Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics 

About: Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Athletes & American football. Over the lifetime, 132 publications have been published receiving 1736 citations.

The effects of sport participation on student-athletes' and non-athlete students' social life and identity.

Abstract: This study examined perceived athletic identity, sport commitment, and the effect of sport participation to identify the impact of athletic participation on college students. This study surveyed 163 student-athletes (59%) and 112 non-athlete students (41%) from a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division-I affiliated institution (males = 172, 62.5%; females = 103, 37.5%). The survey questionnaire was developed and modified from four well-established instruments, the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale, the Sport Commitment Model, the Life Roles Inventory-Values Scales, and Athletic Involvement on the Social Life. The data collection process was initiated and completed in the 2008 spring semester. Seven sub-factors: Personal Role, Importance of Sport, Personal Attributes, Expectation of Others, Core Benefits, Social Relationship and Special Behaviors, were identified through a series of factor analyses. The participants placed their athletic role highly and moderately agreed with the researchers’ proposed core benefits of athletic participation. Overall, the findings supported past research in regards to gender and year in college difference, influence in perceived athletic identity due to sport specificity, and benefits of sport involvement. Variation in participants’ responses based on different demographic characteristics, suggestions for improving current supportive programs, and direction for future studies are further discussed.

Academic Clustering: A Longitudinal Analysis of a Division I Football Program

Abstract: As NCAA Division I coaches feel greater pressure to produce winning teams while ensuring that athletes remain eligible and progress toward degrees to avoid sanctions under the NCAA’s academic reform initiatives, concerns regarding the clustering of athletes into limited numbers of academic majors has increased. Academic clustering occurs when 25% or more of the members of one team share a single academic major (Case, Greer, & Brown, 1987). Recent studies have extended the analysis of clustering to include the disparate impact on white and minority football players in a single athletic conference (Fountain & Finley, 2009), as well as consideration of female basketball players throughout Division I (Paule, 2010). To date, these studies have provided a snapshot of teams for a given season. This study extends the understanding of clustering by examining one football program over a period of ten years, which allowed for greater understanding of the movement of players into and out of majors, especially the movement into a clustered major midway through their academic experience. Media guides from one BCS football program were used to track the listed majors of 349 players, from 2000 through 2009. Results indicated that players migrated into a single clustered major over time and that a significant number of touted recruits and National Football League draftees selected the clustered major. Further, players who had listed general education (University Studies) in their first media guide appearances frequently selected the clustered major.

Intercollegiate Sport and the Environment: Examining Fan Engagement Based on Athletics Department Sustainability Efforts

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine how environmental education efforts at a sporting event related to environmental behavioral intentions, in the context of a promotional green game, based on value-belief-norm (VBN) theory. A total of 2,700 respondents, who attended an intercollegiate Division I football game with an environmental sustainability promotional theme, completed an online survey. Structural equation modeling was applied to examine the linkages between values, beliefs, norms, and behavioral intentions. The results found that a majority of fans recognized or participated in green game game-day activities and fans expected athletic departments to incorporate environmental sustainability actions and education in athletic events. Tests of the VBN model found respondents’ values, beliefs, and norms significantly predicted pro-environmental behavioral intentions at the sport event and everyday life. This was the first study to examine environmental education related to fan behavior in a sporting context. The findings provide evidence that through environmental education, sport organizations may impact fan environmental behavior intentions, further emphasizing the importance of environmental educational actions by sport organizations.