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Black Coaches Trying to Make It in a White-Dominated Industry: College Football and the Racial Divide
ABSTRACT
Sport participation among Black student-athletes has steadily increased throughout the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) over the last two decades. The number of Black head coaches in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) College Football, however, has remained stagnant and in many years declined (18). Research has stated that the presence of a defined glass ceiling, discrepancies among Blacks and Whites with regard to social capital (social mobility), and factors of intent and interest in becoming coaches have been integral in preventing many Black coaches from pursuing positions as head coaches in college football. Through the use of narrative, this research contributed to the scholarship in this area by providing anecdotal evidence that hurdles still exist for Black coaches, but changes are also occurring that statistics may not reflect. The story of Charlie Friemont, a graduate assistant aspiring to become a college head coach, demonstrates how the aforementioned factors impact his career choices. Many of his experiences align with the previous literature and have impacted him both negatively and positively in his career pursuits. In addition, Charlie’s story introduces a new factor that may impact the trends of this issue in college football.
INTRODUCTION
Charlie Friemont entered the football offices at State University (SU) with strong, brisk strides wearing neatly pleated dress pants, a well pressed polo shirt tucked into his slacks, and a leather-bound notebook under his arm. He shook hands with a firm grip and sat cross-legged across a small table in the running backs’ office. As he sat back in his chair, he smiled and gestured that he was ready to begin the interview. Charlie was an enthusiastic and confident graduate assistant with the SU’s football team. In the spring of 2011, he was in the midst of his first season of spring practices at SU, working with the offense and special teams. During the busy in-season period, 16 to 18 hour workdays were routine. In addition to his football responsibilities, Charlie juggled the rigors of a demanding master’s program that was a requirement of his position. Charlie, a former student-athlete, was one of 6,178 Black student-athletes competing in football at an National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) school in the fall of 2003 (29). That same season there were only four Black head football coaches in all of the FBS, accounting for 3.3% of the population (18). Charlie, admittedly, was pursuing a career in an industry that has been dominated by White males (28).
After finishing an undergraduate degree in Media Arts, Charlie accepted a position at a large sports television broadcasting company in the northeast. It was his exposure to certain media practices, specifically a diverted attention to players’ personas rather than their on-field accomplishments, which inspired him to consider an alternative vocational option. “It was getting away from what the guy was doing on the field to more personalizing the athlete,” Charlie explained. “It was always who’s getting in trouble? Who’s making mistakes off the field? Who’s making a fool of themselves on the field?” Inspired to help student-athletes, Charlie left media to begin a career in college football coaching.
Like other Black coaches before him, Charlie immediately faced stereotypes that would impede his progress toward his ultimate goal of becoming an offensive coordinator. According to Lapchick (19), of the 266 possible offensive or defensive coordinator positions in the FBS, only 30 were held by Black coaches. Ironically, one year prior to Charlie embarking on his high school playing career in the spring of 1993, Anderson (1) published a study that would, unbeknownst to Charlie, forecast his college playing career and eventually his coaching aspirations. The study found that Black athletes were often moved to subordinate, or non-central, positions like running back or wide receiver in favor of their White counterparts who were cast in leadership roles such as quarterback and offensive line (1). At his undergraduate institution, Charlie’s coach noticed “he runs around a lot, so he has great feet” and moved him from quarterback, the position he played throughout high school, to running back, a position he had never played before. Anderson (1) further noted that former quarterbacks and offensive linemen were more likely to obtain assistant coaching jobs at those same positions upon entering the profession, which was viewed as a “pipeline” to a coordinator position. Over a decade and a half afterwards, Finch, McDowell, and Sagas (10) asserted a similar position. As Charlie came onto campus as an aspiring coach years later, he was approached about what position he preferred to coach and was told, “You want to be a coach? What position did you play? ‘Well, I played running back because I didn’tget a chance to play quarterback.’ Now you’re the running backs coach.” Once again, Charlie was pigeonholed.
This examination proposed that a glass ceiling, perpetuated by hiring practices influenced by tradition and racial discrimination, has inhibited increased diversity among coaching staffs within the FBS. Specifically, this article demonstrated the impact stereotypes have had in shaping the perceptions and experiences of an aspiring Black coach who was pursuing a position in the coaching industry. The purpose of this study was to analyze those perceptions and apply the findings to a better understanding of obstacles similar aspirant Black collegiate football coaches face.
LITERATURE REVIEW
According to the NCAA Student-Athlete Ethnicity Report (29), Black participation percentages in all divisions of the NCAA increased from 1999-00 to 2008-09. It is within the revenue-generating sports of football and men’s basketball where Black student-athlete representation is highest and has helped drive the increase in overall percentages. In 2008, 47% (6,644) of the participants in FBS football were Black, which was more than two percent more than their White counterparts (44.8%) (29). Although a higher percentage of Black participants existed, the total number of Black head coaches at FBS schools at the end of 2008 was seven (20). At the end of the 2010 football season, 16 Black (2 additional minority) head coaches held the head coach position at FBS schools, which was a historical high-water mark for the NCAA,but was still only 15% (19).
Much of the literature determined racial stereotyping and discriminatory hiring practices as the determinant to the distinct discrepancy in the percentage of Black participants to the percentage of Black head coaches in the NCAA (1, 5, 7, 10, 22, 24). Among the stereotypes presented by scholars, intellectual inferiority, athletic superiority, professional ineptitude, and temperament pervaded as Black coaches continued to struggle to obtain central coaching positions (26).
Glass Ceiling
The concept of a glass ceiling, as it pertains to this topic, refers to artificial barriers that preclude persons without power (i.e., minorities, women) from advancing into managerial positions (5). Treatment discrimination is a functional effect of the glass ceiling and has contributed to job dissatisfaction among subgroups (24). Essentially, inferior parties, in this case Black coaches, become disenchanted with the profession because of sustained mistreatment and a defined cap on hierarchal success. In some scenarios participants would no longer view the activity as enjoyable and the resulting loss of interest would be termed “burnout” (3). Literature suggested that the perception of a glass ceiling and subsequent job discontent created greater turnover, which negatively impacted organizational loyalty and job involvement (5). A comparatively smaller frequency of achievement subsequently hindered the foundation of strong Black networks that was already present among White coaches.
As central decision-makers, head coaches in intercollegiate athletics, specifically football, normally made hiring decisions for assistant coaching vacancies on their staff (6). It was those same assistant coaches that eventually provided a viable pool of candidates for open head coaching positions at other institutions or at the current school (1, 10, 25). The inference can then be made that if Black coaches are not being hired in leadership positions, they do not have the opportunity to hire other minority assistant coaches, thus creating a glass ceiling due to institutional racism (24).
Some scholars believed that institutional racism was a derivative of homologous reproduction, which is stated as the propensity of members of a leadership group to hire and promote within similar social and physical characteristics of themselves (15). Kanter (15), Knoppers (16), and later Mullane and Whisenant (22) tested homologous reproduction as it related to race and gender in the workplace. Cunningham and Sagas (6) argued that this theory contributed to racial inequity in intercollegiate athletics. In all of the studies except for Mullane and Whisenant (22), homologous reproduction was found to have significant influence on hiring practices (6, 15, 16). Cunningham and Sagas (6) stated the hypotheses that White head coaches hired predominantly White assistant coaches and Black head coaches, accordingly, hired primarily Black assistant coaches was statistically relevant. It could then be inferred that those that hold leadership positions, and subsequently make hiring decisions, influence the demographical makeup of a coaching staff.
Fink, Pastore, and Riemer (11) described the majority leadership network in intercollegiate athletics as “white, Protestant, able-bodied, heterosexual males” (p. 13). Employees that did not possess similar characteristics were a much smaller subgroup and often experienced negative work experience (5, 11). This dynamic allowed the authoritative group, in this case White males, to assert control. In the case of Black coaches, the glass ceiling acted as an inhibitor in career ascension due to the lack of upward mobility in the coaching ranks and the cyclical affect perpetuating the phenomenon. Ultimately the glass ceiling has profoundly impacted the coaching landscape in college football.
Social Mobility
Sartore and Cunningham (26) stated, “membership does indeed have its privileges, individuals not belonging to this network will not reap many associated benefits like information exchange, challenging work tasks, promotion, etc” (p. 72). The above stated referred to social mobility, which is described as an alteration in social standing that involves amendments to social environment and life conditions (27). Sport participation has facilitated this movement among select Black student-athletes, creating an upward mobility for a concentrated group of participants in revenue-generating sports (27). The reality is, however, that Blacks faced sport segregation through the 1950s, which inhibited high participation percentages in many sports (3). Coakley (3) further noted that Blacks participated in a small range of sports, but because those sports were notable in the United States, the under representation of minorities went unnoticed. In essence, the lack of an established administrative network has prevented Black coaches from obtaining leadership positions based on race. The challenge that was once related to participation has, in part, subsided, but has remained for Black coaches and administrators.
A contributing concept to social mobility is social capital theory, which Day and McDonald (9) defined as “resources embedded in networks” (p. 138). The authors argued that Black coaches received greater benefit than White coaches in utilizing social capital, provided they extended their network to include other White coaches and administrators (9). However, some scholars determined that Black coaches did not share the same benefit of social capital as White coaches (25). One causative factor to this has been the prevalence of “stacking”, which is stated as the migration of Black participants into non-central positions, while White participants occupy the majority of leadership positions (12). Elements of stacking, such as discriminatory hiring practices and racial stereotyping, were found to be some of the determining factors that impeded career ascension for minorities (25, 26). Stacking, as a practice, has contributed to this issue due to the collection of networking opportunities allowed to student-athletes participating in central positions. Social capital is accumulated through, not only participation, but participation in integral positions (8). Though social capital was a principle cause to career immobility among Black coaches (25), discrimination and furthered adherence to stereotypes created a prominent limitation for mobility among Black coaches (5, 13-14). In effect, Black coaches have struggled to infiltrate the White dominated field of coaching, which has prevented them from founding a social network that ultimately assists in job placement and ascension.
Intent and Interest
Cunningham, Sagas, and Ashley (7) examined the effects of affective commitment, dealing with the function of wanting to do a task as it related to occupational commitment. Coaches that have high affective commitment in coaching subsequently have less intention of leaving the profession (7). Cunningham (5) noted that only 1/3 (N = 93) of the Black student-athletes he examined in 2003 had interest in becoming a college coach. However, intent and interest are certainly related but they are not the same (5). Brown and Lent’s (2) examination of social cognitive framework delineated interest as an affinity toward an area. Conversely, Cunningham (5) noted that intent was a purposeful pursuit of, in this case, an occupation in coaching. The difference was seen in the number of Black student-athletes that pursued careers in coaching. Those student-athletes that entered the industry had high intent and interest in coaching. However, those who stated they were interested in becoming a coach but chose a different profession may have had high interest, but ultimately had low intent (5).
The examination of intent and interest is vital for two primary reasons. First, it brings to light the possibility that Black student-athletes are discouraged from entering the profession due to the prior knowledge of discriminatory hiring practices. Secondly, demonstrating intent validates interest as student-athletes consider possible career choices post-participation, which is especially important when measuring perception. According to Cunningham (5), Black student-athletes were aware of the differences in racial percentages among coaches and those disparities negatively impacted the intent and interest of these student-athletes in pursuing coaching positions.
Conceptual Framework
Finch, McDowell, and Sagas (10) expanded on Anderson’s (1) delineation of the dynamics of coaches progressing through the hierarchy of the industry. They noted that assistant coaches provided the most viable pool of head coaching candidates and, more specifically, particular coaching positions present expedited ascension to higher coaching jobs. For example, a quarterback or linebacker coach would receive preference for a vacant offensive or defensive coordinator position over another position coach like running backs or defensive backs coach. Offensive and defensive coordinators are then generally viewed as the prerequisite positions to becoming a head coach. Black coaches have been traditionally underrepresented in these secondary roles, which has limited their ability to ascend through the ranks. This concept is referred to as institutionalized racial discrimination (1, 10).
Expounding upon these assertions, this study incorporated Sagas and Cunningham’s (25) conceptual framework, which expanded on Anderson’s (1) initial findings to outline career success, human and social capital, and discrimination based explanations for the lack of minority representation among football coaches. The concept of career success is best viewed for the purposes of this study as hierarchal, extrinsic, and intrinsic success within the coaching profession. Black coaches were essentially failing to achieve success reaching a desired level of coaching or were not benefiting from their participation intrinsically or extrinsically, so they left the profession. Human capital theory refers to the educational, experiential, and opportunity based resources available to coaches. The social capital theory details the accessible network built on personal relationships. Both theories are derivatives of opportunity, or lack thereof, that coaches utilize to attain better jobs. Lastly, discriminatory explanations simply provide examples of practices that have contributed to racial inequity. The application of these ideologies influenced the understanding of the elements involved in discriminatory hiring, but also gave weight to the perceptions of an aspiring coach that was in the midst of the process.
METHODOLOGY
The narrative of Charlie Friemont is a glimpse into the social reality of college football coaching, which through story inform us of a greater meaning (18). This method was chosen to allow the reader to put Charlie’s experiences with coaching into historical context. Narrative gave the researcher the opportunity to explore the axiomatic discourse of this culture and shed light on an individual’s perception of this ongoing issue (23). Previous inquiry on this topic has been predominantly quantitative (1, 10, 25-26) and scholars that have extensively examined race in coaching suggested more qualitative exploration in this area (25). Narrative was chosen as the most appropriate method to capture the individual experiences of a person heavily invested in this topic (4), in this case Charlie Friemont. This study should be viewed as an individual’s confrontation with inequality and a starting point for furthered understanding about how it has shaped the coaching industry. As Merriam (21) suggested, “Stories are how we make sense of our experiences, how we communicate with others, and through which we understand the world around us” (p. 32).
Participant
State University (SU) is a perennial top 25 program in the country and has produced numerous professional athletes, both White and Black. The football team is a member of a highly competitive conference in the Southeastern United States. Charlie is in his first season as a graduate assistant with SU’s football team. He is a Black male that previously played the sport at another FBS school. He acknowledged that coaching is his career goal and has been involved in the profession at the graduate assistant level at multiple institutions. At the time of this inquiry, Charlie was the only Black graduate assistant working with the football staff. His experience participating in college football, as well as pursuing a full-time coaching position rendered his opinions of the current landscape of Black coaches in the FBS relevant.
Data Collection
Data was collected during four individual interviews conducted by the researcher over a two week period in the spring. Additionally, one field observation was made at State University spring football practice and another at a team scrimmage. The first two interviews were one-hour in length. Two additional 45-minute interviews were conducted during the football team’s spring practice. Each of the interviews was conducted in Charlie’s office. Observations of Charlie’s interactions with coaches and student-athletes were conducted over the course of a half hour each. Field notes were taken and recorded onto a Microsoft Word file. The interviews were recorded with an audio recording device and were also transcribed onto a Microsoft Word file.
Data Analysis
The transcribed interviews and field notes were coded and analyzed by method of meaning condensation. Meaning condensation requires “an abridgement of the meanings expressed by the interviewee into shorter formulations” (17, p. 205). The transcripts of the interviews were preliminarily reviewed by the researcher allowing for initial assignment of themes. Passages were then drawn from the data and given more abbreviated categorical designations related to the aforementioned themes. Finally, the researcher reviewed the entirety of the data and aligned meanings to the concepts.
Trustworthiness
Several steps were taken to ensure reliability in the data. An extensive review of the literature pertaining to the topic was performed prior to data collection. Multiple interviews were conducted with Charlie, which established both a working rapport and a detailed view of his professional setting. Detailed field notes and observations were also assembled by the researcher to further triangulate the data. Extensive efforts were made to thoroughly document and appropriately handle the data collection process. A precise audit trail was used to maintain the integrity of the research. Names and implicating information were omitted to make certain participant confidentiality was maintained. Member checking was also performed as Charlie reviewed the manuscript before it was submitted for publication.
FINDINGS
During this investigation with Charlie, State University (SU) hired a Black head coach for its basketball program. Basketball, the only other revenue-generating sport in the NCAA, has similarly lacked diversity among its head coaches. Charlie, sharing his reaction to the news of the new coach, gave a guarded response. “I think it speaks volumes to saying that we’re giving [Basketball Coach] an opportunity, but he doesn’t even know what the opportunity is, much less do we.” Charlie sits back in his chair, folding his arms and a wry smile comes across his face as he adds, “I think it would be probably unheard of to have a 33 year old African-American head [football] coach at [State University].” There is undoubtedly an understanding of the challenges he faces in pursuing his goals ofbecoming an offensive coordinator. The obstacles, he acknowledges, are no different than those of other aspiring coaches, except the consideration of the stereotypes associated with race. “The stereotypes just tend to keep showing up and there’s not a lot of progressive thinking going on.” Charlie’s insight into the factors deterring Black coaches from entering and sustaining positions within the coaching profession rendered three themes perceptions of racial discrimination, persistence of an elitist fraternity, and burnout. Additionally, a fourth theme emerged that may indicate a shift in the trends associated with the aforementioned factors. The theme is titled positivity and new success.
Perceptions of Racial Discrimination
During his college playing career, Charlie was persuaded to switch from quarterback, the position he played in high school, to wide receiver and eventually running back. “He should be an athlete that we can move to receiver or running back or safety,” he recalls of the general sentiment coaches had of him and other athletic, Black quarterbacks. He reveals that his perception of the stereotype of Black student-athletes was that Black players were often too versatile athletically. Their athleticism allowed coaches to decentralize these student-athletes and insert their White counterparts into those desired positions like quarterback. He went on to draw parallels within coaching as well. “A lot of the stereotypes go back to the same stereotypes that coaches get.” Charlie elaborates, “Exceptionally talented [Black] quarterbacks in high school that have to run the system that their high school coach teaches him. They don’t get the opportunity to learn, so he’s labeled as he can’t learn this.” Sitting back in his chair, Charlie continues to talk about the way Black coaches are labeled as unable to learn. Basically, they have never been exposed to certain systems or styles of play. If they are not privy to the knowledge, it is exceptionally challenging to try to learn from decentralized positions.
The position of quarterback is often deemed the face of the football program. His belief is that most institutions would prefer the traditional model of a statuesque White quarterback that aligned with societal ideals. Although Charlie concedes that size was the principal factor preventing him from playing quarterback, he notes that other Black student-athletes encountered additional barriers. “Young men culturally express themselves different by the way they look, their hair, the artwork on their bodies; the tattoos. Do you want that to be the face of your program?” In his opinion, cultural expressions often caused Black student-athletes to be exiled to positions outside of the public eye in concurrence with the institution’s preferred message.
Charlie’s move from quarterback to wide receiver and running back is evidence that the concept of stacking impacted his career. Admittedly though, he was skeptical about its impact on his particular situation. “It’s all a fraternity and it’s all about who you know and the opinions of who you know are going to come from people you trust. I think it’s about the product that you put on the field.” Some of Charlie’s objection to this theory involves the evolution of coaching and how Black coaches relate to Black student-athletes. As more coaches are able to move into leadership positions, the more difficult it is to state stacking is prevalent in college football. “Coaches have been conscious of not trying to stack because of the appearance of when you’re going torecruit,” Charlie says. “If you’re going to walk into a Black family’s house and they say ‘Hey, who’s on your staff? Where’s the Black coach down here to relate to my son?’ It would look a little odd.” Black student-athletes are aware of the makeup of the coaching staff and it is Charlie’s belief that if there was an unbalance it would be evident.
Throughout Charlie’s playing career he endured countless injuries that often kept him off of the field. The circumstances that led to him being unable to compete also allowed him to dedicate time to studying the game and assist with various aspects of coaching. It was during these occasions that Charlie discovered the dynamic of the student-athlete/coach relationship, which was regularly impacted by race. He found that student-athletes related to coaches differently. Certain student-athletes felt more comfortable with specific coaches and that connection, or in some cases disconnect, was generally motivated by race. “Different styles of coaches influence players in different ways,” explained Charlie. “There has been, for a long time, a cookie cutter image of a coach. Players look at it like, ‘ahcoach, man, he’s kind of weird, he’s not cool, he doesn’t relate to us.’” Black student-athletes could relate to Black coaches, but there was usually a detachment from the White coaches on staff, who predominantly held the head coaching or coordinator positions.
As Charlie sat and discussed the imbalance of Black head coaches that held positions in college football, he rhetorically assessed the current landscape of Black offensive coordinators or even quarterbacks coaches, at any level. The room deafening with silence, Charlie was sitting in his chair pondering the answer to his own question. He paused, shook his head and finally gave a response, “I can’t. I can’t even think of any.” Even Charlie, a current coach, could not name one Black offensive coordinator or quarterbacks coach in either the National Football League (NFL) or college football. “The stereotypes just tend to keep showing up and there’s not a lot of progressive thinking going on.” As a Black man that is aspiring to become an offensive coordinator, these are the challenges Charlie is faced with.
Fraternities
Charlie’s dad was his football coach in Little League, but nobody in Charlie’s family had ever coached in major college football prior to his attempts to break into the industry. In some respects, coaching is viewed as a family business and those fortunate to have relatives that have been successful in coaching, open doors for younger generations looking to get into the business. Charlie does not have that luxury, but has taken note of the landscape of the industry.
Head coaches become head coaches because they’re in an elite group. There’s an elite status with being a head coach. And I think to back it up a little bit further, to get into the game of coaching, it’s like any other type of fraternity, there’s ways that you can get in, but normally it’s seen as a grandfathered type of system. And with America and the way that it was built, of course it would be dominated by the White male.
Tradition, more specifically a practice of doing things a certain way because that is the way that it has always been done, has quietly manipulated the system. Key contributors to the perpetuity, Charlie believes, are institution’s sports boosters. Boosters, who are financial contributors to an institution’s athletic department, will safeguard their investments by exercising their influence on the program. Similar to the quarterback representing the face of the program, a head coach can and often will act in that same role on a larger scale. The universities and colleges, who are desperate for financial backing, will work diligently to accommodate the expectations of their wealthy supporters. “Your boosters are always going to have an influence. When you’re speaking about those people, they have their own elite fraternities and the familiar faces in those elite fraternities aren’t minorities.” Affluent boosters are predominantly older White males and, similar to the above mentioned student-athletes, relate to coaches with similar backgrounds.
Another concept that Charlie introduces to the fraternity establishment is what he refers to as the “tree concept.” Essentially, the tree concept is a coaching lineage that binds coaches with other coach’s successes or failures. In other words, if Charlie spends four seasons working under one head coach, he will then take on, in many respects, the reputation of that coach. For instance, if State University wins a national championship this year in football, Charlie will be seen as a commodity because he coached on a staff that experienced the highest level of success. Conversely, if the head coach is found to have violated several NCAA bylaws and has a reputation of attracting negative attention, Charlie will be stigmatized by the coach’s characterization.
What we’re dealing with now and the topic that we’re on is all about opportunity. It’s all association in this game and it’s who’ve you aligned yourself with and who you’ve had the opportunity to work with that somehow deems that you’ll be successful at some point. The perception from the periphery, the media, the fans and all that is basically going to say, were you with someone successful or were you not?
Charlie uses the “Bill Belichek tree” to reinforce this statement. As head coach of the New England Patriots, Belichek has produced a number of coaches that have gone on to take coaching jobs in the NCAA and elsewhere in the NFL. The perception is that these coaches have a certain pedigree for success and will bring that same success to their new organization. He then pauses and says, “We’re just starting to see it now with Tony Dungy and the slew of people that have come from him and where he’s come from.” Dungy was the first Black head coach to win a Super Bowl and has been given credit for starting his own coaching tree, which consists of other Black coaches such as Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers), Lovie Smith (Chicago Bears), and Jim Caldwell (former head coach of the Indianapolis Colts). He admits that it is progress, but the Black coaching trees are still in their infancy.
Burnout
Coakley (3) defined burnout as the point that “stress becomes so high and fun declines so much that a person decides to withdraw from a role or activity” (p. 644). Scheduling a time to meet with Charlie was not an easy task during spring football practices. The only time the interviews could be conducted was during lunch time on Fridays. Each time Charlie arrived for an interview, he would be hustling out of a staff meeting eager to move onto the next thing in his day. “You would think, with the hours we work, we were actually curing cancer,” Charlie quipped. In the spring he worked 16 to 18 hour days, which he admitted could have been longer if it was not necessary for him to sleep. Unlike the rest of the coaches on the staff, except for the only other coaching graduate assistant, Charlie also has togo to school during the week. Part of the responsibilities of being a graduate assistant was working toward obtaining a master’s degree in exchange for tuition reimbursement and a position on the football coaching staff. Charlie confessed, “You can’t cheat the work by any means.” In both arenas, school and coaching, his production is readily exposed and he must be diligent in both to sustain his position.
In the spring of 2010, Charlie left his previous graduate assistant position to take the graduate assistantship at State University. Including his playing career, the coach at SU was his fourth head coach that he worked under and he willingly admitted that the turnover affected his production. He referred to the language of the game and the demand to master the language so that the entire staff could remain cohesive on the field. “Football has a language of its own and it changes on every different staff. So, breaking that barrier of language is just like the English language.” Charlie was working with the offense and he praised the efforts of his offensive coordinator for his diligence in bringing the entire staff along at the same pace. He also underscored the necessity of adapting to a new staff. He does,however, warn that at other schools, coordinators, and even head coaches can be guarded with assisting other coaches.
You’re limited in what you know because of what you’re exposed to. That’s the challenge. I think our offensive staff does a really good job of being vocal and everyone is exposed to what our quarterback sees. We talk a lot about throwing mechanics and things like that. Our coordinator does a really good job of that. I can’t really say that we promote pigeonholing knowledge to everyone on the staff here. You know, I think a lot of staffs do.
Working towards a master’s degree, learning his fourth “language”, trying to climb up the coaching ladder, and all the other salient responsibilities were part of Charlie’s everyday life. “There have been plenty of coaches that have jumped into coaching and are out of it in a year or two.” He continued, “A lot of it’s just accepting coaching football. It’s some intense, long hours and it’s not for everybody.”
Most student-athletes, once they have exhausted their eligibility, will have played the sport of football for nearly 18 years. Charlie started playing football when he was five years old. Early on in his life he made a conscious decision to dedicate a majority of his time to learning the game and maximizing his opportunities to participate in whatever capacity he could. “You have to think, you finish playing football at 22-23 years old, that’s 18 years that you’ve invested in a game.” Charlie’s enthusiasm for the game is evident in his passionate tones and his drive to be successful. However, participating as a coach is not the same as participating as a player, which is a struggle for some former student-athletes who are looking to become coaches. “If you were 18 years of investing in Nuclear Science, when you finish college, ‘hey what do you want to do? Go play football? No.’ You want to go into Nuclear Science.” In effect, these coaches have further pigeonholed themselves into this profession, which has been a factor in burnout.
Positivity/New Success
In the researcher’s findings, a notable fourth category emerged with Charlie that separates from the previous literature. As mentioned before, Charlie was relentlessly enthusiastic about anything that dealt with football and coaching. This final theme is attributed to the positivity, persistence, and hope for change engrossing Charlie that will, in his mind, revolutionize the coaching profession.
When Charlie left media to enter the coaching ranks, he did so because he saw a growing misrepresentation of student-athletes, especially Black student-athletes, in the media. He saw how television highlight shows and radio talk shows would primarily focus on the persona of an athlete rather than the accomplishments of the athlete on the field. He wanted to prevent student-athletes from providing media outlets with damaging material to broadcast from the ground level of coaching. In choosing to pursue this career, Charlie said he was aware that coaching was a White-dominated industry and that “he did his homework.” His secret to success has been, “I just try to stay positive through it and not let it weigh me down,” as his smile widened and he began to chuckle. “It’s not like I was the cause of it or something.” His optimism, he believed, can inspire change.
Charlie’s positivity has also fueled his persistence. He did not have an opportunity to play in the NFL after his college career, but that did not discourage him from remaining in the game. So when he was asked, why do you keep coming back to work every day? He simply responded, “I love it. I love football.” Of course that response was a simplistic version of the real answer, but he did eventually expand on that thought.
We’re trying to put our hands on people that are going to affect society at some point. I’m tired of hearing all of the negative and whatever I can do in my little part I want to. Then, you know I love football, so it’s two parts of one being around the game and one being around motivated people.
He believes that being around young people has kept him young in spirit as well. Charlie’s perception of the role of a coach went much deeper than the “X’s and O’s” of football. He viewed his role as a coach as someone that would instill the appropriate values in a student-athlete, which he needed to become a successful man, not just a successful athlete.
As Charlie stood on the sideline during an SU spring practice session, he attentively watched the first-team offense run a play. The running back who had just carried the ball came over to the sideline after the whistle had blown and the team reset for the next play. As the student-athlete came to the sideline, he removed his helmet and dropped to one knee with his head gear supporting his opposite side. Charlie turned and positioned himself directly in front of the student-athlete, bent over and with a hand on his shoulder pads spoke to him with intent. The conversation was one-sided with Charlie doing all of the talking. When he was done, the student-athlete stood, towering over the shorter Charlie, put his helmet back on and patted his coach on the back. The student-athlete had received ample coaching and Charlie turned to watch the next play. This exchange was one of many similar that was observed of Charlie during the scrimmage. In fact, at times it was extremely difficult to distinguish the difference between him and the other full-time coaches on staff.
As Charlie continues to work with his student-athletes in improving their character, he is also continuing his efforts to change opportunities for Black coaches. He understands the obstacles that lay before him and other minority coaches, but he believes that over time progress will be made. He attributes this belief to the impact research can have on the industry and the effect of, what he calls, “new success.” He says, “Believing in new success or believing that there can be new success, that’s huge. That’s huge believing that there can be new success and when there is, accepting it.” Charlie’s reference to new success is his belief that, as Black coaches accumulate greater accomplishments, there will be a higher propensity for diversity in the coaching profession.
DISCUSSION
After discussing the dynamics of the coaching profession with Charlie, it is clear that his perception is that most aspiring Black coaches are aware of the glass ceiling and that it has contributed to the determent of prospective coaches in the industry. Factors that have added to the racial inequity in college coaching include a failure to attain career success, a lack of human and social capital, and discriminatory actions against Black coaches (25). Charlie’s experiences with each of these factors is further evidence that Anderson’s (1) and Finch et al.’s (10) updated argument that Black coaches are limited in their ascension within coaching was accurate. It is the idea of new success that Charlie introduced that is most intriguing regarding this research.
Positivity and new success are elementary concepts, yet have not been applied to the coaching industry in this capacity. In a way, this theme is the antithesis of burnout, referring to the dissatisfaction of an aspiring coach. However, it is arguable that positivity and new success has to do with genetic makeup of the coach and his mindset toward the profession as a whole. Charlie entered the coaching profession because he noted a trend of players being misrepresented in the media. His purpose in his coaching pursuit was to make a difference in student-athletes’ lives. His positive predisposition allowed him to stay and flourish within his job, which may be a factor not present in coaches that previously participated in similar studies. The findings of this research indicate that attitude may heavily impact the success and perception of Black coaches in the industry.
Assistant football coaches have a regimented order in which they ascend up the coaching ranks (1, 10). As a graduate assistant, Charlie is in the first stage of this process. His challenge is making the leap from graduate assistant to running backs coach and eventually to quarterbacks coach, a position he aspires to hold in the short term. As Charlie came on to his undergraduate campus, he was a quarterback. After his coach moved him to wide receiver and eventually running back, he lost ties to the original position that he desired to play. Charlie’s coach moving him to a position with less leadership responsibility is common for Black student-athletes (26). That experience alone may have set Charlie back in his progression towards his goal. As he reemerged as a graduate assistant, he was pigeonholed again as a graduate assistant running backs coach and was working with that position at the time of this study.
Although Charlie did not feel that stacking was a current practice in college sport, there was evidence that he was subjected to the practice during both his playing and coaching careers. Essentially, stacking is moving Black participants, in this case student-athletes, into non-central or non-leadership positions (12). In addition, Day (8) argued that those groups that were susceptible to stacking would have noticeably lower social capital, a necessity in ascending in the coaching industry. Charlie was moved from a central position, quarterback, to non-central positions, wide receiver and running back. The same phenomenon is seen in the coaching landscape with the majority of Black coaches holding the non-central positions of wide receiver, running backs, and defensive backs coaches. White coaches, conversely, are in leadership positions such as offensive and defensive coordinator and head coach. The tension lies in the opportunities, or lack thereof afforded to Black coaches.
The concept of burnout is fascinating when applying it to coaching football. Charlie was not alone working those 16 to 18 hour days. Some of the coaches on staff were known to sleep in the office during busy times. Burnout can certainly impact any coach, regardless of race. However, it is interesting to compare burnout with White coaches as opposed to Black coaches. A White coach, who aspires to become a head coach, could potentially put in years of working 80-plus hour weeks. His regimen could include traveling all over the country, sleeping in hotel rooms, and separation from his family. The same could be said for a Black coach, except the White coach is more than five times more likely to achieve his goal of becoming a head coach (7). As Charlie demonstrated, he is aware that Black coaches are not given the opportunity to reach the pinnacle of coaching as often as White coaches are. For those who aspire to become a head coach, the realization that this goal is nearly impossible to attain underlies why coaches leave the profession. It is also an indication why former Black student-athletes do not enter the profession to begin with.
IMPLICATIONS, LIMITATIONS, AND FUTURE RESEARCH
Charlie’s story is an example of many flaws in the system, as it relates to opportunity. The Black student-athlete as an “athlete” has their growth in leadership positions inhibited. Charlie had exceptional athletic ability and was persuaded to move to a different position to fill a void. Although he had the measurable attributes necessary to play quarterback in college, he also had elevated attributes in other areas that made him marketable at wide receiver and running back. Essentially, his versatility hindered his opportunities to play quarterback. Once he was moved to a different position, he was pigeonholed in that position moving forward through his playing career and into coaching, thus creating a cycle for the student-athlete that demonstrates exceptional athletic ability.
The effect of placing these student-athletes in a pigeonhole is that they are limited in attainable knowledge as they progress in their career. For example, a wide receiver will only learn the nuances of the passing game, while the quarterback necessitates a wider skill set of knowledge (1, 10). Once a former receiver or running back enters coaching they are assigned to a position they did not want to play, but the only one they have enough experience in to coach. Couple those factors with a lack of mentoring and guarded colleagues; there is a reasonable understanding as to why there is so few Black coordinators and head coaches.
A few limitations existed in this study. Charlie’s story, although supported by theory, was a singular example of these practices. His story is relevant to further understanding the perceptions of Black coaches, but is limited in its ability to generalize throughout FBS football. Also, the interviewer in this examination is White, while Charlie is Black. Though Charlie did not seem uncomfortable divulging in his experiences, he may have been more comfortable speaking to a researcher of the same race. Similarly, the interviews were conducted in Charlie’s office. He was forthcoming in his answers and did not seem to hesitate in addressing sensitive topics, but discussing this topic in that setting may have caused him use restraint in his responses.
Charlie, himself, calls for a need for additional inquiry on this topic. As the percentages of Black coaches increase, perceptions of the glass ceiling may change as well. In addition, there is a similar discrepancy in college basketball between Black participants and Black coaches. As the only other revenue-generating sport in the NCAA, basketball warrants further examination on this topic as well. While there is quantitative work in this area, there is a need for further qualitative research on this topic. Therefore, a case study involving a larger group of aspiring Black coaches would render more findings important in forwarding our understanding.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
For “Charlie” and him accomplishing his dreams.
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Female Representation within Intercollegiate Athletics Departments
ABSTRACT
The experiences of female employees have differed from males with regard to access to and ascension through a sport organization. Numerous structural and cultural factors could impact these experiences. The purpose of this study was to gain insight from females employed in intercollegiate athletics administration in order to identify factors that have impacted female representation within this field. Eleven females employed at three NCAA Division I institutions located in the Southern United States participated in this study. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The framework for this study was shaped by social role and role congruity theories. Participants attributed work-family conflict, gender ideologies, and informal social networks as factors that have influenced female representation within thisprofession.
INTRODUCTION
Sport has been labeled the “generic preserve of men” because many sport organizations have been male dominated, especially with regard to management of these organizations (30, 7). Most managerial positions have been occupied by a Caucasian, Protestant, able-bodied, heterosexual male (14, 28). On the other hand, female presence in managerial capacities within sport organizations has not been as widespread.
Explanations with regard to reasons why females have not held the majority of management positions in sport organizations have been offered. One explanation is that sport organizations are settings that often reflect societal attitudes and beliefs (2, 25, 17, 23). Society has traditionally characterized females as caring, good at organizing, and domestically oriented (6). They are also perceived to be empathetic communicators but are not aggressive nor are they “big picture” thinkers. Conversely, it has been argued that males hold managerial positions because society perceives men as natural leaders who have the ability to see the overall vision of an organization (28). Although females have held management positions in numerous sport organizations, the practice of placing them in roles thought of as“appropriate” to their gender has been argued to occur as a result of these attitudes (21, 26, 27). For example, appropriate positions have been described as those related to “housekeeping” roles of management. These roles have been described as those not requiring proficiency in leadership and decision-making but rather emphasizing caring and empathy (12, 11).
The influence of socially constructed meanings associated with gender and perceived congruity or incongruity between these meanings and role fulfillment could also be useful in explaining female representation within sport organizations. Aggressive, ambitious, dominant, forceful, independent, self-sufficient, and self-confident are characteristics attributed to masculinity. On the other hand, caring, kind, and sympathetic are characteristics attributed to femininity (11). Since males are expected to be dominant and aggressive, they would be assumed to be compatible with roles connected to directing others. Since females are expected to demonstrate kindness and sensitivity, they would be assumed to be compatible with roles that involve caring, nurturing, or giving support (9, 8). If an individual fulfills roles that alignwith socially constructed characteristics of masculinity and femininity, role congruity has been achieved (10). Conversely, incongruity would exist if the individual fulfilled a role that did not align with socially constructed masculine or feminine characteristics. As a result of these assumptions, individuals in decision-making capacities at sport organizations might hire and/or promote an individual based on perceptions of congruity between the individual and the role that must be fulfilled.
The field of intercollegiate athletics administration was selected for this study because little research has been devoted to an understanding of why women are underrepresented in key leadership positions in college athletics (24). Overall, females hold nearly 36% of the administrative positions within intercollegiate athletics departments in the United States (1). Although there is a presence of females in this profession, they are present in various roles and operating areas to a larger extent than others. With regard to the position of athletics director, females hold approximately 20% of athletics directors’ positions at NCAA Division I, II, and III institutions (1). Female representation in the athletics director position is lowest at NCAA Division I institutions. These institutions typically incur the highestoperating costs and generate the highest revenues from ticket sales, merchandise, and television contracts (7). Approximately 11% of athletics directors at such institutions are female.
Within this profession, there are certain operating units that are directed in large part by females and others that are directed in large part by males. For example, sports information and operations are areas where males have occupied the vast majority of leadership positions. Sport information directors are responsible for overseeing the maintenance and dissemination of statistical data compiled during athletics competition. Operations directors are primarily responsible for the coordination of maintaining athletics facilities. Approximately 88% of sports information directors and approximately 87% of facility/operations directors at NCAA Division I, II, and III institutions are male (19).
On the other hand, females are represented to a greater extent than males within other operating areas. Academic advising, compliance, and student success/life skills are areas in which the highest percentages of females serve in leadership capacities. Academic advisers and life skills coordinators assist student-athletes with creating their course schedules and help prepare them for life after graduation. Compliance directors ensure the athletics department is compliant with NCAA regulations. Nearly 62% of academic advising units within NCAA Division I, II and III athletics departments are lead by a female. Approximately 54% of all compliance coordinators are female. Lastly, nearly 72% of life skills coordinators are female (19).
In summation, females have a significant presence inside numerous operating areas within the profession of intercollegiate athletics administration but are largely absent from others. In order to gain further insight into possible reasons that have resulted in various levels of female representation in this setting, the perspectives of females employed in this environment were sought. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to gain insight from females employed in intercollegiate athletics administration in order to identify factors that have impacted female representation within this profession.
METHOD
Participants
Because the purpose of this study was to investigate female intercollegiate athletics department employees’ perceptions of factors affecting female representation within their profession, it was important to select participants who could help the investigators achieve this purpose. Purposeful criterion sampling was the first strategy utilized in order to acquire participants for this study. Within purposeful criterion sampling, all cases must meet some pre-determined criterion of importance (22). A second form of purposeful sampling, homogeneous sampling, was utilized. Homogeneous sampling includes selecting similar cases in order to describe some subgroup in depth (16). Female administrators who were employed at intercollegiate athletics departments fit the desired criteria and were selected for this study.
Eleven females employed at three NCAA Division I institutions located in the Southern United States participated in this study. The ages of the participants ranged from 25-53 years. One participant identified herself as African American. Ten identified themselves as Caucasian. Five worked at university “A,” three at university “B,” and three at university “C.” One athletics director, one associate athletics director, one assistant athletics director, and two coordinators from university “A” participated. One associate athletics director, one assistant athletics director, and one coordinator from university “B” participated. Lastly, one assistant athletics director and two coordinators from university “C” participated.
Several operating areas were represented within the participant pool. One of the associate athletics directors was in charge of financial operations. The other associate athletics director oversaw facility and event operations. Two of the assistant athletics directors were in charge of marketing/promotions and one of the assistant athletics directors managed development and fundraising initiatives. Three of the coordinators directed the compliance programs within their respective departments. Two coordinators managed student-athlete academic services.
The length of time each participant was employed within intercollegiate athletics varied. The athletics director served in this field for just over 30 years. The associate athletics directors’ length of service varied from 15 to 20 years. The assistant athletics directors reported lengths of service between six to 12 years. The coordinators were employed in this profession between three and seven years.
Data Collection
After receiving institutional review board approval, the process of acquiring participants began. Potential participants for this study were located through an initial search of each institution’s athletics department web site. Each female administrator in the department was invited to participate in the study via a written letter. The purpose of the study and time commitment associated with participation was provided. Recipients of this letter were asked to respond with their interest via e-mail and were informed that follow-up correspondence would occur via e-mail in the event a response was not received. Six recipients responded to the written letter. The follow-up e-mail was sent approximately two weeks after the initial letters were mailed. Five additional employees agreed to participate after the follow-upe-mail was sent. These eleven individuals were contacted a second time via e-mail in order to arrange an interview at a time and date convenient to them.
Data focusing upon participants’ perceptions of factors affecting female representation in this profession were collected through qualitative measures. This method of inquiry was utilized in order to obtain descriptive data that would allow for a better understanding of the factors participants perceived as significant with regard to position fulfillment in this profession. The data collection method in this study was a semi-structured interview. Interviews were audio taped and lasted between 45-60 minutes. Participants were interviewed individually. When possible, interviews were conducted in a face-to-face format. Several participants were not available to meet in person for their interview. In those cases, interviews were conducted over the telephone. Interviews were conducted in a conference-call style in a securelocation so that only the investigators could hear the participants’ responses. The interview began with a series of pre-formatted, closed-end questions. Examples of closed-end questions included: “How long have you been employed in the profession of intercollegiate athletics administration?” and “What operating areas have you worked in as an employee within this profession?”
As the interview progressed, the investigators encouraged the participant to elaborate on their experiences as well as share their perspectives. Throughout the interview, probing questions were asked in order to obtain further detail and elaboration from the participant. An example of a question that was designed to encourage further elaboration was “Why do you believe females are represented in various operating areas within intercollegiate athletics departments more so than others?” The goal associated with asking these questions was to gain insight into factors they perceived were significant with regard to employment trends and opportunities for females within this profession. Upon completion of the interview, participants were asked debriefing questions. In addition, they chose a pseudonym. All names usedin this study were pseudonyms selected by the participants.
Data Analysis
Interviews were transcribed verbatim. Analytic induction was the approach that was utilized in this study in order to analyze interview data. An inductive approach is utilized when some specific problem, question, or issue becomes the focus of research. When utilizing this approach, the researcher does not attempt to prove or disprove hypotheses held prior to entering the study (4). The primary focus of this research was not to prove or disprove a hypothesis but rather gain insight into female intercollegiate athletics administrators’ perceptions of factors that have affected female representation in their profession.
After the interviews were transcribed, open and axial coding was utilized in order to sort the interview data into categories. Coding is a method of sorting descriptive data that has been collected so that it may be more easily referenced and retrievable at a later time (4). Open coding was the first activity that was practiced in this process. Basic concepts and themes were identified and the data were broken down, examined, and compared. During the open coding process, the authors identified keywords and statements that reoccurred in the interviews.
Once these reoccurring keywords or statements from the interviews were located, the next step was to place this content from the interview data into various categories. Axial coding was utilized in order to reassemble the data that were broken down during the open coding process. Through axial coding, categories were established and then refined in order to further organize and form a precise representation of the participants’ perceptions with regard to factors that have affected female representation within intercollegiate athletics administration.
Upon completion of the open and axial coding processes, a constant comparative method was utilized. A constant comparative method of data analysis entails the simultaneous process of coding and analyzing in order to develop emerging themes (15, 29). As data were analyzed, it was constantly reviewed to ensure the emerging themes accurately reflected the participants’ responses.
An important component of qualitative inquiry includes establishing trustworthiness (16). This process entails utilizing various procedures in order to convince the reader that measures were taken to ensure the material s/he is reading is consistent with what the participants actually said and experienced (22). Trustworthiness can be accomplished through a number of techniques. The techniques of peer debriefing and member checking were utilized in this study.
Peer debriefing includes external reflection and input into the researcher’s work (16). Two colleagues experienced in qualitative inquiry examined the transcripts as well as the manuscript and subsequently provided feedback. These individuals confirmed the content in the manuscript was an accurate representation of the content in the interview transcripts.
The process of member checking allows participants to confirm their statements were reported accurately (16). Each participant was provided with a copy of the transcript and manuscript. Participants were requested to analyze the documents in order to ensure their statements were reported accurately. All of the participants responded to a request for feedback and indicated their statements in the transcript and manuscript were recorded accurately.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The purpose of this study was to gain insight from female athletics administration employees in order to identify factors that have impacted female representation within intercollegiate athletics departments. Three themes emerged from the participants’ responses. The themes were: (a) work-family conflict, (b) gender ideologies and the “natural” fit, and (c) male dominated social networks.
Work-family Conflict
Females often assume the majority of domestic responsibilities in the household. In order to be perceived as committed to an organization, however, employees are expected to manage their domestic responsibilities in such a fashion so that they do not interfere with work responsibilities (18). Maintaining domestic responsibilities while fulfilling occupational responsibilities could be especially difficult because the employee might be required to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as well as travel frequently (5).
Work-family incompatibilities were repeatedly stated as a reason why participants believed females hold few of the management positions within various operating areas. Several participants indicated that extended hours and travel are significant aspects of their jobs and mentioned that females who work in this profession oftentimes leave because the quantity of hours spent on occupational obligations prevents them from fulfilling their domestic responsibilities. In order to stay in the profession, many female employees have elected to not start families of their own. Keri was a compliance coordinator within her department. She discussed how senior administrators in her department who have been in the profession for a number of years are single. She attributed their longevity to the fact that they have minimal domesticresponsibilities. She said,
I think for a lot of women, where it becomes important is do you want a family or a career?
I think one of our senior administrators out of 4 or 5 is married. I had a female boss at
another school and she didn’t get married until she was 40. She’s a senior manager, but for
40 years of her life it was either have a family or have a career, which is ultimately what it
comes down to.
As mentioned earlier, females working in this profession are represented within several operating areas more so than others. Academic advising, compliance, and student services have the highest percentages of female representation (19). A reason that was given with regard to why females are employed in these operating areas results from the schedule associated with particular positions. Lisa, an assistant athletics director in charge of marketing activities, acknowledged that females with families of their own manage these operating areas more often than others because of the required work schedule. She said,
Positions such as academic advising that don’t require you to travel or work on weekends
may be more appealing to women who are also mothers. I would also say that women that
don’t have families are more likely to take positions that are not overly represented by
women.
The demands of the profession and potential work-family incompatibilities that could occur might not only cause many females to leave the profession but also prevent them from entering. Barbara was the athletics director in her department. She believed the occupational demands prevent many females from seeking employment in this field. She said,
The hours, the travel, the time doesn’t necessarily compute to a normal life. It is not a job
that is for everyone and it seems to me that the women we’re turning out in these sport
management programs, the students who get their degrees, they look at our jobs and very
few of them say ‘this is what I want to do.’
In summation, social role expectations are such that females are expected to assume domestic responsibilities to a greater extent than males (23). Many jobs within intercollegiate athletics administration make fulfilling domestic responsibilities difficult because an irregular schedule and frequent travel is often required (5). According to the participants, work-family incompatibilities prevent many females from entering into and/or remaining in the field. If they do, it is often in a position where the schedule better allows for the fulfillment of domestic responsibilities.
Gender Ideologies and the “Natural” Fit
Various assumptions with regard to gender and the fulfillment of employment roles exist within various sport organizations (28). It has been argued that certain positions are more appropriate for male employees whereas others are more appropriate for females (3). Within intercollegiate athletics departments, female representation is higher in some operating areas than others (19). For example, an area where female representation is high is academic advising for student-athletes. As a result of traditional gender ideologies and normative social roles, this position could be thought of as a natural fit for female employees. This is because females are assumed to be caring and nurturing and the advisor is often called upon to provide guidance or help nurture a student-athlete (26). Since congruency is perceived to exist betweenthe nature of the job and the nature of females, they might be thought of as better suited than males for this position.
Participants in this study were asked to provide their perspective as to why positions in certain areas are predominately held by females. Rebecca was the compliance coordinator within her department. She identified congruency between feminine attributes and the tasks associated with the position as a reason why females are more likely to be employed in areas such as academic advising. She said, “I think women are more caregivers and nurturers and they are naturally a better fit for some of those areas. You’re caring for student athletes and helping them develop. I think it fits with the nature of women.”
Elaine was the coordinator of academic services within her department. She also identified congruency between feminine attributes and required job tasks as a reason why females are present in such roles to a greater extent than males. She stated, “Academic advising is thought of as taking care of the kids, so to speak. Typically that type of thing lends itself towards getting a woman to do that.”
Rebecca and Elaine were two participants who did not view the possibility of gender ideologies influencing the fulfillment of certain positions within this profession as problematic. On the other hand, Maria expressed concern with this outcome at her institution. Maria was an associate athletics director in charge of facilities and event operations. She was concerned with the thought processes that result in the paucity of females within certain operating units and their abundance in others. She said,
My biggest concern is that there are tracks that they (females) are being hired for. You look
at a lot of schools and it seems that the top academic person is a woman and your top
compliance person is a woman if there are any women at all. I question if women are being
put into tracks that they think are female areas, taking care of kids so to speak. What I fear
is typecasting. You know, “this is a woman’s job.” Doing academic stuff. What I wish
would happen is that women are represented in every position across athletics programs.
Several other participants believed gender ideologies and position fulfillment have served to the detriment of female employees in this profession. Looking forward, however, participants perceived that gender ideologies influencing perceptions of natural fit as well as fulfillment of positions are disintegrating. Within this changing environment, participants felt that females are receiving stronger consideration for positions in operating areas where they have been previously underrepresented. Lori, the compliance coordinator within her department, stated,
I think it (the practice of hiring females for certain tracks) was sort of a reflection of society
where that was the case 20-25 years ago. I think it’s the same mentality that women are
teachers or nurses and that women should do academic support and some of the more care
and nurturing positions within an athletics department. I think that has to do with societal
perceptions about what women’s roles are but I don’t feel like that’s the case now. The
women I work with now are in the business office or the marketing or communications
office so I don’t feel like there’s a place now where they’re saying ‘that’s not an
appropriate place for a woman.’
In summation, gender ideologies were perceived as a factor that shaped female representation in this profession. The impact of gender ideologies upon position fulfillment in this profession resulted in higher levels of female representation in areas where caring and nurturing were perceived as significant job elements. Although gender ideologies were perceived to have affected female representation, participants perceived changing mindsets have resulted in increased female representation in operating areas that have been largely occupied by men.
Male Dominated Social Networks
Sport organizations such as intercollegiate athletics departments have traditionally been male dominated and have served the interests of men. Coakley (7) argued that females do not have strategic connections and networks to compete with male candidates for many upper level administrative positions. Informal networking could provide employees with valuable information and insight to aid in the advancement of their careers (20). Furthermore, membership within an informal network could help an individual access a position or promotion while lack of membership in such networks could prevent this access (24). Historically, white males have possessed those connections and held membership in the “old boys” network. As members of this network, they enjoyed preferential treatment in the hiring process or were givenpositions as a result of relationships they possessed with other members of this network (20).
The influence of informal networks upon female representation emerged from participants’ responses. Specifically, its effect upon the presence of females in upper level managerial positions (e.g., athletics director) was commented upon. Participants acknowledged that hiring practices benefitting members of the old boys network still exist; however, they perceived these practices occur with less frequency than before. As intercollegiate athletics programs have grown, they identified a shift from hiring someone based solely on a personal connection to someone who is qualified to run a department has occurred.
Sarah was an associate athletics director in charge of financial operations in her department. She has worked in this profession for just over 20 years and has seen changes in the way athletics departments fill vacancies. She acknowledged that the old boys network still exists but perceived that fewer vacancies are now filled through this network. She stated,
Rather than seeing where you used to have a good old boy network, picking their buddies
to fill various roles, now you’re seeing applicant pools and search committees utilizing
outside networks and resources for people to look for qualified candidates and that sort of
thing. I think it still exists to some extent and there are certain administrators that would be
very comfortable in hiring people they know. Do I think that’s the way the future of this
business is going? No. Everything I see is that people are taking more of a professional
approach to the business.
Barbara has worked in intercollegiate athletics administration for over 30 years. She also acknowledged the old boys network is still present but stated that hiring on the basis of a personal relationship has declined. The reason behind this was because the growth of athletics programs into multi-million dollar operations dictated the acquisition of personnel who could successfully run the department. She said,
I believe it’s still alive. I don’t know it’s alive and strong. I think it is decaying in some
ways because we don’t matriculate old coaches up any more. I think at one time you could
get a job if you knew the right people and it didn’t matter if you were qualified for the job.
I don’t believe that’s true anymore. Athletics today is not just looked at as being sport; it is
looked at as being a business. So now you’re bringing people along, whether they are male
or female, to execute the business at hand.
In summation, the presence of informal networks limited past opportunities for females in this profession. This was especially prevalent in the fulfillment of upper level positions such as athletics director. Participants perceived these networks have weakened and additional upper level administrative opportunities for females resulted. Although female representation is lower in the role of athletics director as opposed to various operating areas, participants were optimistic this position could see a greater level of female representation as objective measures are increasingly utilized in order to fill vacancies.
CONCLUSIONS
A number of factors were identified with regard to position fulfillment among females within intercollegiate athletics administration. First, incompatibility between occupational and domestic obligations was identified as a reason that has limited female representation within various operating areas. This was most evident in areas that require working irregular schedules and frequent travel.
Second, gender ideologies were identified as a reason why females are employed within various operating areas more so than others. Females have been assumed to be a better fit for positions where exercising feminine attributes are important (28). Participants perceived that females are more highly represented in areas such as academic advising and student services because the attributes needed to effectively fulfill the position in these areas are congruent with characteristics such as nurturing and empathy, which are commonly perceived as feminine.
Third, the presence of informal networks was perceived to affect female representation, especially in the athletics director position. Intercollegiate athletics programs have traditionally benefitted male applicants because of the presence of the old boys network. Although these networks have impacted position fulfillment in the past, participants perceived these networks are weakening as the process of filling vacancies has become more objective.
APPLICATIONS IN SPORT
Circumstances that affect opportunities for females in this profession should be critically examined on an ongoing basis. Fink (13) stated, “We must continue to examine the issues of gender and sex diversity in sport organizations in order to make these organizations accessible, comfortable, and beneficial to all” (p. 147). Shaw (26) also advocated for ongoing critical inquiry of these issues because of the impact they could have upon organizational effectiveness. Furthermore, Coakley (7) stated that sport organizations “must critically assess the impact of male dominated/identified/centered forms of social organization” (p. 254). Continued critical inquiry on this topic is needed because of the effect it could have upon an organization as well as the experience of the individual employee.
A potential limitation associated with this study is that single interviews were conducted with each participant. It is possible that participants’ perspectives will change over time. For example, participants who did not see certain trends as problematic at this time might feel differently if they were passed over for a promotion for which they felt qualified. A suggestion for future research is to conduct longitudinal studies. These could reveal changing perspectives over the course of a career.
Lastly, further examination of perspectives and experiences of current employees could be beneficial to those who are interested in pursuing a career in this profession. By learning from those who are already employed, individuals who possess an interest in entering this profession could be better prepared for the challenges and circumstances they might encounter. Ideological thinking will continue to exist and requirements inherent to particular jobs in this profession will remain. By conducting ongoing critical inquiry within these environments, however, it is hoped these efforts will be useful in uncovering thought processes and subsequent hiring practices that have affected female representation in this profession.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
None
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Intercollegiate Athletics vs. Academics: The Student-Athlete or the Athlete-Student
ABSTRACT
Athletic programs at many colleges and universities are inconsistent with the school’s mission statements. The term “student-athlete” basically
means that they are students first, and then athletes. We have reached a point here it can be argued that they are instead more athlete-students.
Regardless of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules and regulations that stipulate that they are not allowed to, some student-athletes still receive
preferential treatment and extra benefits while in college. Some recruited athletes are not prepared for the cascade of academic college work along with the additional
demands that NCAA athletics require. The athletic pressures that accompany NCAA athletic scholarship can leave the unprepared student athlete with little time
for academics.
With collegiate athletics becoming a big business the rules associated with how we treat the student athlete must change. It is not unreasonable to suggest
that is the business of college athletics changes then the way we treat the student athlete must change as well. Something needs to change in the way the
NCAA conducts its business. Considering the large amount of revenue that is, and for the foreseeable future will be, generated each year in this industry,
it is only fair that some sort of a stipend system be put in place to compensate student athletes.
Athletic programs at many colleges and universities are inconsistent with the school’s academic missions. The focus on maintaining a strong athletic
program has taken precedence over the scholastic quality of the student-athlete that is accepted into the institution. For the student-athlete this can mean
lowered academic admissions standards and preferential treatment in school. On the other hand, many student-athletes are attending college but not learning,
and are being overworked and undercompensated (Ting 2009). Overall the issue here is about the big business that intercollegiate athletics has become versus
the academic missions of the colleges and universities. The term “student-athlete” implies that the individuals should be students first, and then athletes. We
have reached a point where it can be argued that they are instead more athlete-students.
History/Background
Athletic programs were first incorporated into institutions of higher learning for several reasons: it was believed that participation in sports helped to
build character, it provided entertainment, and it generated positive school and community spirit. “It was also believed that athletics could contribute
to the institutional mission through resource acquisition in the form of money, widespread visibility, increased student enrollment, and enhanced alumni support”
(Gerdy, 2006, p. 46). However, it seems that ever since collegiate athletics began in the late 1800’s, there have been noted problems. In the first
organized collegiate football game Rutgers University beat Princeton, but the team included three players that were failing a math class (Igel & Boland,
2010). Over time, the problem has grown: in the 1980’s 57 out of 106 Division IA institutions (54%) had to be censured, sanctioned, or put on probation for
a major NCAA rules violation (Mandel, 2007). Fifty eight out of one hundred and fourteen did the same in the 1990’s (Friday, 2011). Because of the
current state of most intercollegiate athletic departments, particularly those belonging to the NCAA Division I, colleges and universities have become more
than just institutions of higher learning; they are now also huge players in the commercial entertainment industry (Clotfelter, 2010).
Overall, many athletic programs have become something bigger than the school itself; without the program’s success the schools would not be as attractive
to incoming students (Pope &Pope 2009). The success of these athletic programs lies in the hands of the student-athletes, and they need to be taught that success
on the field does not always mean success in the classroom or in life. Athletics should be extracurricular to the academic priority (O’Toole, 2010).
The Athlete-Student
It is not a question of whether or not the experience for a student-athlete is different from that of a traditional student. Instead, the issue at hand
here is whether or not student-athletes are students that participate in extracurricular competitive sports, or have become athletes that also go to classes whenever
their athletic schedules allow. On one hand, it can be argued that the student-athlete benefits greatly from the relationship that he or she has with the athletic
department and its stakeholders. On the other hand, many claim that the athletic departments have reached a point where they are unjustly exploiting
and overworking
these athletes, using them to further grow their multimillion dollar corporations.
Some student-athletes still receive preferential treatment and extra benefits while in college in clear violation of the spirit of NCAA rules and regulations..
Colleges and universities routinely lower admission standards for athletes (Laderson, 2002) (Bracken, Scoggins & Weiner 2006). On average, student-athletes enter
in the bottom 25% of their freshman class (Eitzen, 2000). They may even be promised “grades” to get them to attend a particular institution. (Lumpkin,
2008) Some might argue That such unethical behavior would not be necessary if student athletes were encouraged to hold their studies as their highest priority.
Student-athletes also receive extra benefits in the form of money and gifts as rewards for attending a particular university or for a good game-time performance.
Many athletes do not attend college to learn, but rather hope to use their collegiate competitive athletic experience to land positions on professional sports teams
(Ladenson, 2002). They have a distorted idea of what it should mean to be a student-athlete, and believe it to be more like a required minor league that
allows them to get enough exposure to someday make it to the major leagues. With the focus on athletic competition and away from academics, collegiate athletics
has become simply one game after another, after another, devoid of a larger educational purpose or vision, just like professional sports (Gerdy, 2006).
Recruited athletes are not prepared for college work, and then even more athletic demands than they are accustomed to, are placed upon them that allows little
time for academics (Gerdy, 2006) (Ting 2009). Student-athletes entering their first year hold more responsibilities than the non-athletic participating student,
and it may be more difficult for them to transition through changes in athletic participation demands on top of the new social and academic changes. McEwen
(2010) conducted a study using a sample of eleven freshman female student-athletes that were interviewed at the beginning and then the middle of the season. He
found that although all successfully adapted to their new social and athletic lives, only two of eleven (18.2%) were able to transition academically as well.
Athletes spend 30-40 hours per week on their sport which is mentally and physically exhausting, allowing them little time or energy to put toward their studies.
This is one of the reasons why coaches tend to require they take “easy” courses and “easy” majors so that they have a better chance of maintaining
academic eligibility and can still compete (Eitzen, 2000) (Manzo 1994). By promoting an emphasis on athletics being more important than anything else in college,
this also sends a poor message to the future college student-athletes, that athletics provide a “get rich quick avenue from the realities of hard
work, personal sacrifice, and a commitment to excellence” (Haynes, 1990 PAGE NUMBER HERE!). This could not be further from the truth; however, as less
than one out of ten thousand athletes make it into professional sports (Haynes, 1990).
Collegiate athletics has been estimated to be a sixty billion dollar industry (McCormick & McCormick, 2006). It is interesting to note who benefits from
this enormous amount of money. The big conference coaches are allowed agents and sign contracts that bring them hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars
per year in salary alone. The NCAA and the universities benefit from the billions of dollars made and do not have to pay taxes on their earnings as they are claiming
that athletic functions are in line with their academic missions. Corporations and the media benefit as they get business from the exposure at the athletic
events. The student-athletes are the only group involved that are not able to benefit proportionally from the billions of dollars raked in each year.
The NCAA claims that student-athletes are classified as such for a few very important reasons. First, athletes need to be able to claim amateur status.
They do this by remaining academically in good standing and by also not receiving any pay or gifts for their performance or presence as a student-athlete. This
way the NCAA can require them to perform work as athletes for free because it is considered part of the educational mission, which also means that they do
not have to pay taxes on their profits (Eitzen, 2000). McCormick and McCormick (2006) claim that student-athletes at Division 1 NCAA sports at revenue generating
schools are actually employee-athletes and they argue that they should be able to profit as well. The NCAA revealed that football players devote more than
forty hours a week to practicing, playing, and training, but only twenty of those hours are mandatory. This means that putting in the extra hours is a well-known
but non-documented requirement. Being required to participate in any work over forty hours a week is the equivalent to a full time job (Smith, 2011). Like
no other industry in the U.S., the NCAA is allowed to employ one type of labor (athletic participation and performance) without paying a competitive wage for
it (McCormick & McCormick, 2006). The student-athletes instead are provided with scholarships to attend school, which is a positive, but in comparison to
the billions of dollars brought in every year, the tuition money is equivalent to payment in ‘peanuts.’ The student-athletes are being exploited
economically, making millions for their institutions, the NCAA, and other corporations but are provided only with a subsistence wage or room, board, tuition and books.
The long hours that the student-athletes are required to put in are due to the athletic department’s attitudes of having to “win at all costs.”
This can lead to heavily publicized athletic scandals of schools that will pay athletes in money or gifts to attend their schools, or grade changes in order
to keep athletes academically eligible (Lumpkin 2008). Fans and stakeholders of big time programs would rather win and later get busted for cheating than
finish 8-4 or 9-3 every year with a straight-laced program of student-athletes (Mandel, 2007).
Discussions/Solutions
Eitzen (2006) suggests some ways to correct the current state of intercollegiate athletics in order to align the departments with their respective institution’s
academic missions. He suggests that institutions should no longer make admissions exceptions; eliminate freshman eligibility; provide remedial classes and training;
reduce time demands; allow athletes the freedom to transfer schools whenever they would like; give them the right to consult with agents just like coaches
are able to; and give them the right to make money from endorsements, speeches, etc. Smith (2011) suggests that all scholarship athletes should be able to receive
a guaranteed undergraduate education including living expenses, for each year that they participate as an athlete on a varsity team, which they should be
able to redeem at any time. This would allow them to focus on their sport if they choose to do so. At a certain point, taking the sport to the next level
will either pan out or it will not, and at that time the offer should still be on the table for the athlete to complete their degree. The NCAA has been
somewhat receptive to changes regarding the compensation of student athletes. A reform agenda has recently been passed by the NCAA’s Division I board
of Directors that allows schools to increase aid and lengthen scholarship terms to individual athletes (Cohen 2011).
CONCLUSION
Collegiate athletics has become a big business, but athletes are expected to stay the same? How can they be expected to be responsible for contributing to
the growth of a multibillion dollar industry but be the only party to not see any benefits from it (Toma & Kramer, 2009)? Balance needs to be maximized
between academic and athletic programs. If we are going to refer to individuals as student-athletes then they should indeed be held to the highest standard
of both student and athlete. Something needs to change in the process of how the NCAA conducts its business. The NCAA is going to have to admit that the
requirements for a student-athlete, particularly in Division 1 revenue producing sports, are the equivalent of that of a full time job. Considering the huge
amounts of money that are generated each year in this industry, it would only be fair if the student-athletes were all paid a monthly stipend for their participation.
Focusing on the “athletic” aspect of being a student-athlete more than the “student” is unfair and will limit the experiences that
the student-athlete should have while enrolled at the college or university of their choice. In order for the student to be well-rounded, programs must
focus on the concepts of self-sufficiency, independence, and personal goal getting (Haynes, 1990). Almost all student-athletes will end up as a professional in
something other than sports. It needs to be ensured that the students will succeed off the field as well as on the field (Smith, 2011). College is meant to prepare
students for the real world. By failing to adequately prepare our student-athletes the institution also fails to serve this important function.
The argument can be made that collegiate athletics overshadows academia at many schools. However, many feel that the whole university community benefits greatly
from a very successful athletic program. Although preferential treatment may be given to certain student-athletes in order for them to be able to attend
and complete an academic program and play for the athletic department, many believe it can be justified. It can be argued that many of these athletes would
never make it in a higher education program if there were no sports programs to help them get there, and no motivation for them to try to attend. On a small
scale, the university, directly the athletic department, benefits from the athletes because they help in growing the program and making it a success. A large number
of the student-athletes benefit from the university because it provides them with a quality and aspect of life that they normally would not be able to experience.
It is only a tiny minority that benefit from the institution preparing them for a future in professional sports.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
None
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Brackin D.,Scoggins C.,Weiner J., (2006). Academic standards lower for U athletes,
McClatchy – Tribune Business News.
Cohen, B. (2011). Big-Time College Athletes Ask, ‘Who’s the Amateur?’ — With
the NCAA now a big business, the stars of the show want their share of the proceeds.
Wall Street Journal, 29 October 2011.
Clotfelter, C. T. (2011). Is Sports in Your Mission Statement? The Chronicle
of Higher Education,
24 October 2010. Retrieved: http://chronicle.com/article/Sports-Are-Good-for-Colleges/125038/
Eitzen, S., (2009). Sport in Contemporary Society: An Anthology, 8th ed. Boulder:
Paradigm Pub.
Friday, W. (2001). Athletics vs. Academics: Both Sides. Matrix: The Magazine
for Leaders in Education.
Nov.-Dec., 2001. Retrieved from: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_6_ai_94510120/
Gerdy, J. R. (2006). Air Ball: University Press of Mississippi. University,
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Haynes, III, L. L. (1990). Athletics vs. Academics: A Focus on the Future. NASSP
Bulletin 1990, 74(8).
Retrieved: http://bul.sagepub.com/content/74/530/8.full.pdf
Igel, L. H., & Boland, R. A. (2010). National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA). Encyclopedia of Law and Higher Education. Retrieved from: http://lawhighereducation.com/92-national-
collegiate-athletic- association-ncaa.html
Ladenson, R. F. (2002). College Athletics: Ethics Case Study Detail, Case 81.
Eighth Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl at the Annual Meeting of the Association
for Practical and Professional Ethics in Cincinnati, February, 2002. Retrieved:
http://ethics.sandiego.edu/resources/cases/Detail.asp?ID=81
Lumpkin, A. (2008). A Call to Action for Facutly Regarding Intercollegiate Athletics.
Phi Kappa Phi Forum.
Mandel, S. (2007). Bowls, Polls, and Tattered Souls. John Wiley & Sons Pub.
New York.
Manzo, K. K. (1994). True Test: NCAA Questions Quality of Correspondence Courses,
Integrity of Exams. Diverse Issues in Higher Education.
McCormick, R. A., & McCormick, A. C. (2006). The Myth of the Student-Athlete:
The College Athlete as Employee. Washington Law Review Association, 81, February
2006.
McEwen, C. (2010). A Qualitative Examination of Sport Transisitions in First
Year Collegiate Female Athletes. M. Sc. Dissertation, Wilfred Laurier University
(Canada).
O’Toole, J. (2010). ‘Student Athlete” Should Not be an Oxymoron.
Los Angeles Times. Retrieved: http://www.kansas.com/2010/06/24/v-print/1374800/student-athlete-shouldnt-be-an.html
Pope, D. G. & Pope, J. C. (2009). The Impact of College Sports Success on
the Quantity and Quality of Student Applications, Southern Economic Journal75.
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Smith, B. (2011). Lifetime Chits Would Allow Athletes to be Students, Too. Chronicle
of Higher Education, 57(19), A22.
Ting, Siu-Man Raymond (2009). Impact of Noncognitive Factors on First-Year Academic
Performance and Persistence of NCAA Division I Student Athletes, The Journal
of Humanistic Counseling, 48.2: 215-228.
Toma, J. D. & Kramer II, D. A. (2009). The Uses of Intercollegiate Athletics:
Opportunities and Challenges for the University. New Directions for Higher Education,
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Footwear Trends: Should Sport & Fitness Enthusiasts Embrace the Minimalist Movement?
ABSTRACT
The popularity of the barefoot movement in sports and fitness activities has soared within the past few years as evidenced by a growing community of minimalist footwear enthusiasts wearing the ‘glove’ shoes in their sporting endeavors, fitness workouts, and everyday leisure activities. This emergence of the minimalist shoes, such as the Nike Free© and Vibram FiveFingers®, has created a wave of intrigue for those sport and fitness enthusiasts wanting a natural running experience without being subjected to the hazards of the road. Whether running barefoot, in shoes or in minimal footwear, the trends in footwear preference have caused much debate between researchers as to which form causes more injuries and/or best serves to enhance athletic performance. As sport and fitness professionals, it is important to thoroughly examine the current footwear trends to develop a ‘best practices’ approach for advising our athletes and clients.
INTRODUCTION
Running has been a natural form of transportation since the beginning of time when our ancestors ran in order to hunt and gather food to survive. Since shoes did not exist at the time, people engaged in everyday activities barefoot. The evolution of the shoe has changed dramatically over time, from animal skin moccasins to leather dress-wear to rawhide boots; yet a shoe dedicated to athletic endeavors is a relatively recent phenomenon. Introduced in the 1960’s, the rudimentary running shoe (canvas and leather) provided athletes with a footwear option that is better suited for sporting events (10, 4). Since the latter part of the twentieth century, the public has been wearing running shoes everywhere: they train, compete, and wear their running shoes as everyday leisure and fitness wear.
Although the running shoe has become a way for people to express their style, many runners are converting back to barefoot running or minimalist footwear
such as the Nike Free© and Vibram FiveFingers shoes®. Fitness enthusiasts are participating in barefoot warm-ups and cool-downs in hopes of enhancing
their performance on the court, field, and track.
The trends in footwear preference has caused much debate among researchers as to which form causes more injuries. Researchers have observed humans running
barefoot, in shoes and/or in minimal footwear while on various running surfaces. The occurrence of injuries seemed to rely on the product, running experience,
and environment. Each study has found many pros and cons to running shod and non-traditionally. To understand shod running and non-traditional running, characteristics
need to be identified for both. Shod running is running in the modern running shoe and non-traditional running includes barefoot or the wearing of minimalist
footwear. This paper will discuss the history of running, non-traditional running, injuries related to running, and practical applications for the sport and fitness
professional.
History of Running
When did humans begin to run? This question has been intriguing researchers for years. Bramble and Lieberman (4) indicated, “the fossil evidence of
these features suggests that endurance running is a derived capability of the genus, Homo, originating about 2 million years ago, and may have been instrumental
in the evolution of the human body form” (p. 345). The physiological features of the human form included stride length, spring-like tendons, thermoregulation,
respiration, and the ability to run for long periods of time over great distances (10, 4). Unlike many animals that can run at high speeds for several minutes,
humans have the capability to run at slower speeds for long distances. In fact, humans have been identified as the only primates capable of endurance running
(10).
How People Ran Without Running Shoes
Our ancestors ran barefoot and did so for long periods of time. The evolution from walking to running, a locomotor skill that man developed in an effort to
more efficiently and effectively hunt their food, provided evidence that the human body was designed to run for long distances (4, 10). Daniel Lieberman
(10) studied populations of runners in Kenya and the United States to determine the difference in running gaits between three groups; “those who had always
run barefoot, those who had always worn shoes, and those who had converted to barefoot running from shod running” ( p. 1). The study concluded that
barefoot runners strike the ground on the middle of their foot first and shod runners hit the ground heel first. Hitting the ground heel first produced injuries
on the lower extremities of the body, including the ankles, knees, and hips. Less impact was generated in mid-foot striking because this part of the foot
naturally has more cushioning. Runners in traditional shoes “experience a very large and sudden collision force about 1,000 times per mile run ….
barefoot [runners], however, tend to land with a springy step towards the middle or front of the foot” (10, p. 1).
Olympic athletes have also performed barefoot; runners such as Abele Bikila and Zola Budd were the two most famous barefoot runners. Bikila set a new world
record time of 2:15:16 in the marathon at the 1960 Olympic Games while running barefoot. Zola Budd, another barefoot runner, twice broke the world record in
the women’s 5000m event (14). Although these runners were exceptional examples of the effects barefoot running could have on human athletic performance;
the fact is, the majority of the sporting world wears shoes. This begs the question: what are the design mechanics of running shoes that make them so different from
exercising barefoot?
Invention and Mechanics behind the Traditional Running Shoe
The Nike, Inc. (Nike) company is credited with inventing the running shoe as we know it today. Unlike other athletic shoes of the time period, the Nike shoe
was thought to be far superior due to its advanced motion control, heel cushioning, and shock absorption (17). Yet, as reported by Tweeney (17) “strong evidence
shows that thickly cushioned running shoes have done nothing to prevent injury in the 30-odd years since Bill Bowerman invented them” (p. 2).
Dr. Stephen Pribut, a renowned physician who specializes in Podiatric Sports Medicine, discussed the importance of knowing which type of shoe is appropriate
for each individual sport, as he acknowledged that the development of the traditional running shoe may have led to increased injuries in runners (16). In a 2010 Harvard
study (10), more than 75 percent of American runners who wore traditional shoes were likely to strike heel first. According to Pribut (16), “the purpose
of an athletic shoe is to protect the foot from the stresses of your sport, while permitting the athlete to achieve his maximum potential” (p. 1).
A shoe is made up of the midsole, outer heel, inner heel, fore-foot, and heel counter. These parts of an athletic shoe are designed to make running more comfortable
and safe. Yet, injuries can occur due to the basic design mechanics of the shoe; specifically, Achilles tendonitis has been known to occur in people who wear
shoes made with hard stiff soles (12, 16, 8, 10), which may lead to increased injuries in the runner.
Wearing shoes that have outlasted their life span can increase the chances of injury as well. The midsole is designed to absorb shock and loses its capacity
to do so as mileage increases. For example, a runner who routinely logs (or completes) 20 miles a week should change their shoes by week 20-25 because the
life of a shoe is typically made to withstand 350-550 miles (16). The sole of a shoe does not factor into the amount of shock absorption (16), so runners
are advised to adhere to the 350-550 mileage rule. Length and width are also important. It is recommended to have at least one finger width at the toe of
the shoe and the ‘widest past of the shoe should be at the widest part of your foot’ (16, p. 3). Tying a shoe too tightly could create sharp
pain, or even numbness, in the foot. Running with a loose shoe could create too much movement within the box of the shoe.
The design mechanics, as well as the type of shoe, can affect the overall performance of the athlete. Dr. Pribut described the differences between tennis players
who perform repeated lateral movements as compared to walkers and runners who move forward in a straight line. Racquet sports, such as tennis, badminton,
and racquetball, require a lateral motion in which the side-to-side stability of the foot must be provided by a firm shoe design (16). Having an unstable
shoe for a sport which relies primarily on lateral movement could result in greater injury to the athlete. Pribut also stated the importance of purchasing
sport-specific shoes. Knowledge of the footwork requirements of the particular activity should determine the type of shoe that is worn by the athlete (16).
Non-Traditional Running
Shoes or no shoes? For centuries, runners have been running barefoot; however, non-traditional running has made a splash in the running world. Athletes as
well as fitness enthusiasts have embraced the concept of minimal footwear by purchasing shoes like the Nike Free© and Vibram FiveFingers®. These
minimalist shoes give the feeling of running barefoot but with the added protection of a sole. A popular shoe retailer, Barefoot Running Shoes, touted
that the Nike Free© strengthens the lower body and feet by imitating barefoot movement (1). The same retailer also advertised the Vibram FiveFingers®
as a shoe which gives the runner the ability to experience the sensation and freedom of going barefoot with the added protection to endure in the ‘modern
environment’ (2). The question arises as to whether these types of minimalist footwear have actually reduced the number of injuries seen in runners.
Mechanics of Barefoot Running
As compared to traditional shod running, barefoot running has appeared to have more advantages, as related to health concerns and decreased injury rates. In
2004, Divert et al. (7) investigated shod versus barefoot running by examining 35 subjects while running on a treadmill for a specific period of time and speed.
The study called for 31 male and 4 female runners with leisure training experience and no injuries. Two test sessions were administered. The first session required
the subjects to run on the treadmill to become more familiar with running on the treadmill. The second session required the subjects to complete two running
periods (one shod and one barefoot) each for four minutes. The researchers used a Treadmill Dynamometer and an Electromyography (EMG) to record the results
of each participant. The EMG measured the Medial Tibialis, Medial Peroneus, Medial Gastrocnemius lateralis, Medial Gastrocnemius medialis and Medial Soleus.
The results revealed lower numbers for barefoot running in contact time, flight time, passive peak, and stride duration. The parameters measured each person
running around 60 consecutive steps. Divert et al. (7) concluded that “barefoot running leads to a reduction of impact peak in order to reduce the high mechanical
stress occurring during repetitive steps. This neural-mechanical adaptation could also enhance the storage and restitution of elastic energy at the ankle
extensors” (p. 593). Thus, the barefoot runners appeared to have a decreased chance for injury.
What Do the Nike Free© and Vibram FiveFingers® Shoes Offer?
The Nike Free© and Vibram FiveFingers® shoes are the newest invention in the world of minimalist footwear. Although running purely barefoot can increase
a person’s risk of injury by contacting foreign objects on the road or rail, minimalist footwear offers the sensation of running barefoot while protecting
the sole of the foot.
According to Wilk et al. (19) the “Nike Free© allows the feet to move through their natural range of motion which creates the feeling and effects
of running barefoot” (p. 17). Running while wearing the minimalist shoe has generated increased media attention. The researchers (19) tested runners
on a treadmill using video-gait analysis to determine if the Nike Free© running shoe allowed the foot to move naturally striking mid-foot versus heel
first. The researchers chose to use the Nike Free© rather than having the participants run purely barefoot because of the safety issues involved when
testing on a treadmill. Due to the fact that the foot, ankle, leg, and body experience a great deal of force when running, the objective was to discover
possible corrective measures to the subtalar misalignment, which often leads to injuries. The Nike Free© allowed the researchers to identify “overpronation,
supination, and other gait abnormalities” characteristic of subtalar conditions. Wilk et al. (19) concluded that the, “Nike Free©, when used with
video-gait analysis, allows for proper assessment of running biomechanical abnormalities that contribute to injury” (p. 17).
The Vibram FiveFingers® is another popular type of minimalist footwear that provides the feel of running barefoot without the constricting nature of a traditional
running shoe. This minimalist shoe fits like a glove on the foot. Author and barefoot runner, Chris McDougall (13), claimed that his problem with plantar
fasciitis was healed when he began running in the Vibram FiveFingers®. According to Tony Post, president and CEO of Vibram USA, the Vibram FiveFingers® allow
the foot to absorb shock and flex (2). In traditional running shoes, the runner’s stride lengthens and the foot strikes the ground in a heel first fashion. Tweeney
(17) concluded that runners could avoid injury by running barefoot or by wearing minimalist footwear; it was simply a matter of going ‘back to the basics’.
The Nike Free© and Vibram FiveFingers® shoes both offer the characteristics and design mechanics of barefoot running with the added benefit of protecting
the foot from the hazards of the road.
Injuries Related to Running
Running has steadily increased in popularity in the United States with more than 30 million sport and fitness enthusiastic participating annually
(9). Although running has been proven to improve cardiovascular health, lower leg injuries have become more and more prevalent in runners today. Some researchers
(12, 19, 16) believe the injuries may be due in part to the structure of the running shoes.
Shod Running Injuries
The modern running shoe has been designed to have more cushioning and shock absorption to prevent the force of shock waves sent up the body when the foot
strikes the ground. According to Lieberman et al. (12), the heel-toe running pattern has led to lower extremity injuries such as plantar fasciitis, Achilles
tendonitis, and knee and hip injuries. A traditional shoe limits the proprioceptive abilities and ankle motion of the foot, as well as decreases the opportunity
to strengthen the muscles of the feet. The stiff soles of the traditional running shoes have led to weaker foot muscles and reduced arch strength (12, 16, 8,
10).
Shoes have been called the “perceptual illusion” (5) to running because they limit the feet from feeling the surface and striking the ground
in a natural movement. Researchers from The Journal of Injury, Function and Rehabilitation (8) performed a study on 68 young adult runners, 37
of them being women. All the runners ran in typical modern running shoes, had no history of musculoskeletal injuries, and ran 15 miles per week. Each runner
was monitored on a treadmill running with shoes and then running barefoot. After data was collected, the researchers discovered that the runners had increased
joint torques at the knee, hip and ankle joints compared to running barefoot.
According to the research cited thus far, traditional running shoes have been found to increase the rate of injury in runners; however, perhaps the price
of a running shoe makes a marked difference in injury rates. Walker and Blair(18) found a 123% increase in injury frequency with expensive shoes over less
expensive shoes. Similarly, another group of researchers (3) conducted a study using nine adults (six men and three women) who were injury free for at least
six months, physically fit, and were accustomed to running on treadmills. The objective was to find the affects of leg stiffness when wearing athletic shoes.
The shoes chosen for the experiment were “athletic joggers” costing $10 (low cost) and “light weight cushioned trainers” costing $65
(high cost). The results concluded that cushioned running shoes increase limb stiffness compared to running barefoot. Ultimately, Bishop et al. (3) found
that “footwear influences the maintenance of stiffness in the lower extremity during hopping and joint excursion at the ankle in running” (p. 387).
Preventing Running Injuries Through Barefoot Activity
Every year runners around the world are diagnosed with high number of injuries (9). This prevalence has brought researchers together to evaluate why the injury
rates have increased. Although there is limited research to indicate that runners and other fitness enthusiasts are less injury-prone when wearing running shoes
(6), barefoot or minimalist running is not something to just dive into without first testing the proverbial waters. The muscles are not adapted or strong enough
yet to take on the degree of strength it takes to run barefoot. Tweeney (17) warned that people should be aware that exercising while barefoot or wearing
minimalist shoes should involve a slow transition. It is recommended that those who are not accustomed to barefoot activity begin in their home and then move
outside to grass until the muscles have built enough strength and tolerance. Other options for barefoot activity include: yoga, Pilates, and group fitness
classes. The concept of going purely barefoot has not won over many podiatrists who, according to Parker-Pope (15) “cringe at the notion of unshod feet
pounding the pavement, where the risks include cuts, bruises, and unsanitary conditions” (p.1). However, proponents say barefoot training helps correct
form and reduces foot, shin, and muscle injuries (15); thus, leading to fewer injuries to the runners. Many doctors, coaches, podiatrists, and physical therapists
agree that people spend too much time in shoes (15, 14, 16) and support the idea of walking around the house, strength training, and/or running barefoot
a few times a week on a safe surface preferably in minimal footwear, such as the Nike Free© and Vibram FiveFingers® shoes.
APPLICATION IN SPORT & FITNESS
Fad or New Fitness Standard
Although many professionals believe barefoot or minimalist shoes decrease the amount of injuries and increase performance, there are still those people who
believe this is a fad that will fade out in time. Fad or not, the Nike Free© and Vibram FiveFingers® can be seen on feet just about everywhere, from
college campuses and exclusive fitness centers to road races and hiking trails. Interestingly, the Vibram company, which introduced the FiveFingers® minimalist
shoe in 2006, has experienced tripled sales growth (6) each year since the minimalist footwear trend began.
Issues within the Sport & Fitness Industry
The minimalist shoes, Nike Free© and Vibram FiveFingers®, are growing in popularity in the sport and fitness world. Many athletic weight rooms
as well as fitness and recreation centers at colleges and universities are permitting the use of these shoes in their facilities. The versatility of these shoes allows
the individual to exercise in many areas, including the weight room, cardiovascular machines, group exercise classes, basketball courts, and even the rock climbing
wall. Yet, some athletic performance coaches and facility managers are strict traditionalist and insist that all patrons wear closed-toe athletic shoes, which
translates to the traditional athletic shoes rather than the minimalist footwear. Perhaps professional conferences or workshops should host sessions which address
the validity of the minimalist shoe as an approved alternative to traditional dress code policies within weight rooms and fitness centers.
The Learning Curve: How to Adjust Your Workouts
Many track and cross country coaches have long endorsed the use of minimalist shoes or even barefoot training in the running world. Barefoot activity, including
minimalist shoes, has been proposed as a prevention strategy to help prevent running injuries. Barefoot activity does not necessarily mean running barefoot,
but rather performing various activities barefoot for a period of time each day. These activities range from walking on a smooth trail to running on the
grassy infield of a track. For example, many track and cross country coaches recommend that athletes (sprinters and distance runners) perform their cool-downs
barefoot on the grass of the track infield. If these activities are performed for at least one hour each day, it can lead to increased arch height and muscle
strength. Hart and Smith (2008) reported that the activities performed when barefoot created an arch pattern that ‘mimics the typical arch observed
in barefoot populations’, which have typically reported a very low incidence of running injuries (9).
Although many fitness professionals have endorsed the barefoot or minimalist shoe movement, Krauss (2011) cautioned that those in the fitness industry should
proceed with ‘proper progression’ as a component of conditioning the feet and lower legs (11). Shanna Moody, Tarleton State University Fitness/Wellness
Coordinator, is a big proponent of going barefoot and/or wearing the Nike Free© or Vibram FiveFingers® shoes. Shanna’s philosophy as a fitness/wellness
professional goes back to the functional aspects of exercise, “taking off your shoes and strengthening from the feet up is where I think people should
begin.” As described by Ms. Moody, many clients can directly relate their pains and injuries back to the type of shoe they are wearing.
CONCLUSION
The information found on shod running and non-traditional forms of running proves to be very informative in regards to the history, benefits, controversies, and
developing interest in the sports and fitness realm. While the advantages of true barefoot running or exercise have been thoroughly documented in the literature,
it does not seem to be an ideal training concept for those in the sports and fitness industry as it relates to hygiene and safety issues. However, the increased popularity
of minimalist footwear, which has grabbed the attention of researchers as well as runners and recreational athletes, may be a legitimate alternative to the barefoot
movement. The emergence of the minimalist shoe has created a wave of intrigue for those fitness enthusiasts wanting a ‘natural’ exercise experience,
while maintaining personal hygiene in the gym. The minimalist footwear also allows runners to ‘feel’ the foot strikes and reap the physiological benefits
of running sans traditional shoe without being subjected to the potential hazards of the road. The Nike Free© and Vibram FiveFingers® shoes have also become
popular with those interested in the latest fashion trends. Many individuals are simply wearing the minimalist footwear because it has evolved as this generation’s
version of the flip-flop.
As sport and fitness professionals, it is important to thoroughly examine the various trends that may impact our athletes and clients. Are the Nike Free©
and Vibram FiveFingers® shoes simply a passing fashion fad or a fitness footwear trend that will be here for the long run? Historically speaking, humans began
running and living barefoot . . . it will be interesting to see if minimalist shoes will be a part of the human lifestyle in the future.
REFERENCES
1. Barefoot Running Shoes (2010a). The Nike Free shoes. Retrieved from http://barefootrunningshoes.org/nike-free-shoes
2. Barefoot Running Shoes (2010b). The Vibram FiveFingers shoes. Retrieved
from http://barefootrunningshoes.org/vibram-fivefingers/
3. Bishop, M., Fiolkowski, P., Conrad, B., Brunt, D., Horodyski, M. (2006).
Athletic footwear, leg stiffness, and running kinematics. Journal of Athletic
Training, 41 (4), 387-392.
4. Bramble, D.M. & Lieberman, D.E. (2004). Endurance running and the evolution
of Homo. Nature, 432, 345-352.
5. Burfoot, A. (2004). Should you be running barefoot? Runner’s World,
39(8), 61-63. Retrieved from Consumer Health Complete database.
6. Cortese, A. (2009, August 30). Wiggling their toes at the shoe giants. The
New York Times. Retrieved April 20, 2011 from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/business/30shoe.html?adxnnl=1&pagewanted=print&…
7. Divert, C., Mornieux, G., Baur, H., Mayer, F., & Belli, A. (2004). Mechanical
comparison of barefoot and shod running. International Journal of Sports Medicine,
26, 593-598.
8. Elsevier Health Sciences. (2010, January 6). Running shoes may cause damage
to knees, hips and ankles, new study suggests. ScienceDaily. Retrieved from
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through barefoot activity. Journal of Physical Exercise, Recreation and Dance,
79 (4), 50-53
10. Harvard University (2010, February 1). Barefoot running: How humans ran
comfortably and safely before the invention of shoes. ScienceDaily. Retrieved
from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100127134241.htm
11. Krauss, S.L. (2011, March). Sample class: Barefoot boot camp. IDEA Fitness
Journal. Retrieved from http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/sample-class-barefoot-boot-camp
12. Lieberman, D.E., Venkadesan, M., Werbel, W.A., Daoud,A.I., D’Andrea,
S., Davis, I.S., et al. (2010, January 28). Foot strike patterns and collision
forces in habitually barefoot versus shod runners. Nature. 463, 531-535.
13. McDougall, C. (2011, March 29). Born to run: A hidden tribe, superathletes,
and the greatest race the world has never seen. New York, NY: Vintage Books
– A Division of Random House, Inc.
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and barefoot shoe concepts. Footwear Science, 1(2) 73-79
15. Parker-Pope, T. (2006, June 6). Is barefoot better? The Wall Street Journal.
Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114955290339472060.html
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M. Pribut’s Sports Pages]. Retrieved from http://www.drpribut.com/sports/spshoe.html
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Wired Science. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/07/barefoot/
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model of running. Sports Engineering. 4, 113-121.
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tool for video gait analysis. American Medical Athletic Association, 17.
An Exploratory Study of Physical Activity Patterns of College Students at a Midwest State University in the United States
Abstract
This study examines physical activity (PA) patterns in the context of global leisure activity of undergraduate students in a large Midwest state university.
A sample of students (n = 253) from a total population of 975 in the school of Physical Education Sport and Exercise Science participated in the study in
the fall of 2010. Student PA was measured using the leisure and physical activity survey (LPA). Descriptive statistics and nonparametric correlation analyses
were used to examine the relationship between five leisure and physical activities and four independent factors. Skewness and kurtosis values ranged from |.022|
to |1.794| and |.311| to |2.374|. All values were within the cut-off value of 2.58 at the .01 level, indicating multivariate normality among the data. The
highest mean value indicated that the majority (76.7%, M = 2.73, SD = 0.52) of the respondents engaged in web surfing 6 to 7 days a week. Video gaming was
the least frequently performed leisure activity (M = 1.43, SD = 0.67). Significant positive correlation (r = .15) was found between the participants’ age
and the frequency of weightlifting, indicating older participants were more likely to engage in weightlifting. Significant positive correlation (r = .18)
was found between the participants’ gender and the frequency of weightlifting, indicating male participants were more likely to engage in weightlifting. Gender
was also positively and significantly correlated with video gaming (r = .39), indicating male participants were more frequently engaging in video gaming.
However, negative significant correlation (r = – .27) was found between gender and the frequency of aerobic exercise, indicating female participants were more
likely to engage in this physical activity. The participants with a higher GPA were less likely to play video games as evidenced by the negative correlation
(r = -.14). In contrast, the participants with higher GPA were more likely to choose aerobic exercise (r = .20). Interestingly, the participants who spent
more time weightlifting engaged in both video gaming and aerobic exercises more frequently than who spent less (in minutes for both activities; r = .17 and
.19, respectively). The data from the study suggest more effective interventions should be implemented to promote PA among university students.
Introduction
It is hard to imagine life without the wide variety of multimedia devices that have become so commonplace over the last few decades. This technology has become essential in almost every educational, business, community, and recreational environment. Access to electronic information and communication technology is widely available to both high school and college-aged youth students, and mastering elevant information technology is one key to success in adult life. Unfortunately, this new technology phenomenon may be having a negative impact on physical activity patterns in an increasingly sedentary population (27). According to the United States Department of Health and Human Service Healthy People 2010 report, only 22% of adults engage in moderate physical activity for 30 minutes five or more times a week and nearly 25% of the population is completely sedentary (39). In addition, only about 25% of young people (ages 12-21) participate in light to moderate activity nearly every day (36). Lack of physical activity continues to contribute to the high prevalence of overweight individuals and obesity within the United States.
Obesity and lack of physical activity (PA) have been linked to numerous medical complications and cognitive decline (22). Regular participation in PA is important to sustaining good health and has been a topic of thorough investigation since the acknowledgement of the obesity epidemic with the last 30 years (36, 37). PA promotion has been an active mission of health advocacy groups during the last three decades (3, 9, 38) as physical inactivity has become more prevalent in all age groups and is believed to be one of the leading factors contributing to the rise of obesity and associated health problems. As a result, public health groups have increasingly called for actively promoting PA in multiple levels of society including family, school, local community, and state (38). Because of the gravity of the current state of fitness and obesity, participation in PA is of great importance to universities in encouraging healthy and active lifestyles.
Physical inactivity tends to increase during the aging process with the most dramatic increase occurring in late adolescence and early adulthood. Recently, university students have demonstrated the propensity for being physically inactive (17, 21). Research has indicated that about one to two thirds of university students have not engaged in sufficient PA to accrue health benefits (7, 8, 12, 17, 21, 32). Moreover, it seems very difficult to significantly increase PA among university students (17, 18). This contention is supported by the consistent percentage of physically inactive university students (17), in spite of years of issuing calls for promoting PA on campus by the American College Health Association (3) and efforts to increase PA through new facilities and programming. As suggested by Gyurcsik, Bray & Brittain (15) and Keating et al. (17), university students remain a targeted population for more PA interventions.
The examination and identification of trends in PA among younger adults remain under-represented in the literature. In order to effectively promote PA, there is a need to fully understand university student PA patterns because they represent a unique young adult group learning to live independently for the first time in their lives while simultaneously working to attain a baccalaureate degree (5, 18). This is a particularly important inquiry given that prior studies have shown that 60% of college students do not on average accumulate the recommended amount of physical activity for an adult and are unaware that adults should exercise five days a week for 30 minutes at moderate intensities (21) in order to achieve maximum health benefits. In addition, university life includes activities that may potentially encourage unhealthy behaviors. For example, university students typically have a busy schedule with their academic, extracurricular activities, work and social lives, which is a primary contributing factor relating to the decline of PA, and additionally creates great stress for meeting high academic standards, which in turn can create various psychological complications (40). Recent research, however, has demonstrated positive acute and chronic effects of aerobic exercise on cognitive performance (6). Therefore, assessing participation in PA and understanding types of student deficits can play a critical role in helping university students maintain both physical and mental health.
A handful of research on PA patterns of university students has been reported in the literature. Besides the previously noted consistent finding that students did not engage in a sufficient amount of PA (12, 15, 32), Behrens and Dinger (5) reported that university students were more active during weekdays than weekend days and there was no significant difference in PA patterns among the sexes. Furthermore, Keating and colleagues (17) found that university students did not change their PA levels as years in the university increased. Regarding university student PA determinants, similar to what has been reported for K-12 students; age, sex, and ethnicity are also found to be PA determinants for students in higher education (12, 17, 21). In comparison to K-12 students, weekly working hours, having a family, dating, living independently, hectic social schedule, proximity to PA facilities, and academic pressure, have not been investigated thoroughly.
Many young adults on college campuses are not meeting current physical activity recommendations and therefore may not be performing beneficial activities like aerobic exercise and resistance training. While some research exists that investigates PA patterns among university students, many unanswered questions still exist. To date, very few reliable instruments exist to quickly assess the leisure activity and physical activity patterns of young, college-aged adults. The IPAQ (International Physical Activity Questionnaire) is one instrument that has been validated (11) for use with this population, but the long version of the instrument is complicated and arduous to use in a collegiate setting. This may partially explain the paucity of research in this area. For example, it still remains unanswered what types of PA university students engage in and whether changes occur with PA patterns during the duration of enrollment in a university. As suggested by Rhodes and colleagues (28), professionals in the fields of fitness, health education, and physical education have not paid great attention to specific characteristics of student PA such as frequency, intensity, duration, and PA types. This lack of information inventory hinders efforts for promoting PA on college campuses as different types of PA generate different health benefits. This PA data could provide guidance for the development of various meaningful programming interventions to better influence university students regarding PA. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine PA patterns among students at a public university from a Midwestern state.
Method
A survey was conducted in order to assess the leisure and physical activity patterns within a “sport-minded” young adult demographic group. Among those surveyed were college students from one university in the Midwest United States. Surveyed students majored in sport management, exercise science, or sport pedagogy. All subjects were surveyed during a single fall semester. The survey instrument was composed of six demographic elements and five research-related questions, and was modeled upon a previously developed and tested instrument. This current survey was modified from the original instrument to reflect changes to the demographic elements and the addition of scaled questions related to physical activity patterns and computer use. The modified questionnaire demonstrated both criterion reference reliability (maximum aerobic capacity, handgrip dynamometry) and test-rest reliability. The demographic components included: major, age, ethnicity, gender, grade point average, and year in school. Both the survey and the research protocol were reviewed and approved by the appropriate university Institutional Review Board (IRB).
Human subject approval was granted by the university in which the study was conducted before any data were collected. Undergraduate students (n = 253) from nine classes at a Midwest public university participated in the study in the fall semester of 2010. Of the 975 students representing the total population, 253 questionnaires were returned (25.9 % return rate) and represent the subject pool for this study. The majority of the participants were male (67.2%) and juniors (47%) and seniors (47.8%) in college. The mean age was 20.55 (SD = 3.07). The majority of the participants were Caucasian (90%); the other participant ethnicities were as follows: African American (6%), Hispanic American (2%), Asian (1%) and other (1%). A relatively small number of freshman and sophomores
participated in the study. While the response rate is relatively low by traditional standards, a review of institution departmental data suggests the sample is representative of student demographics. Refer to Table 1 for detailed demographic information.
Table 1
Participants’ Demographic Information
| Variables | Mean (SD) | Frequency (%) | |
| Age | 20.55 (3.07) | ||
| Sex | |||
| Female | 32.8% | ||
| Male | 67.2% | ||
| Year in college | |||
| 1st year | 1.2% | ||
| 2nd year | 3.2% | ||
| 3rd year | 47.0% | ||
| 4th year | 47.8% |
Campus characteristics
The study was conducted at a Midwest university with approximately 20,000 enrolledstudents. Like most medium/large sized state universities in the United States, buses operate around the inner and outer edges of campus and into the community regularly. Courses are scheduled back-to-back with minimal break-time in between, resulting in limited time to engage in PA between classes. One large studentrecreational center and a number of outdoor exercise facilities (i.e., jogging trails, basketball courts, tennis courts, and etc.) are available for students. In addition, the university has an NCAA Division I athletic department, which consists of regionally well-known football, basketball, and volleyball sports teams. Regularly scheduled home games are held on campus on a weekly basis. Physical fitness and wellness activity (PFWL) course credits are included in the general education core requirements, and selected PA courses are available for electives within the university.
Leisure and Physical Activity Survey
The Leisure and Physical Activity survey was designed to be a quick and easy assessment of sedentary and physical activity frequency and duration in college-aged students. This self-reported survey instrument asked for class rank, gender, and grade point average. Grade point average was assessed via five predetermined ranges of answers (0-0.99, 1-1.99, 2-2.99, 3-3.99, 4.0 or above). The sedentary activity types assessed were time spent in typing/schoolwork, web surfing/entertainment, and video gaming. Each classification had further descriptors for clarification: web surfing/entertainment included (television, Facebook, MySpace, etc.), video gaming included (Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation, etc.). These activities were assessed for frequency (0-2 days, 3-5 days, and 6-7days) per week as well as duration per bout (0-15 minutes, 16-30 minutes, greater than 30 minutes). Each frequency and duration was assigned a score of 1 to 3 points for each of the possible responses. Aerobic exercise (running, walking, biking, aerobic dance, etc.) and weightlifting (machine, free weights, cross fit, etc.) were assessed in a similar fashion for frequency and duration.
Total scores for each item assessed were computed as the sum of the frequency and duration scores. This instrument demonstrated low item to total correlations (r < .20), suggesting that items assessed were not overlapping. In pilot testing, the weightlifting total score demonstrated a significant correlation (r > .80, p < .05, n = 58) to the criterion measure hand-grip strength assessed via a hand grip dynamometer (Jamar Hand Dynamometer, Sammons Prestons Bolingbrook, IL). Similar results were found for the aerobic total score and VO2 max (r > .60, p < .05, n = 12) assessed via a graded exercise test utilizing a modern metabolic cart (Parvomedics TrueOne 2400, Parvomedics, Sandy, UT). Both the weightlifting and aerobic total scores were not significantly
different pre to post in a large sample test-retest reliability study (n = 389, p > .05) that examined the stability of the survey after a one month time period.
Data Analyses
Descriptive statistics and nonparametric correlation analysis were used to examine the relationship between five leisure and physical activities (i.e., typing/schoolwork on computer, web surfing/entertainment, weightlifting, video gaming, and aerobic exercise) and four independent factors (i.e., age, gender, year in school, and GPA). Violation of assumptions was checked prior to data analyses by examining both skewness and kurtosis values. Data were analyzed via PASW Statistics 18.0.
Results
A total of 253 subjects submitted complete and fully useable surveys, and all subjects indicated that their primary state of residence was Indiana in the United States. Skewness and kurtosis values ranged from |.022| to |1.794| and |.311| to |2.374|. All values were within the cut-off value of 2.58 at the .01 level, indicating multivariate normality among the data. The highest mean value indicated that the majority (76.7%, M = 2.73, SD = .52) of the respondents engaged in web surfing 6 to 7 days a week (television, Facebook, MySpace, etc.). Video gaming was the least frequently performed leisure activity (M = 1.43, SD = .67). The majority (66.8%) of the participants indicated that they engaged in video gaming zero to two days per week.
Table 2
Descriptive Statistics
| Activity | M | SD | |
| Typing/Schoolwork on Computer Frequency | Frequency | 1.9486 | .61183 |
| Duration | 2.4980 | .55366 | |
| Web surfing/Entertainment | Frequency | 2.7312 | .51840 |
| Duration | 2.6008 | .59987 | |
| Weightlifting | Frequency | 1.6759 | .62812 |
| (machine, free-weight, crossfit, etc.) | Duration | 2.4348 | .78723 |
| Video gaming Frequency | Frequency | 1.4325 | .67350 |
| (Xbox, Xbox360, PlayStation, etc.) | Duration | 1.8498 | .87807 |
| Aerobic exercise Frequency | Frequency | 1.8498 | .69091 |
| Duration | 2.3834 | .67791 |
Correlational analyses revealed several significant findings. Significant positive correlation (r = .15) was found between the participants’ age and the frequency of weightlifting, indicating older participants were more likely to engage in weightlifting. Significant positive correlation (r = .18) was found between the participants’ gender and the frequency of weightlifting, indicating male participants were more likely to engage in weightlifting. Gender was also positively and significantly correlated with video gaming (r = .39), indicating male participants were more frequently engaging in video gaming. However, a negative significant correlation (r = – .27) was found between gender and the frequency of aerobic exercise, indicating female participants were more likely to engage in this physical activity. The participants with a higher GPA were less likely to play video games as evidenced by the negative correlation (r = -.14). In contrast, the participants with higher GPA were more likely to choose to participate in aerobic exercise (r = .20). Interestingly, the participants who spent more minutes on weightlifting engaged in both video gaming and aerobic exercises more frequently than who spent less (in minutes for both activities;
r = .17 and .19, respectively).
Table 3
Correlation Table
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | |
| 1. Age | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2. Sex | .15* | 1 | |||||||||||
| 3. GPA | -.02 | -.19** | 1 | ||||||||||
| 4. CP(F) | .07 | -.05 | -.01 | 1 | |||||||||
| 5. CP(D) | -.07 | -.09 | .05 | .21** | 1 | ||||||||
| 6. WS(F) | -.01 | -.05 | .04 | .31** | -.07 | 1 | |||||||
| 7. WS(D) | -.12 | -.04 | -.08 | .16* | .15* | .43** | 1 | ||||||
| 8. WL(F) | .15* | .18** | .10 | -.12 | .04 | -.12 | -.12* | 1 | |||||
| 9. WL(D) | .05 | .29** | .01 | -.11 | .04 | -.12 | -.08 | .61** | 1 | ||||
| 10. VG (F) | -.01 | .39** | -.14* | -.06 | -.03 | .11 | .10 | .03 | .10 | 1 | |||
| 11. VG (D) | .05 | .53** | -.12 | -.04 | .02 | .09 | .09 | .16* | .17** | .67** | 1 | ||
| 12. AE (F) | .04 | -.27** | .20** | .05 | .11 | .08 | .08 | .07 | -.03 | -.13* | -.12 | 1 | |
| 13. AE (D) | -.05 | -.16** | .14* | .02 | .13* | .01 | .14* | .10 | .19** | -.08 | -.04 | .48** | 1 |
Note. CP = typing/schoolwork on computer, WS = web surfing/entertainment, WL = weightlifting, VG = video gaming, AE = aerobic exercise. F indicates frequency, and D indicates duration. Correlation is significant at the .05 level (*) and the .01 level (**).
Mean scores (response range 1 to 3) for weightlifting frequency and duration by grade point average are represented in figure 1. The mean response to grade point average and duration of weightlifting demonstrated that the majority of student’s reported GPA’s in the range 1-1.99 had the highest duration (2.75 hours) of weightlifting per week, with the second highest duration (2.50 hours) per week response being 4.00. The mean response to grade point average and frequency of weightlifting demonstrated that the majority of student’s reported grade point averages in the range 3-3.99 had the highest frequency (1.74) days per week of weightlifting, with the second highest frequency per week response being in the GPA range of 1-1.99.
Mean scores (response range 1 to 3) for aerobic exercise frequency and duration by grade point average are represented in figure 2. The mean response to grade point average and duration of aerobic exercise demonstrated that the majority of student’s reported GPA’s in the range 1-1.99 had the highest duration (2.87 hours) of aerobic exercise per week, with the second highest duration (2.50 hours) per week response being 4.00. The mean response to grade point average and frequency of aerobic exercise demonstrated that the majority of student’s reported grade point averages in the range 3-3.99 and 4.00 had the highest frequency (2.00) days per week of aerobic exercise, with the second highest frequency (1.87) days per week response being in the GPA range of 1-1.99.
Discussion
There is a dearth of scholarly information explaining PA in college students as the trends in physical activity among younger adults remain under-represented in the literature. Given the large number of students enrolled in universities and colleges across the United States, an understanding of the relationship between computer use, PA and academic performance is of great interest. The following results warrant more attention from professionals in the fields of health education, fitness, and physical education. First, the highest mean value indicated that the majority (76.7%) of the respondents engaged in computer world wide web surfing six to seven days a week. While time spent on the Internet can be extremely productive, for some college students’ compulsive Internet use can and may interfere with daily life including grades, work, relationships, and PA. Second, since a large number of participants engaged in PA, higher than in more recent similar studies, it appears that an increasing trend in PA among students may be occurring. Given the number of universities across the country that have or are in the process of building large student recreation centers it is possible the increase in PA among university students is explained by the recent facility “arms race” occurring on many university campuses (41). Third, the data gathered demonstrated that the majority of student’s reported grade point averages in the range 3-3.99 which may indicate a positive correlation between frequency and duration of PA and academic performance. This finding
may be attributed to physiological and psychological factors. Research has demonstrated positive acute and chronic effects of aerobic exercise on cognitive performance (6). Students with higher academic achievement may have more intrinsic motivation to study and work harder which results in higher grades. However, this same intrinsic motivation may be responsible for the higher levels of PA in this population (4). Student’s reported grade point averages in the range 1-1.99 reported the second highest PA frequency per week in resistance and aerobic training. As opposed to the higher GPA students, students with lower academic achievement may exhibit higher rates of PA because they are not as focused on academic work and spend a larger amount of time on non-academic endeavors. Since above average or “middle” GPA students reported the lowest level of PA on the survey instrument, it seems plausible that this population may require additional strategies and resources for PA recruitment and Retention. Fourth, age and gender were also found to be important variables predicting resistance training patterns as older males were more likely to be involved in resistance training and females were more likely to engage in aerobic training. These results could be related to group exercise offerings like aerobic classes that are commonly heavily attended by female students. There may be a societal need for women to perform group activities (21) as women may be less likely than men to work out alone. Regardless of PA type, higher achieving students appear to have higher physical activity levels.
The Benefits of Physical Activity
Today’s college students have more personal choices than ever regarding ways to spend their leisure time, and with limited bandwidth, the choice to participate in physical activity typically requires either intrinsic or physical incentives of some type. So would students engage in more physical activity if they believed it would enhance their academic performance? Evidence supporting the association between PA and enhanced academic performance is strengthened by related research that found higher levels of physical fitness to be linked with improved academic performance among children and teens. There are several possible mechanisms by which physical education and regular PA could improve academic achievement, including enhanced concentration skills and classroom behavior. Stevens et al. (33) reported that physical activity was associated with higher achievement scores in both mathematics and reading. Though in these investigations physical activity was only one of many correlates to academic performance, increased levels of physical activity garnered through team sport or increased activity outside of physical education courses was related to academic performance. Tomporowski et al. (35) in a recent review of the findings in children suggested that exercise might enhance children’s mental functioning. The present investigation builds upon the evidence of a relationship between physical activity and exercise to academic performance by demonstrating similar findings among Midwestern university students. Fox et al. (13) reported that among a large cohort of middle and high school students, participation in team sports was associated with higher GPA’s. Laure and Binsinger (19) reported a similar finding in a large cohort of French students. It should be noted that a previous study conducted in Kuwait (2) reported no relationship between results of a health promoting lifestyle, which included assessment of reported physical activity and academic performance. However; this study examined a smaller sample of students (n = 224) and the students were all nursing majors. The limited sample size and relative similarity of population may be in part responsible for this finding. The present investigation included a slightly larger sample (n = 253) and the students were drawn from several different fields of study within the school of physical education, sport, and exercise science. Yet even though the relationships are small, academic achievement is critical for nearly all college students. Therefore, any demonstrated relationship to academic performance is an important finding.
Demographic Differences in Physical Activity Patterns
It is important to analyze the various elements that contribute to the difference in physical activity patterns in college students. Although the correlations in the present study are small in magnitude, it has been demonstrated that there are many other factors that are related to academic performance such as socioeconomic status (33). Sex and ethnicity disparity in PA has been well documented and there is a need to bridge the gap in the two variables (17, 21). The study, however, noted that the PA discrepancy of sex and ethnicity still exists. Specifically, the results of the study align with the finding that females were found to perform significantly less PA than their male counterparts (14, 21). Joining with other studies on the topic (18, 20), this study echoes the need for more attention on female student PA. Moreover, there was a significant difference in PA events participated by females, indicating the selection of PA events is gender sensitive. PA interventions should take into consideration the PA preferences of the different genders and provide male and female students with the appropriate opportunities for PA that they prefer.
Regarding ethnicity, previous studies have generated a consistent finding that whites tend to engage in more PA than other ethnic groups and African Americans and Asians are the least physically active groups (18, 21, 34). Unfortunately, no data are available to explain why Asians and African Americans are less active than Whites and Latinos. The lack of diversity and the small sample size of the subject population in the present study do not allow for findings based on ethnicity.
Increasing Physical Activity Patterns
The benefits of physical activity are well known and accepted. Providing PA information that will motivate and enable people to change behavior and to maintain that change over time is the key. Public health groups have made a number of attempts to increase PA in higher education for more than a decade (3, 37). Considerable research has been conducted in the area of exercise behavior change and the majority of recent reports suggest that exercisers progress through a set of identifiable stages before reaching the maintenance stage when they have integrated exercise as part of their lives (25, 26). It is encouraging that the percentage of students who were involved in an adequate amount of PA was higher than the percentage reported in most previous studies (17, 18, 21). Universities serve as an excellent venue to provide college students with the opportunity for daily PA. The student recreation center (SRC) at many colleges and universities has evolved from being a place to exercise and take aerobics classes to becoming a high-powered recruitment tool (27). A survey of collegiate recreation providers indicated that fitness centers are flourishing and that accommodating user demand is one of the biggest challenges facing supervisors
(24).
The present investigation helps to fill a gap in the literature by expanding previous findings among elementary, middle, and high school students in regard to the associations of physical activity and academic performance into the collegiate level. Information concerning the most frequently engaged PA can be used to guide the reform of physical education curricula in K-12 and college programs (10, 29) as one of the ultimate physical education goals is to promote PA participation as a long term healthy lifestyle (23). Unfortunately, there were not data available to explain what interventions had been implemented on campus to promote and enhance PA among the students. Since this additional research confirms the high level of interest in exercise adherence services in the current study, recreation staff and sport administrators may want to consider supporting the development of standardized assessment and adherence services to increase the likelihood of students maintaining healthy, active lifestyles while in college. The study reiterates the need for a strong emphasis on lifetime PA as suggested by Corbin (10). On the other hand, because universities are still a part of the entire education system, the unique characteristics of university students must be considered (17). University student PA patterns might be different from other young adults who are not in higher education. Surprisingly, participants in the present study demonstrated the similar PA patterns to other young adults involved in most individual PA (aerobic and resistance training).
Limitations
As might be expected, university students tend to participate in a wide variety of PA. One limitation of the present study is the focus on two primary areas of PA (aerobic and resistance training). Research has indicated that PA enjoyment and the social aspect of recreational activities are two of the primary factors that attract young adults to involvement in sports-related PA (4, 28). This topic was beyond the scope of the present study and is an area for future investigation. Further, self-reported questionnaires, sample size and limited comparable data combined with the secrecy that surrounds personal practice creates difficulty in assessing result reliability (1). Empirical data have demonstrated that participants have the propensity to over-report their PA (21) and as a result, the data collected in the study are most likely skewed toward the highest level of PA (16). Some experts suppose that these attitudes may be the consequence of social desirability. That is, the participants are reporting what they think a health professional or professor might want to hear rather than their true leisure and physical activity patterns. Survey research investigating an individual practice sometimes has limitations including: answers may be intentionally false as the subjects questioned may not wish to reveal their true feelings, even if anonymity and confidentiality are guaranteed by the investigators (1). Thus, these results should be interpreted with caution.
Conclusion
Lack of PA continues to contribute to the high prevalence of overweight individuals and obesity within the United States. Based upon the results of the present investigation, it can be suggested that colleges focus on the provision of aerobic exercise for students, through either outdoor or indoor recreational facilities. Given the number of universities across the country that are currently building or have previously built large recreation facilities for students, it can be suggested that these centers are constructed and staffed in such a manner as to encourage aerobic exercise. While these results are promising, the data do not account for the long-term maintenance of physically active lifestyles.
Applications in Sport
There is an ongoing need to foster PA opportunities across all the disciplines of physical education, recreation, dance, and sport. Recreation and sport administrators must not only be aware of national trends, such as the fact that 67% of non-institutionalized adults age 20 years and over are overweight or obese in the United States (9), but university administrators should diligently examine their facility needs and accompanying programming. The importance of PA within the college-aged student population is well established and a renewed focus among recreation and sport administrators is not only justified but necessary. The reality: most college students do not complete the recommended amount of PA each week. In an effort to increase PA among this population, sport administrators should leverage existing physical activity space, encourage enhancements where necessary and promote physical activity. Access to PA facilities is the first step to achieving higher exercise rates among students. Collegate sport/recreation administrators must be ready to evaluate their facilities based on the needs of the student population and properly follow through with appropriate accomodations. Recreation and sport administrators should also encourage aerobic exercise by building programs around the types of physical activity college students want and need. Physical education programs are important tools for those college students who want to be physically active but are unsure of how to do so. Physical education classes offer opportunities for students to learn about different PA choices and encourage adoption of those activities in their everyday life. Continued implementation of PA programming on university campuses benefits the students, faculty, university, and community. Recreational facilities and PA programs create value-added products that deserve an expanded focus within the university.
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