Purpose: We used systems theory with the structural, attitudinal, and transactional (SAT) model of peace building to explore coaches' process and content of change after receiving sport for development and peace (SDP) training in Tajikistan. Research methods: Six Tajik grassroots youth coaches from the Sport for Social Change Tajikistan (SSC-T) program participated in data collection over a four-year span. A longitudinal participatory approach utilizing interviews, journals, and guided discussion was analyzed using content analysis. Results and Findings: Data indicated that in early stages of the program, micro-attitudinal changes were being made by the participants, with more transactional changes over time with a hint of structural, macro-level changes in the schools and community at the four-year mark. More specifically, we identified five themes across time: (1) girls' involvement, (2) positive coaching approaches, (3) incorporation of peaceful living skills, (4) cultural awareness, and (5) collaboration and community impact.

Collegiate athletes face pressures that can exacerbate mental health concerns, including suicidal thoughts and behaviors and selfinjurious thoughts and behaviors. This case study examines the mental health challenges of Amelia Grace (pseudonym), a Division I collegiate volleyball player, highlighting the complexities of addressing mental health in the high-pressure environment of collegiate sports. The study focuses on Amelia's mental health challenges, particularly her suicidal thoughts and behaviors and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors within the context of collegiate volleyball, and evaluates the effectiveness of a tailored intervention grounded in existential psychology and the interpersonal theory of suicide. The interpersonal theory of suicide served as the theoretical framework to examine Amelia's experiences navigating mental health concerns. The intervention strategy combined existential psychological support with cognitive-behavioral techniques, emphasizing the development of coping strategies and existential growth. Amelia's case illustrates significant mental health challenges compounded by the demands of collegiate volleyball and academic pressures. Notably, the intervention led to improvements in the athlete's coping skills, a reduction in suicidal thoughts and behaviors and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors, and enhanced overall well-being. The case also highlights the critical role of supportive environments and targeted mental health interventions in collegiate athletics. It emphasizes the need for comprehensive mental health support systems tailored to the challenges athletes face. Through integrating existential psychology with evidence-based practices, the case advocates for systemic changes in collegiate athletic departments to prioritize and enhance mental health.

The purpose of this study was to investigate three propositions: a) What are the administration issues most pertinent to interscholastic sport today, as well as the next five years?, b) How important are those administration issues to athletic administrators?, and c) What are the potential implications of those pertinent administration issues to practicing athletic administrators? The literature provides a general overview of relevant issues surrounding interscholastic athletics. However, the importance and implications of relevant issues to practicing high school athletic administrators are difficult to discern. To answer the first proposition, the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) provided 10 contemporary administration issues that were most pertinent to interscholastic sport today, as well as the next five years. To answer the second proposition, a Likert-Scale was created so that practicing athletic administrators could rate each issue on a scale of 5 = extremely important to 1 = very little importance. A national study was conducted with athletic directors from the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (N = 170) annual conference. A one-tailed ANOVA was executed to determine significant differences among the 10 administration issues identified by the MSHSL. Four issues were found to be significant; Athletic Facilities, Athletic Training, Health Issues and Travel Teams. A Games-Howell post hoc was executed to determine significant differences across geographical regions of the United States. For the third proposition, semi-structured interviews were completed to provide insight on the implications for practicing athletic administrators. The results offer insight from which further investigations could be conducted to continue building on policies that influence interscholastic athletic administrators’ day-to-day accountability when overseeing their athletic programs.

As the commercialization of intercollegiate sport continues to grow, it is critical to understand how transitioning away from college athletics may impact student-athletes. Sport administrators, coaches, academic support personnel, and players should be aware of how athletic identity, unpreparedness, and a lack of social connection can drastically impact student-athletes postsport. Understanding the adjustment issues associated with transition away from sport is crucial in developing policies and support services to effectively help struggling student-athletes. Sport management students are particularly important in the transition because they will be at the forefront of programming efforts. In addition, sport management students need to be exposed to the issue of athlete identity and adjustment in order to act in the best interests of student-athletes. The discussion questions provide an opportunity for sport management students to critically evaluate these issues from a multitude of perspectives.

As sport specialization continues to shape the youth sport landscape, it is critical for sport management professionals, coaches, parents, and athletes to understand how this trend affects programming and policy development. While youth sport specialization often leads to increased athletic skill in an accelerated time frame, specialization can result in overuse injury, burnout, and delayed social development for children. It is essential that sport management students are aware of the trend in youth sport specialization and the various opportunities available to help educate/collaborate with stakeholders. Furthermore, students need to be exposed to youth sport specialization to better understand how to efficiently manage policy and programs involved in youth, and to understand contemporary research and theory leading to best practices.

Higher education in the United States, and sport management in particular, has faced contemporary attacks for its perceived lack of academic rigor. To investigate these criticisms, this study examined 830 students enrolled in 69 semester-long courses across four consecutive years in a single sport management program to measure perceived course rigor and its relationship to overall course ratings, course grades, and course level. Seven rigor questions were added to existing student ratings and distributed at the end of each semester. A factor analysis strongly supported the conceptualization of rigor utilized in the study. Pearson correlations indicated that student ratings and rigor were positively related. An ordinary least squares multiple regression also revealed that overall student ratings and course grades significantly aid in predicting course rigor. Pragmatically, the results suggest that sport management students appreciate rigorous courses and that faculty should strive to include elements of rigor into their courses without fear of retributional bias on student ratings.

Integration and consumption of sport are often used to build community identity, enhance health, and promote positive social interactions. Those benefits informed the purpose of this project, which was to integrate service-learning education and behaviors into a graduate sport management leadership course. Project L.E.E.P. (Leadership through Education, Experience, and Photovoice) benefitted local communities by providing an interactive service-learning project that was mutually beneficial to graduate students and surrounding community partners. Eleven graduate students in a sport administration leadership course partnered with different community sport organizations to execute a series of assignments designed to assess, plan, deliver, and reflect on more than 40 hr of sports service. Among those assignments was a photovoice project intended to capture service learning through the students' perspectives and give voice to the sporting needs of a community. This project aligned with the experiential learning approach in many sport management programs, as well as the societal and service benefits outlined in the North American Society for Sport Management's purpose and position statements.

Interscholastic football has the highest participation rates among high school students in the United States. The popularity and nostalgic connection of football is widespread, but competitive balance is often challenged due to differing characteristics of high schools. This study utilized the theory of distributive justice and data from high school athletic associations in all 50 states and District of Columbia to consider which variables (public/private status, school population, rural/urban location, geographical region, and policies) may impact competitive balance at the state-championship level of interscholastic football. The results confirmed that traditionally strong private schools generally located in the Midwest and Northeast win state titles at disproportionately high rates. No other variable was as powerful or significant as the public/private variable. The findings of the study also challenged the effectiveness of existing policies designed to curb private school success. These results can serve pragmatic efforts to ensure competitive balance within interscholastic football.

Parents are generally considered one of the strongest influences on interscholastic athletes. Unfortunately, empirical research identifying the most salient administrative issues associated with parents is scarce, leaving administrators to use anecdotal or dated information that is uninformed by empirical research. The current study bridged a gap in the literature by using a mixed-method design to identify which parent issues throughout the United States are most prominent to administrators. A national sample of interscholastic administrators (N = 170) from eight geographic regions revealed ten issues that are currently and predicted to be impactful five years into the future. The top three issues were Educating Parents, Keeping Athletics in Perspective, and Treatment of Coaches. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were then conducted with seasoned administrators to provide clarity on how these issues manifest themselves within interscholastic sport. Ultimately, this study offers a foundation from which further research and interscholastic policy can be influenced.

Tripartite efficacy refers to the beliefs of the individuals within a dyad regarding personal abilities (self-efficacy), the partner's abilities (other-efficacy), or relation-inferred self-efficacy. This efficacy model has recently gained popularity in sports research (Jackson, Whipp, & Beauchamp, 2013), although there has not been any longitudinal research on efficacy beliefs and performance within this complex intra-dyad tripartite efficacy model. In a case study, we examined six individual players on a high school basketball team to explore any longitudinal changes in these tripartite efficacy beliefs through a season of play. On seven data collection periods, players completed the Basketball-Tripartite Efficacy Measure, and their game performance statistics were analyzed with an objective basketball individual performance formula. We found similar variations between participants' other-efficacy beliefs and the dyad partner's basketball performance score as well as between self-efficacy and individual performance score. Observational data from this case study lend some support to spiraling of self-efficacy and performance from repeated successes or failures and to perceived efficacy-performance plateaus that have been previously demonstrated in controlled experimental research. Importantly, this study suggests the presence of other-efficacy beliefs in their relationship to other-performance and to spiraling relationships between other-efficacy beliefs and other-performance, which have not been demonstrated previously.

Disproportional state tournament success within interscholastic boys basketball has been the catalyst for competitive balance policies. State athletic associations adopt policies based on a variety of characteristics that often include public/private status. Using the theory of distributive justice as a framework, the purpose of this study was to determine the competitive balance landscape of boys basketball, as well as investigate which school characteristics most impact disproportionate success. Results indicated that private schools in the smallest enrollment classifications had the highest disproportionate success, urban private schools had the highest levels of sustained success, policies beyond enrollment classifications are largely ineffective, and predicting widespread success was not possible due to the nuances among states. The practical application indicates that national or regional competitive balance polices are not pragmatic, but urban private school success in smaller enrollment classifications should be one consideration for individual state policy development.

Competitive balance within interscholastic athletics in the United States is governed by state athletic associations. The policies derived by these associations vary by state and are meant to ensure high school athletic teams have an equitable chance of athletic success, especially in post-season tournament competition. Two specific policy types, recruiting and transfer restrictions, are often designed to safeguard against schools targeting specific athletes, or students choosing schools based on athletic motives. These policies are particularly challenging to create and enforce when private schools are involved, as private schools admit students differently than public schools and because private schools tend to have disproportionately high levels of athletic success. Consequently, legal cases challenging recruiting and transfer policies often include private high schools where violations of fundamental rights are alleged. A thorough review of such cases revealed that state athletic associations are generally supported by the courts to create and enforce recruiting and transfer limitations.

AbstractA widely accepted definition of academic course rigor is elusive within higher education. Although many conceptualizations of course rigor have been identified, both empirically and anecdotally, the need to operationally define and investigate course rigor is necessary given contemporary attacks on the quality of higher education. This article, part 1 of a two-part study, describes the three-phase process by which academic course and instructor rigor and corresponding rigor questions were defined and validated. Results revealed that five rigor components are critical to a definition of course rigor: critical thinking; challenge; mastering complex material; time and labor intensity; and production of credible work. These components were used to create questions distributed in 264 courses (2,557 students). The final phase of part 1 used factor analysis to confirm a strong one-factor solution, confirming the operational definition and corresponding rigor questions were acceptable to empirically evaluate course and instructor rigor.

A Football Bowl Subdivision college head coach position is desired in the American football coaching profession due to associated financial benefits, social network improvements, and prestige. The rise of an individual from player, to assistant coach, and eventually head coach, is primarily understood anecdotally. This empirical evaluation of head coaching attainment provided insight into the career progression of these important sport leaders. The purpose of this study was to assess prior experiences (e.g., playing and assistant coaching) of first-time Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football head coaches hired from 1998–1999 to 2013–2014 (n = 200). Data were collected to determine if the quantity of playing and coaching experiences indicated variance within or predictability for career attainment. The five experiential categories investigated were: Playing Experience, Coaching Experience, Affiliation, Coaching Success, and Descriptive Variables. Several significant predictors among the coaching variables emerged, including coaching experience, affiliation, and past coaching success. Playing experience variables were found to be largely non-significant, suggesting that career attainment of college football coaches does not hinge on playing experience.

While competitive balance literature is robust when addressing professional sport from an economic perspective, little empirical work has focused on understanding what shapes interscholastic competitive balance policies. Using the theory of distributive justice as a framework, the purpose of this multiple case study was to examine the perceptions of top administrators regarding sociocultural influences on interscholastic competitive balance. Qualitative interview data collected from six state commissioners/executive directors revealed four predominant findings: (a) policy is driven by a philosophical approach that is aligned with the theory of distributive justice; (b) an overemphasis on winning strongly influences policy; (c) political influence through legal threats and state educational policy shapes committee decisions; and (d) the prevailing challenges of policy creation include school size, geography, public/nonpublic status, tradition, sport-specific characteristics, and lack of knowledge. Implications of these findings are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of newly hired coaches in relation to their predecessors, and utilize the analysis to provide guidance to decision makers in college athletic departments. This study examined 185 coaching changes in Division I women’s basketball in 16 conferences between 2000 and 2009. Data were collected from online sources including institutional websites, media guides, and media articles. Latent class analysis was employed to reduce the data to one item per factor. Factors included demographics, coaching ability, coaching experience, past team performance, hiring factors (coaching level change, inside/outside hire, interim, conference affiliation), and institutional factors (public/private, demographic market area, enrollment, budget, and National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics standings). Mixed models analysis was performed to identify which categories have a relationship with changes in the number of wins following a coaching change. Results suggest that past team performance was the strongest indicator of future performance after a coaching change.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of newly hired coaches in relation to their predecessors, and utilize the analysis to provide guidance to decision makers in college athletic departments. This study examined 185 coaching changes in Division I women’s basketball in 16 conferences between 2000 and 2009. Data were collected from online sources including institutional websites, media guides, and media articles. Latent class analysis was employed to reduce the data to one item per factor. Factors included demographics, coaching ability, coaching experience, past team performance, hiring factors (coaching level change, inside/outside hire, interim, conference affiliation), and institutional factors (public/private, demographic market area, enrollment, budget, and National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics standings). Mixed models analysis was performed to identify which categories have a relationship with changes in the number of wins following a coaching change. Results suggest that past team performance was the strongest indicator of future performance after a coaching change.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of newly hired coaches in relation to their predecessors, and utilize the analysis to provide guidance to decision makers in college athletic departments. This study examined 185 coaching changes in Division I women's basketball in 16 conferences between 2000 and 2009. Data were collected from online sources including institutional websites, media guides, and media articles. Latent class analysis was employed to reduce the data to one item per factor. Factors included demographics, coaching ability, coaching experience, past team performance, hiring factors (coaching level change, inside/outside hire, interim, conference affiliation), and institutional factors (public/private, demographic market area, enrollment, budget, and National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics standings). Mixed models analysis was performed to identify which categories have a relationship with changes in the number of wins following a coaching change. Results suggest that past team performance was the strongest indicator of future performance after a coaching change.

Sport management programs often partner with intercollegiate athletic departments or community sport organizations to provide student volunteers. Motivating, satisfying, and retaining the student population may constitute a challenge for academic program stakeholders. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between motivation, satisfaction, and retention of volunteers at undergraduate sport management programs. Three hundred and twenty-two undergraduate students from five Midwestern institutions completed a 46-item questionnaire assessing their volunteer motivation, satisfaction, and retention. Results indicated students were predominantly motivated to volunteer by Love of Sport and Career motivation factors. Career, Social, Understanding, and Enhancement motivations significantly aided in predicting satisfaction, while Career, Social, and satisfaction significantly predicted retention. Implications for sport management academic programs and directions for future research are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of newly hired coaches in relation to their predecessors, and utilize the analysis to provide guidance to decision makers in college athletic departments. This study examined 185 coaching changes in Division I women’s basketball in 16 conferences between 2000 and 2009. Data were collected from online sources including institutional websites, media guides, and media articles. Latent class analysis was employed to reduce the data to one item per factor. Factors included demographics, coaching ability, coaching experience, past team performance, hiring factors (coaching level change, inside/outside hire, interim, conference affiliation), and institutional factors (public/private, demographic market area, enrollment, budget, and National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics standings). Mixed models analysis was performed to identify which categories have a relationship with changes in the number of wins following a coaching change. Results suggest that past team performance was the strongest indicator of future performance after a coaching change.