous fiscal year; the amount from each source was calculated as a percentage of the total athletic budget. The results indicate that the majority of funding for interuniversity athletics continues to be secured from university funds and/or student fees, although a decline in the former was noted. An increase in the percentage of funding from internal revenues generated by the athletic department was observed. However, funding from nonuniversity sources continues to be relatively minimal.


1996 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison J. Armstrong-Doherty

Organizational autonomy of the interuniversity athletic department, university responsibility for athletics, and pressure from nonuniversity individuals, groups, and organizations are all concerns related to the department's dependence on various sources in its environment for financial support. The Emerson (1962) power-dependence theory of social exchange relations, and its adaptation to the study of organization-environment relations (Pfeffer & Salancik, 1978; Thompson, 1967), guided an examination of funding and control in Canadian university athletics. This study examined whether athletic departments are perceived to be controlled by the funding sources in their environment according to their relative resource dependence upon those sources. Financial resource dependence and perceived control data were obtained from athletic directors (ADs) at 34 Canadian universities. Significant Spearman rank order correlations reveal the resource dependence-based perceived control of the university central administration, corporate sponsors, and provincial/federal sport organizations and ministries (p< .05). Of these, however, only central administration was perceived to have considerable control over the departments. Nevertheless, ADs should be aware of the resource dependence-based control potential of these other sources.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-42
Author(s):  
Kelly Elliot ◽  
Tim Kellison

There has been little research into the comparison of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to predominantly white institutions (PWIs) in recent years.  With growing athletic department budgets, it is important to understand how HBCUs financially compare to their PWI counterparts.  Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine how HBCU athletic departments compare to their peer PWIs in terms of athletic department spending and to conduct a budgetary analysis of HBCU athletic departments. To examine differences in athletics budgets, data were collected from the U.S. Department of Education’s Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) Survey.  NCAA member institution peer groups with HBCU members were selected for this study.  Institutional data include salary, recruitment, operation, and scholarship expenses and revenue for peer groups. An ANOVA was conducted to compare peer institutions, institutions in the same region, by division, and overall.  The results indicated HBCU peer groups are spending significantly less compared to their PWI counterparts.  Additionally, among HBCU institutions, most athletic programs are spending the most on athletic aid expenses.  Similarly, HBCUs are earning significantly less revenue compared to their peers. Athletic department administrators can use the results of this study to help create budgets comparable to peer institutions. 


2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Nicole Melton ◽  
George B. Cunningham

Sport employees who champion LGBT inclusion efforts represent key elements in creating accepting environments within college athletic departments. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine the concept of champions and how they support LGBT individuals within heterosexist sport environments. Drawing from divergent literatures, including that related to organizational inclusion and championing behaviors, we explore how a combination of factors from multiple levels may influence sport employees’ attitude and behaviors related to LGBT inclusion, and determine how supportive behaviors influence sexual minorities working within a college athletic department. Results indicate that various macro- (i.e., culture of sport, athletic boosters, university and community values, exposure to diverse cultures) meso- (organizational culture, presence of other champions), and micro- (demographics, open-mindedness, experiences with sexual minorities) level factors influenced the level of employee support for LGBT inclusive policies. Furthermore, power meaningfully influenced these dynamics, such that employees who did not resemble prototypically sport employees (i.e., White, heterosexual, male) were hesitant to show support for LGBT equality. However, those who did champion LGBT inclusive initiatives successfully modeled supportive behaviors and positive attitudes toward LGBT individuals, vocally opposed discriminatory treatment, and provided sexual minorities with a safe space within sport. The authors discuss implications and future directions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seungbum Lee ◽  
Matthew Juravich

Outsourcing in sport is not a new phenomenon. Specifically, outsourcing in intercollegiate sport has become common among athletic departments across the NCAA. While outsourcing can be employed to generate increased revenues via enhanced sales, marketing, or fundraising functions, many midmajor institutions are utilizing outsourcing partners exclusively to manage ticket sales. As such, this case presents a scenario in which an athletic director and her management team are faced with assessing three options related to ticket sales outsourcing at a midmajor NCAA Division 1 institution. Utilizing the lens of multi criteria decision-making, financial, nonfinancial, and circumstantial data are provided for readers to address an outsourcing decision in the context of intercollegiate athletics. By examining three options including maintaining the status quo, considering another outsourcing partner, or bringing ticket sales operations in-house, this case provides an opportunity for students to investigate the role of ticket sales outsourcing as it relates to revenue generation, a pertinent issue for athletic departments across the NCAA.


2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Taylor ◽  
Robin Hardin

This study examined the experiences and challenges of 10 female Division I athletic directors. Four themes emerged from the interviews: (a) lack of female role models; (b) females are not qualified to manage football programs; (c) scrutiny about (lack of) ability and experience, and (d) benefits of intercollegiate coaching experience. The findings of this study suggest these are the central causes for females’ inability to reach maximum career mobility in the intercollegiate athletics industry. Participants encouraged women trying to enter the intercollegiate athletics industry to find a mentor who can advocate for them as they navigate through their career. In addition, participants encouraged those entering the industry to gain experience in as many facets of the athletic department as possible.


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