Athletic Directors Research Articles

Former student‐athlete finds fulfillment as an AD

Catherine “Cat” Alves followed a circuitous path to her current role as Director of Athletics and Recreation at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (part of the City University of New York system).

Bowie State AD finds satisfaction in reinvention

Clyde Doughty, Jr. had one of the longest runs in college sports. He arrived at New York Institute of Technology as a student‐athlete in 1976 and didn't leave until August 2014 when he was called into human resources and told that a business decision had been made to sever his working relationship with the school. At that time, he had worked at NYIT since college graduation in 1980 — subsequently earning master's degrees in business administration and human resources — and had been the athletics director for 26 years.

Did court dismiss student's Title IX claim?

Jane Doe was a member of Morgan State University's track and field team. In August 2017, another track athlete sexually assaulted Doe in her residence hall room. Doe's mother learned of the assault the following month and reported it to the university's athletics director.

Perceptions of NCAA Division II and III Athletic directors regarding the emergence of e-sports

ABSTRACT This study assessed perspectives of NCAA D-II and D-III Athletics Directors (ADs) regarding the possible implementation of competitive e-Sports on college campuses. It examines if ADs view e-Sports as a legitimate sport in parallel with others that are traditionally offered by athletic departments, and their perspective regarding where on college campuses e-Sports should be housed. Results demonstrated that ADs view e-Sports differently than other sport programs (F = 13.439; p = .001), and this was key in determining where they thought e-Sports programs should be administered (F = 6.696; p = .013). However, some expressed a willingness to consider implementing e-Sports due to the opportunity it could present (F = 2.209; p = .021). These results suggest that an apparent conflict exists between ADs’ perceptions of e-Sports and of its potential as a growth opportunity. However, if colleges decide to implement e-Sports as an athletic program, consideration should be given to governance concerns, budgetary concerns, and the health and wellness of participants.

Howard AD sees tangible benefits of embracing change

After spending most of his professional career in the entertainment industry, attorney Kery Davis made a significant career shift in 2015 when he became the Director of Athletics at Howard University, a renowned historically Black university in Washington, D.C. Having played Division I basketball at Dartmouth College, he was familiar with the life of a college student‐athlete but running a multi‐sport athletics department was something new.

We Are Not Who We Thought We Were: A Case Study of Race in Intercollegiate Athletics

The case study is guided by Bell’s critical race theory as a lens for understanding racial discrimination. Critical race theory was used at a collegiate institution that served as a representation of a larger societal pattern throughout the United States. A hypothetical university was created, and scenarios were integrated based on actual events that took place at various intercollegiate institutions across the country in recent years. Ashley Miller, the athletic director at the University of Southeast Illinois, was facing an incredible challenge after a transfer football player posted allegations of racism within the University of Southeast Illinois football program. The university hired an outside law firm to investigate the climate of the football program and the athletics department as a whole. The law firm provided a report identifying specific incidents and concerns. Students will review the findings of the law firm and provide specific recommendations to the athletics department to address the allegations of racial inequities and promote diversity and inclusion in the football program and athletics department moving forward.

Sustainable Management of High School Athletics: A Comparative Study of the U.S. and South Korea

Positive and strong relationships among various stakeholders are essential for the sustainable management of an organization. Despite growing interest in how various sport organizations manage stakeholders to promote social sustainability, there remains a gap in stakeholder and sustainability research in high school athletics. The purpose of this study was to examine how the social sustainability of sport organizations (i.e., high school athletics) were maintained during decision-making processes. Specifically, this study used a qualitative case study framed by stakeholder theory to investigate how the relevant decision-makers in high school athletics (i.e., principals and athletic directors) manage other stakeholders in their departmental decision-making processes to promote the sustainability of their athletic department. Two high schools from the US and South Korea, one from each country, were selected as the cases for the current study. Semi-structured interviews regarding stakeholder management in departmental decision-making processes were conducted with four individual interviewees, including the principals and athletic directors of each high school. The results of this study illustrated that both the US and the South Korean high school athletic departments utilized stakeholder engagement strategy in their departmental decision-making processes. The principals and athletic directors recognized the importance of communicating with other stakeholders and engaging them in athletic department decisions. Specifically, the organizational decisions of both high school athletic departments were made in consultation with the main internal stakeholders of the athletic department (i.e., the principal and athletic director) as well as other various stakeholders (e.g., parents, coaches, alumni association).

Did court dismiss student's Title IX claim?

Jane Doe was a member of Morgan State University's track and field team. In August 2017, another track athlete sexually assaulted Doe in her residence hall room. Doe's mother learned of the assault the following month and reported it to the university's athletics director.

Did court dismiss student's Title IX claim?

Jane Doe was a member of Morgan State University's track and field team. In August 2017, another track athlete sexually assaulted Doe in her residence hall room. Doe's mother learned of the assault the following month and reported it to the university's athletics director.

The Relationship between Academic Clustering and Athletic Academic Support Center Reporting Lines in NCAA FBS Programs

This article investigates whether an association existed between the clustering of NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) student-athletes and the reporting lines of athletic academic support departments at their institutions during the 2017-18 academic year. Academic reform groups and university faculty members have argued that student-athletes cluster into a major at a higher rate when athletic academic support departments report to athletic department officials instead of university administrators not employed by athletics. The authors contacted athletic academic support directors at NCAA Division I FBS institutions to determine whether their departments reported to an administrator employed by or outside of the athletic department. Then, the authors used annual football media guides provided by athletic departments to ascertain the amount of student-athletes that were enrolled in each academic major. Finally, the authors used an ANOVA to calculate whether an association existed between an athletic academic support department’s reporting lines and the rate that football student-athletes clustered into one or more majors. The results indicated that the association between the rate that football student-athletes clustered into one or more majors and the reporting lines used by athletic academic support departments at their institutions was insignificant.

What It Means to “Win” in Small College Athletics: Strategic Contingency Theory and Alternative Success

The purpose of this study was to gain a deep understanding of how athletics success is defined and operationalized for small colleges in Division III athletics. Strategic Contingency Theory was utilized as a framework to examine and better understand how the small college athletics department operates “successfully.” The underlying premise of Strategic Contingency Theory is that an organization must adapt in order to survive. In-depth interviews were conducted with NCAA Division III Athletics Directors, campus administrators (e.g., President, Provost, Vice President for Enrollment Management), and Faculty Athletics Representatives to better understand how university and athletics administrators define athletics program success at small colleges. In all, 33 interviews were conducted across seven states at 11 different Division III institutions where student-athletes comprise 20% or more of the student body.

Student-Athletes', Coaches', and Administrators' Perspectives of Sexual Violence Prevention on Three Campuses with National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and II Athletic Programs.

Research has found associations between intercollegiate athletics and risk for sexual violence, and that sexual violence is more pervasive at colleges and universities with National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I athletic programs, relative to NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and no athletic programs. Simultaneously, sports involvement is linked with prosocial values and there are documented developmental benefits of sports participation. College athletic programs hold promise for fostering sexual violence prevention but there is limited knowledge about how student-athletes conceptualize sexual violence and how athletes, coaches, and administrators perceive available prevention and response programs. We conducted seven Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and 21 In-Depth Interviews (IDIs) with student-athletes, athletic directors, and coaches from public university Division I (n = 2) and Division II (n = 1) campuses. We assessed perceptions of sexual violence, knowledge and opinions of available prevention and response programs, and sought input on how to bridge gaps in campus sexual violence policies. Student-athletes associated sexual violence with alcohol in their relationships with peers and asymmetrical power dynamics in relationships with coaches and faculty. Athletes felt strong connections with teammates and sports programs but isolated from the larger campus. This created barriers to students' use of services and the likelihood of reporting sexual violence. Athletes felt the mandatory sexual violence prevention training, including additional NCAA components, were ineffective and offered to protect the university and its athletic programs from legal complications or cultural ridicule. Athletic staff were aware of policies and programs for reporting and referring sexual violence cases but their knowledge on how these served students was limited. Student-athletes were uncomfortable disclosing information regarding relationships and sexual violence to coaches and preferred peer-led prevention approaches.

Tinkering With Policies in the Digital Age: How Interscholastic Athletic Directors Address Social Media Use by Student-Athletes

Social media use by student-athletes has become a topic of concern for interscholastic athletic directors. The recent Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. Supreme Court case highlighted how student speech has evolved in the digital age. This study explored how Texas interscholastic athletic directors view social media policy implementation and the effect it has on student-athlete behavior. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 13 athletic directors across all six University Interscholastic League enrollment classifications. Analysis revealed that athletic directors do have legal concerns when restricting online off-campus speech but see a need for promoting positive social media use by their student-athletes. The results suggest high school athletic departments must update their policies frequently to ensure that the information relayed to student-athletes is current, relevant, and based on recent case law.

Building a ‘culture of giving back’ builds valuable, lasting connections

Richard Johnson's investment in building a “culture of giving back” has paid off for the athletics department at Wofford College in South Carolina. Under his leadership, the department's endowment has significantly increased while he's served as the school's athletics director for 21 years.

Development of a Conceptual Model of Occupational Stress for Athletic Directors in Sport Contexts.

Previous studies have reported that occupational stress is a determinant risk factor for both chronic diseases and job performance among organizational leaders. Every occupation has its own culture and occupational climate influencing organizations within the industries. Thus, due to the idiosyncratic features inherent in sports, athletic directors may experience different occupational stressors. To date, there has been no comprehensive review of the occupational stress in athletic director contexts. Thus, based on the literature on both occupational stress and sport leadership, this study proposes a conceptual framework of occupational stress in sport leadership. The model identifies the five higher-order themes of occupational stressors and their associations with the first-level outcomes of individuals and the second-level outcomes of organizations. It also includes the two higher-order moderators of personal and organizational factors. It is hoped that this initiative can invoke interest in this topic to provide health-enhancing environments for athletic directors and quality sport services to society.

New AD role yields insights into balance

When Courtney Thomsen became the Director of Athletics at Midland University in July, she took on the leadership of the largest athletics department in Nebraska. Thomsen made the nearly cross‐country move from Marymount California University with her husband and three children (all under the age of six) to join the private school with locations in Fremont and Omaha.

The Small College Financial Crunch: Using Athletics as a Leading Form of Enrollment Management

Alicia Morrison is the athletic director of Northeast Private College (NPC), a small, tuition-driven, suburban National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III (DIII) institution in the northeast region of the United States. Like many small colleges throughout the country, NPC is facing a dire financial crisis if it cannot stem declining enrollment trends. Since athletic scholarships are not allowed at the DIII level, student-athletes at NPC pay tuition in the same way as the general student body. Similar to many small, DIII colleges, student-athlete tuition dollars are relied upon as a primary fiscal solvency strategy for the institution as a whole. As part of a collaborative effort between Alicia, NPC’s President, and its Board of Directors, Alicia will be tasked with developing a strategic plan for growing the size of the athletic department. This case study enables students to gain a better understanding of the DIII athletics environment. Students will use scholarly articles and a real-world financial and enrollment database to help Alicia with her strategic plan. The pressure is high, as, in many ways, the future of NPC relies upon Alicia effectively developing—and implementing—a viable strategic plan for the growth of the athletic department.

Reported COVID-19 Incidence in Indoor Winter Sports Among US High-School Athletes.

To evaluate the association between COVID-19 incidence among high-school athletes participating in different indoor winter sports and attending schools with in-person versus virtual instructional delivery. Cross-sectional survey. US high schools. High-school athletic directors. Indoor winter sports, school instructional delivery method, and state COVID-19 incidence. Surveys were distributed to high-school athletic directors throughout the United States regarding sport reinitiation and COVID-19 cases in winter 2020 to 2021. Separate mixed effects Poisson regression models were developed to evaluate the associations between reported COVID-19 incidence and (1) different sports and (2) school instructional delivery method, while adjusting for the background, state COVID-19 incidence. Four hundred thirty schools had restarted fall sports, representing 31 274 athletes on 1404 teams from 14 states. One thousand four hundred sixty cases of COVID-19 were reported, representing a case rate of 4668 cases per 100 000 athletes and an incidence rate of 58.7 cases per 100 000 player-days. Reported COVID-19 incidence was greatest among girls' hockey (82.1 cases per 100 000 player-days (95% CI, 56.8-115) and boys' hockey [76.7 (61.8-94.2)] and lowest among swimming [39.0 (31.1-48.2)] and gymnastics [28.5 (13.1-54.2)]. No difference in reported COVID-19 incidence was identified among athletes attending schools with virtual versus in-person instruction [incidence rate ratio = 0.86 (0.52-1.4)]. In this nationwide survey of US high-school athletic directors regarding indoor winter sports, reported COVID-19 incidence was lower in noncontact sports but unrelated to school instructional delivery method. This information may help guide decision-making regarding high-school sport participation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Contract impacts outcome of WSU coach's request for religious exemption from vaccine mandate

When Washington State University Athletics Director Pat Chun terminated Head Football Coach Nick Rolovich for cause, the school cited the reason, or cause, as the coach's failure to comply with Gov. Jay Inslee's executive order mandating all state employees to receive the COVID‐19 vaccine. At the time of his firing on Oct. 18, 2021, Rolovich was the highest‐paid state employee in Washington, with an annual salary of approximately $3.2 million. Because he was fired for cause, the former coach isn't entitled to receive the balance due under the terms of his contract, which would have been an amount that equates to approximately $9 million. Prior to Rolovich's termination, the university denied his request for a religious exemption to the vaccine mandate, which he allegedly sought based on his Catholic beliefs.

체육교사의 이중역할에 따른 감정표현규칙 및 감정노동전략의 차이

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of dual role (physical education teacher vs. athletic director) on emotional display rules (positive and negative) and emotional labor strategies (surface acting, deep acting, and genuine expression) among physical education teachers.<BR> Methods: 250 survey questionnaires were distributed to PE teachers experiencing dual roles in the region of Youngnam. Out of the 250 questionnaires distributed, a total of 229 questionnaires were chosen for final data analysis after excluding 21 incomplete questionnaires.<BR> Results: Results of chi-square tests indicated that participants were more likely to display positive emotions in the role of PE teacher than in the role of athletic director. On the other hand, participants were more likely to display negative emotions in the role of athletic director than in the role of PE teacher. Results of the paired t-tests indicated that participants utilized more surface acting in the role of PE teacher than in the role of athletic director, while they utilized more genuine expression in the role of athletic director than in the role of PE teacher.<BR> Conclusion: The overall findings of this study provide some meaningful and practical implications for dual role PE teachers regarding the use of emotional display rules and emotional labor strategies according to the types of their roles.