Participation Patterns in Campus Recreational Sports: An Examination of Quality of Student Effort from 1983 to 1998

Abstract

The 1980s and 1990s saw tremendous growth in campus recreational sports programs. The emergence of these programs as significant contributors to the higher education mission has led practitioners to recognize the importance of increased student involvement in this area of campus life. One of the issues facing campus recreational sports is a lack of theoretical and empirical research in almost all facets of the field. This study examined participation patterns in recreational sports programs and facilities at 314 colleges and universities (n=4000) in four groups of years: 1983–1986, 1987–1990, 1991–1994, and 1995–1998 using data derived from the College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CSEQ) and the Center for Postsecondary Research and Planning at Indiana University, Bloomington. The results of the study revealed the following: (a) there was no significant difference in student involvement for the recreational sports programs and facilities variables under investigation; (b) significant differences were found for all areas of recreational sports involvement under investigation regarding participants' gender, age, and place of residence, with males, students under the age of 22, and on-campus students reporting higher rates of recreational sports involvement than females, students over the age of 22, and off-campus students (p<.001); (c) there were no significant year-by-gender, year-by-age, or year-by place-of-residence interaction effects; d) where significant main effect differences were found, effect sizes (η2 partial) were fairly low.