Basketball Program Research Articles

The Case for Paying College Athletes

Big-time commercialized intercollegiate athletics has attracted considerable attention in recent years. Popularity of this uniquely American activity, measured by attendance, television ratings, or team revenues, has never been higher. At the same time, however, several high-profile scandals exposing unseemly behavior on the part of players, coaches, and even respected higher education institutions—as well as questions about the distribution of the enormous revenues pouring into university athletic departments—have marred the image of these college football and men's basketball programs. Currently there are several legal challenges to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and its member institutions that may change dramatically and permanently the arrangements between the NCAA cartel, its member colleges and universities, and the “student-athletes” who play on the teams. These challenges all focus on the NCAA's collective fixing of players' wages. We describe this peculiar “industry,” detailing the numerous market imperfections in both output and labor markets, the demand for and supply of college athlete labor, and possible alternative arrangements in the college athlete labor market, including the ramifications of compensating players beyond the tuition, room, board, books, and fees that some current players already receive as grants-in-aid.

Monitor, regulate coaches' conduct by taking an active role

From the national headlines of the abusive tactics used in Rutgers University's men's basketball program to the less sensational — but also problematic — allegations of the emotional abuse of student‐athletes on various women's teams, the issue of coaches' conduct has never been more at the forefront of collegiate sports than it is today.

The sons of Westwood: John Wooden, UCLA, and the dynasty that changed college basketball

For more than a decade, the UCLA dynasty defined college basketball. In twelve seasons from 1964 to 1975, John Wooden's teams won ten national titles, including seven consecutive championships. The Bruins made history by breaking numerous records, but they also rose to prominence during a turbulent age of political unrest and youthful liberation. When Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton--the most famous college basketball players of their generation--spoke out against racism, poverty, and the Vietnam War, they carved out a new role for athletes, casting their actions on and off the court in a political light. The Sons of Westwood tells the story of the most significant college basketball program at a pivotal period in American cultural history. It weaves together a story of sports and politics in an era of social and cultural upheaval, a time when college students and college athletes joined the civil rights movement, demonstrated against the Vietnam War, and rejected the dominant Cold War culture. This is the story of America's culture wars played out on the basketball court by some of college basketball's most famous players and its most memorable coach.

Increasing girls' physical activity during an organised youth sport basketball program: a randomised controlled trial protocol.

BackgroundParticipation in organised youth sports (OYS) has been recommended as an opportunity to increase young peoples’ moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) levels. Participants, however, spend a considerable proportion of time during OYS inactive. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to investigate whether coaches who attended coach education sessions (where education on increasing MVPA and decreasing inactivity during training was delivered) can increase players’ MVPA during training sessions over a 5-day basketball program compared to coaches who did not receive coach education sessions.Methods/designA convenience sample of 80 female players and 8 coaches were recruited into the UWS School Holiday Basketball Program in Greater Western Sydney, Australia. A two-arm, parallel-group randomised controlled trial was employed to investigate whether coaches who attended 2 coach education sessions (compared with a no-treatment control) can increase their players’ MVPA during training sessions over a 5-day basketball program. Objectively measured physical activity, directly observed lesson context and leader behaviour, player motivation, players’ perceived autonomy support, and coaching information (regarding training session planning, estimations on player physical activity and lesson context during training, perceived ability to modify training sessions, perceived importance of physical activity during training, intention to increase physical activity/reduce inactivity, and likelihood of increasing physical activity/reducing inactivity) were assessed at baseline (day 1) and at follow-up (day 5). Linear mixed models will be used to analyse between arm differences in changes from baseline to follow-up on all outcomes.DiscussionThe current trial protocol describes, to our knowledge, the first trial conducted in an OYS context to investigate the efficacy of an intervention, relative to a control, in increasing MVPA. This study’s findings will provide evidence to inform strategies targeting coaches to increase MVPA in OYS, which could have major public health implications, given the high proportion of children and adolescents who participate in OYS globally.Trial registrationThis trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12613001099718.

Overview of: “Assessing the Extent and Sources of NCAA Rule Infractions: A National Self‐Report Study of Student‐Athletes”

Research SummaryAlthough the popular and academic media often proclaim that rule violations are widespread in college athletics, research assessing the true prevalence and causes of such infractions is in short supply. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a national survey that asked a random sample of male student‐athletes at Division I basketball and football programs about such infractions (n = 648). The results revealed that although six in ten student‐athletes did not commit any infractions in the recruitment process, seven in ten respondents reported breaking NCAA rules while in college. Most violations, however, were relatively minor and involved amenities that would enhance the student‐athletes’ quality of life (free meals, cash payments less than $20). In contrast, serious violations—such as free cars, substantial financial allocations, and academic fraud—were rare, although they did exist. The multivariate analysis revealed that infractions were higher among student‐athletes who were highly recruited; who associated with fellow athletes that transgressed NCAA rules or saw nothing inappropriate about breaking these regulations; who personally embraced values defining rule violations as acceptable; who did not have close relationships with their parents; and, in particular, who had a general propensity to be involved in deviant behavior. In contrast, infractions were statistically unrelated to a variety of factors, including most notably economic deprivation, organizational context, and threats of sanctions. A potentially disquieting finding is that a quarter of the respondents admitted to gambling on sporting events, with a small percentage reporting placing bets on games in which they played and three respondents stating that they had “received money from a gambler for not playing well.”Policy ImplicationsThe findings suggest that NCAA infractions have diverse causes and are likely to be an ongoing reality of major college athletics. Such infractions are unlikely to be diminished either by proposals to compensate student‐athletes financially or by efforts to punish them more harshly. Instead, a more profitable approach would be to establish programs that (1) intervene with student‐athletes at risk for misconduct and (2) that seek to transform “deviant learning environments” that encourage rule infractions by using positive and innovative means to persuade student‐athletes that NCAA rules are legitimate and should be followed.

More than basketball: Determining the sport components that lead to long-term benefits for African-American girls

Sport participation has the capacity to enhance the athletic and academic performance of adolescents. However, African-American participants have not enjoyed the positive academic benefits that are common among other populations. Sport is a popular developmental intervention for African-American youth, yet sport programs do not always render the intended benefits (Coalter, 2007). The purpose of this study was to determine the components of school-based sport programs that create long-term benefits for African-American girls. A high school basketball program based on positive youth development served as the program site. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with current and former players and program stakeholders. Four key values underpin the success of the program: family, education, discipline, and civic engagement. The results indicate that successful programs need flexible—not standard—design commitment to program values, and consistency in mission and implementation. Implications for the design and implementation of sport programs to improve the athletic and academic performance of African-American girls are discussed.

Exploring Parent Perceptions of the Food Environment in Youth Sport

ObjectiveTo examine parent perceptions of the food environment in youth sport. MethodsEight focus group discussions were held with parents (n = 60) of youth aged 6-13 years participating in basketball programs in Minnesota. Key themes and concepts were identified via transcript-based analysis. ResultsParents reported that youth commonly consume unhealthful food and beverages during sports. According to parents, few healthful food and beverage options are available in sport settings, whereas unhealthful options are widely available. Parents were generally dissatisfied with food available in youth sport settings and wanted sport-specific nutrition knowledge. Time constraints and low availability of nutritious food at sport venues were barriers to healthful eating. Conclusions and ImplicationsYouth sport is a promising setting for promoting nutrition. Potential interventions may include advice about healthful eating to overcome the challenges associated with youth sport and policy changes that promote greater availability of healthful food at concessions stands.

The natural design of hierarchy: basketball versus academics

The power-law correlation between frequency and rank is a physics characteristic of natural fl ow systems (river basins, demography) in accordance with the constructal law. Here we show that this robust characteristic is a consequence of their design as area-point and point-area fl ow systems that morph freely and compete for access on an area. The emergence of hierarchical design is illustrated with the rankings of university basketball programs. Although basketball rankings have the same character as the university rankings, there is no correlation between the two rankings. Academic excellence and basketball excellence are two different fl ow architectures on the same area, like the fl ow of humanity (demography) and the fl ow of water (river basins). Together, they show how the evolution of sports allows us to witness biological evolution in our life time.

Collegiate Basketball Players’ Experiences of being Coached During a Turnaround Season

The primary purpose of this study was to examine basketball players’ experiences of being coached during a turnaround season. Participants included eight collegiate men’s basketball players (ages 18–23) and one staff member representing an NCAA Division I program at a large university in the United States. All participants were involved with the basketball program during back-to-back seasons in which the team experienced a losing record (14–17) followed by a coaching change, and then a winning record (22–8) and conference championship. Semistructured interviews (lasting between 30–90 min) were conducted and transcribed verbatim. Analyses of the transcripts revealed 631 meaning units that were further grouped into lower and higher order themes. This led to the development of five major dimensions which encompassed these basketball players’ experiences of being coached during this extraordinary turnaround season including their (a) Experiences of Coach’s Personality Characteristics; (b) Experiences of Coach’s Philosophy, System, and Style of play; (c) Experiences of His Coaching Style; (d) Experiences of the Practice Environment; and (e) Experiences of How Coach Influenced Us.

An Examination of Pre-Activity and Post-Activity Stretching Practices of NCAA Division I and NCAA Divison III Basketball Programs

The purpose of this study was to determine if NCAA Division I and III men’s basketball programs were in compliance with recommended pre- and post-activity stretching protocols. Questionnaires were sent to 500 NCAA Division I and Division III programs in the United States. Seventy-six coaches (75 males & 1 female) participated in the study. Chi-Square analysis (χ2(3,n=69) = 42.29, p≤0.001) indicated a greater combined percentage of static/pnf/ballistic stretches (10.14%, n=7) and combination of stretches (57.97%, n=40) than expected as compared to dynamic stretches (31.89%, n=22). Participants were asked during what period (pre- or post-activity) stretching should be emphasized. The results were significantly different from expected (χ2(4,n=76) = 129.28, p≤0.001), with a greater percentage of pre-activity stretches (26.31%, n=20) and both pre- and post-activity of stretches (60.52%, n=46) being reported as compared to post-activity stretches (13.15%, n=10). Some results seemed to be in conflict with current recommendations in the literature regarding pre-activity stretching practices.

Collegiate Basketball Season-Ticket Holders’ Purchasing Motivation and Interests

This study examined the ticket purchasing motivation and interests of 334 season-ticket holders (199 males, 135 females) from two NCAA Division-I regional state institutions. The participants’ purchasing motivation and interests were surveyed onsite in the 2008-09 season by utilizing a12-item self-created instrument with a high level of internal reliability. The results indicated that the participants’ ticket purchasing motivation was mainly influenced by the competition and psycho-social related factor (CPR), and price and promotion (P&P) factor. The researchers further addressed the unique aspects in promoting regional Division-I basketball programs, and limitations and directions for future studies.

Effect of Basketball Program on Body Composition, Metabolic Risk Factors and Physical Fitness in Overweighted Students with Intellectual Disability

Effect of Basketball Program on Body Composition, Metabolic Risk Factors and Physical Fitness in Overweighted Students with Intellectual Disability

“Fixing the Mess”: A Grounded Theory of a Men’s Basketball Coaching Staff’s Suffering as a Result of Academic Corruption

Individuals who are appointed the responsibility of managing a sport program following an instance of academic corruption endure various forms of harm that warrants investigation. Extending from our empirical study of the University of Minnesota’s incidence of academic corruption (Kihl, Richardson, & Campisi, 2008), this article provides an associated grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) of suffering that conceptualizes how a newly hired coaching staff is impacted. Using a grounded theory methodology, it was theorized that academic corruption causes a coaching staff to suffer four main consequences: sanctions, stakeholder separation, reform policies, and managing multiple roles. These consequences lead to various harmful outcomes (e.g., distrust, dysfunctional relationships, anger, stress, and conflict). The results are compared with existing research that assisted in the generation of a theory of suffering. This theory adds to our knowledge about the challenges a coaching staff experiences when administrating an intercollegiate basketball program during postcorruption.

The NCAA, Tax Exemption and College Athletics

The purpose of this article is two-fold. First, it will explain the concepts of federal tax-exemption law as they apply to the NCAA and to the universities operating Division I football and basketball programs. As the article indicates, current law makes it virtually impossible for the IRS to withdraw exemption either from the NCAA or universities operating major athletic programs. It is somewhat more plausible that the IRS could tax revenues from Division I college athletics under the UBIT, although even that course of action would have to scale considerable legal hurdles. Moreover, even if the IRS applied the UBIT to big-time athletic revenues, this course of action likely would end up largely a paper tiger because the evidence suggests that virtually none of these programs would have taxable net income in the tax accounting sense after applying appropriate cost accounting. Of course, the law can be changed; Congress could certainly attach particular conditions to tax exemption for the NCAA or universities conducting Division I basketball and football programs if it desired. The second part of this article, therefore, examines the tax policy issues raised by college athletics, particularly whether these programs fit within a theoretical paradigm that demands they be exempt from taxation, or whether instead big-time college athletics should be considered a sui generis to general tax policy. The reason this is important is that if major college football and basketball do not fit in any standard theoretical paradigm for exemption, then we should forthrightly recognize that continuing tax-favored treatment for these activities is an exception to general tax policy - much like a local community abating property taxes to induce a business to locate there. Such a conclusion, in turn, means that Congress could consider attaching special conditions to continuing tax exemption for the NCAA and universities engaged in big-time athletics without worrying about any damage to established tax policy or principles - in other words, this is the hook reformers can use to press their case. While the exact scope of these special conditions should be debated by experts in college athletics, I note in the final section of the article that there are precedents in tax law for (1) attaching conditions on the use of proceeds from an exempt activity (e.g., a requirement that big-time athletic revenues be used to subsidize other charitable outputs, such as increased athletic opportunities in non-revenue sports or for women); (2) expenditure limits such as caps on coaching salaries, and (3) expanded disclosure via a schedule to Form 990, similar to the new Schedule H for hospitals, that would require both the NCAA and universities with athletic programs to provide more information regarding their programs and the academic progress of student-athletes.

The Role of Shoe Design in Ankle Sprain Rates Among Collegiate Basketball Players

Much of the recent focus in shoe design and engineering has been on improving athletic performance. Currently, this improvement has been in the form of "cushioned column systems," which are spring-like in design and located under the heel of the shoe in place of a conventional heel counter. Concerns have been raised about whether this design alteration has increased the incidence of ankle sprains. To examine the incidence of lateral ankle sprains in collegiate basketball players with regard to shoe design. Prospective cohort study. Certified athletic trainers at 1014 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated schools sponsoring basketball during the 2005-2006 regular season were notified of an online questionnaire. Athletic trainers at 22 of the 1014 schools participated. A total of 230 basketball players (141 males, 89 females; age = 20.2 +/- 1.5 years) from NCAA Division I-III basketball programs sustained lateral ankle sprains. Ankle sprain information and type of shoe worn (cushioned column or noncushioned column) were collected via online survey. The incidence of lateral ankle sprains and type of shoes worn were compared using a chi-square analysis. No difference was noted in ankle sprain incidence between groups (chi(2) = 2.44, P = .20, relative risk = 1.47, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.32, 6.86). The incidence of ankle sprains was 1.33 per 1000 exposures in the cushioned column group (95% CI = 0.62, 3.51) and 1.96 per 1000 exposures in the noncushioned column group (95% CI = 0.51, 4.22). No increased incidence of ankle sprains was associated with shoe design.

Disability and the Dedicated Wheelchair Athlete

The “supercrip” athlete is often derided as a figure that is antithetical to the interests of people with disabilities. But few researchers have questioned the assumptions of this complaint or examined it empirically. In this article I problematize the supercrip critique and argue for a more nuanced view of dedicated disabled athletes as offering both a disempowering and an empowering experience for people with disabilities. I report on the results of in-depth interviews of ballplayers and other personnel associated with a premier collegiate wheelchair basketball program, documenting the unintended social fissures that developed between elite athletes and nonathletes within this disability community, and revealing tensions between exclusionary and inclusionary aspects of the sport and between separatist and integrationist strategies of using sport for progressive social change and personal empowerment. I conclude by considering the broader implications of the study for the role of sport in the disability rights movement.

Important Characteristics of Successful NCAA Division III Basketball Players and Programs as Perceived by their Coaches

All NCAA Division III head men's basketball coaches were surveyed to determine how important they believed 20 specific mental attributes were to the success of players and how 6 specific academic related items were to the success of programs. Means of a five point Likert-scale from very important (5) to very unimportant (1) were analyzed. Mental attributes of players considered very important at the highest rates were <i>mental toughness</i> (82.7%), <i>coping against adversity</i> (73.3%), <i>self-confidence</i> (74.1%), <i>in-game decision making</i> (81.0%), and <i>training hard to improve performance</i> (76.7%). The academic related item considered very important at the highest rate was having an <i>academic support program</i> (72.4%). Coaches should further emphasize the aforementioned items in order to improve the success of their players and programs.

Design and Interpretation of Anthropometric and Fitness Testing of Basketball Players

The volume of literature on fitness testing in court sports such as basketball is considerably less than for field sports or individual sports such as running and cycling. Team sport performance is dependent upon a diverse range of qualities including size, fitness, sport-specific skills, team tactics, and psychological attributes. The game of basketball has evolved to have a high priority on body size and physical fitness by coaches and players. A player's size has a large influence on the position in the team, while the high-intensity, intermittent nature of the physical demands requires players to have a high level of fitness. Basketball coaches and sport scientists often use a battery of sport-specific physical tests to evaluate body size and composition, and aerobic fitness and power. This testing may be used to track changes within athletes over time to evaluate the effectiveness of training programmes or screen players for selection. Sports science research is establishing typical (or 'reference') values for both within-athlete changes and between-athlete differences. Newer statistical approaches such as magnitude-based inferences have emerged that are providing more meaningful interpretation of fitness testing results in the field for coaches and athletes. Careful selection and implementation of tests, and more pertinent interpretation of data, will enhance the value of fitness testing in high-level basketball programmes. This article presents reference values of fitness and body size in basketball players, and identifies practical methods of interpreting changes within players and differences between players beyond the null-hypothesis.

An Athletic Arms Race

MYLES Brand, a fellow former university president, is a friend of mine. He is, I believe, a person of unquestioned integrity and high principle. But as president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), he has been asked to fend off an unruly mob with a switch. In the present environment for collegiate sports, his chances for success are slight, at best. What Brand and the NCAA face today is a very real arms race, one fueled by an insatiable appetite on the part of students, alumni, and the general public for college athletic success. Fiscal restraint is not frequently in evidence. New, multimillion-dollar facilities now seem to be the rule, rather than the exception. As Brand has told me, Institutions hold mortgages on burgeoning facility expansion that represents on average 20% of intercollegiate athletics spending. Too few understand that only a handful of major intercollegiate athletic programs actually make money (fewer than 15 at last count). Meanwhile, the rest struggle to break even. Despite television income, growing ticket revenues, and contributions from supporters, big-time college athletics is a high-risk business. Let us not forget that marquee football and basketball coaches are paid millions of dollars a year, many times over what is allotted to outstanding faculty members and administrators. Not too many years ago, the million-dollar coach was a rarity. That is no longer the case, with at least 50 of the Football Bowl of NCAA Division I (formerly Division I-A) head coaches annually earning $1 million or more. There were five in 1999. Coaches at the Bowl Subdivision schools are making an average of more than $950,000 a year. Brand has said that the salaries of million-dollar coaches have averaged 3.1% of the schools' football budgets. University of Alabama paid Nick Saban $4 million a year to return the Crimson Tide to the glory days of legendary coach Bear Bryant. Saban is being paid 9% of the Alabama football budget. Too many athletic departments rely on some form of university subsidy, a sore point with faculty members and elected state officials. A growing number of elected federal officials believe that athletic departments have more influence than they should and need to be reined in. Members of the House Ways and Means Committee are threatening to take action, because they believe college athletic programs have moved too far away from their original and intended purposes and in many instances are undercutting institutional missions. threat is real. Some members of Congress see today's major college football and basketball programs as professional-like in nature and substance and resent their tax-exempt status. Former University of Michigan President James Duderstadt has said repeatedly, The simplest way to characterize the problem with college sports is to recognize that it is a very profitable commercial entertainment business that is moving farther and farther away from the original academic purposes of the university. Any congressional intrusion is certain to be actively discouraged by college presidents and their trustees, who will argue that they are best able to regulate collegiate sports. And I believe a clear majority of the House and Senate members will be careful to end up on the right political side of the issue, because they realize the immense and growing popularity of college football and basketball with the voters. …

Effects of Wheelchair Basketball Program on Self-Efficacy and Satisfaction with Job of Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury

Effects of Wheelchair Basketball Program on Self-Efficacy and Satisfaction with Job of Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury