College and university administrator's attitudes toward the values of intercollegiate athletics at selected NCAA division I, II, and III institutions

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine college and university administrators' attitudes toward the values of intercollegiate athletics. The subjects for this investigation included college/university presidents, athletic directors, and faculty athletic representatives from each of the three divisional levels of competition comprising the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). A total of 214 administrators actually took part in the study. The instrument used for the data collection was a one-page questionnaire consisting of 31 Likert items. The inventory contained six subscales which were designed to make comparisons between and among various subgroups of administrators with respect to their general attitudes toward intercollegiate athletics. The validity and reliability of the instrument were properly established. Packets containing the questionnaire and a cover letter were mailed to selected respondents in the spring of 1985. A second mailing was also made to nonrespondents. Responses received from the two mailings were then prepared for computer analysis. The means and standard deviations were computed for each sub-group of administrators on each inventory item. Analysis of variance and subsequent Scheffe tests procedures were used to test the null hypotheses. Based on the results of the study, the following conclusions appear justified: (1) Present-day administrators at NCAA-affiliated institutions possess an overall favorable attitude toward the values of intercollegiate athletics. (2) Division I and Division II athletic directors possess a significantly more favorable attitude toward the values of intercollegiate athletics than Division III athletic directors. (3) There is no significant difference in the overall attitudes that Division I, II, and III presidents have toward the values of intercollegiate athletics. (4) There is no significant difference in the overall attitudes that Division I, II, and III faculty athletic representatives have toward the values of intercollegiate athletics.