George Minoso2025-05-23T11:29:04-05:00

Correlation Between Post-Injury Mental Health Symptoms and Rehabilitation Adherence in Collegiate Athletes

George Minoso2025-05-23T11:29:04-05:00July 4th, 2025|General, Research, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|

Luis Torres^1, Fredrick A. Gardin², Shala E, Davis³ and Colleen A. Shotwell⁴

¹Department of Kinesiology, Montclair State University
²Department of Exercise Science, East Stroudsburg University

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Luis Torres, Department of Kinesiology, Montclair State University, 1 Normal Ave, Montclair, NJ 07043. Email: [email protected]. 

Correlation Between Post-Injury Mental Health Symptoms and Rehabilitation Adherence in Collegiate Athletes

ABSTRACT

Purpose: To explore the correlation between post-injury mental health symptoms and rehabilitation adherence in collegiate athletes to gain knowledge that would improve rehabilitative recommendations. Methods: 19 National Collegiate Athletic Association athletes (M age: 20.58 ± 1.31) were assessed for depressive and anxious symptoms using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) after injury. Once they were cleared for full sports participation, they were administered the HADS again and the Rehabilitation Adherence Questionnaire (RAQ) to measure their perceptions of adherence to their rehabilitation programs. Results: A significant correlation was found between the two administrations of the HADS  (R = .55, P = .03), but no significant correlations were found between RAQ scores and any of the HADS scores. Conclusions: Although the findings of this study did not establish a significant correlation between post-injury depression and anxiety symptoms and self-perceptions of rehabilitation adherence, strong evidence still exists to believe that poor mental health may be associated with poor rehabilitation adherence. Applications in Sport: Members of the collegiate athlete care team should be aware that the common underreporting of mental health symptoms in this population might make it difficult to establish the relationship between these symptoms and their recovery process after an injury. A holistic recovery approach should be considered in any injury recovery processes to allow collegiate athletes to heal both physically and psychologically.

Keywords: depression, anxiety, injury, recovery

Abbreviations: NCAA, National Collegiate Athletic Association; HADS, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; RAQ, Rehabilitation Adherence Questionnaire

Introduction

Depression and anxiety remain as the leading mental health conditions among collegiate athletes, with as many as 30% and 50% of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletes reporting depression and anxiety, respectively, in a 2011 survey from the National College Health Association (NCAA, 2024).  More recently, the American College of Sports Medicine (2024), in their 2021 statement on mental health challenges for athletes, found that the prevalence for depression and/or anxiety in this population ranges between 25% to 35% and only 10% of collegiate athletes with a known mental health condition seek help from a mental health professional. The reasons for this prevalence are multi-faceted given that collegiate athletes often maintain a strong athletic identity that is reluctant to ask for help and are faced with the societal perception of athletes always having to be immensely resilient during all hardships (Chang et al., 2020; Sarac et al., 2018; Tomalski et al., 2019; Wayment et al., 2017; Weigard et al., 2012; Wolanin et al., 2016). Collegiate athletes balance academic demands with their time-intensive and stress-inducing athletic demands while encountering issues relevant to sexuality, gender, hazing, bullying, sexual misconduct, body image, and sport transition (Greenleaf et al., 2009; Petrie et al., 2008; Putukian, 2016). The notion that athletes may be at a decreased risk for mental health conditions due to increased levels of exercise and other personality traits that can aid in athletic success has been shown to be a misconception (Chang et al., 2020).Furthermore, collegiate athletes are exposed to an abundance of additional unique risk factors for depression and anxiety when compared to non-athlete collegiate student counterparts (Demirel, 2016; Ghaedi et al., 2014; Hagiwara et al., 2017; Hanton et al., 2013; McGuire et al., 2017).

Unfortunately, sports injury is an often unavoidable element of collegiate athletics participation, with approximately 40% to 50% of collegiate athletes sustaining at least 1 injury requiring either medical attention or a participation restriction during their careers (Yang et al., 2014b).  Injuries such as ligamentous sprains, muscular strains, skeletal fractures, joint dislocations, and concussions are relatively common (Yang et al., 2014a). Sports injuries further aggrandize the preexisting symptoms of depression and anxiety present in collegiate athletes due to the fact that a sports injury may serve as potentially one of the most physically and emotionally disturbing events that a collegiate athlete may experience during their career.  Injured collegiate athletes experience enhanced risk factors of depression and anxiety such as fear of reinjury, trouble sleeping, poor concentration, emotional numbness, and injury conversation avoidance (Li et al., 2017; Padaki et al., 2018).  They utilize the coping mechanisms of unrealistic wishful thinking, unhealthy venting of emotions, denial, and behavior disengagement (Wadey et al., 2014). Additively, social stressors and financial stressors have also been shown to substantially grow post-injury in collegiate athletes (Evans et al., 2012).  Despite these complications, however, collegiate athletes are often still expected to adhere to sports rehabilitation exercise programs for a full recovery and timely return-to-sport.

Sports rehabilitation exercise programs are only effective for collegiate athletes when they are closely adhering to the instructions provided to them by their rehabilitative healthcare provider (Torres et al., 2023a).  Poor rehabilitation adherence may prolong recovery, enhance reinjury risk, and reduce the likelihood of positive patient outcomes upon return-to-sport (Jack et al., 2010). The salient post-injury symptoms of depression and anxiety play a role in reducing rehabilitation adherence and hindering injury recovery in collegiate athletes (Baez et al., 2023; Torres et al., 2023b).  However, given that as many as 98.3% of injured collegiate athletes have been reported to either overadhere and underadhere to their rehabilitation programs, more contemporary evidence is needed to further understand this extent of this role (Granquist et al., 2014). Despite the recent progress in collegiate athlete mental health screening that has been made, rehabilitative healthcare providers of injured collegiate athletes may not yet be collectively appropriately aware of the symptoms of depression and anxiety in rehabilitation. The purpose of this study was to explore the correlation between post-injury depression and anxiety and rehabilitation adherence in collegiate athletes in an effort to gain knowledge that would improve recommendations for sports rehabilitation programs.

Methods

Sampling

The sampling in this study was limited to two collegiate institutions of varying NCAA competition levels (NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III) within the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Demographic information on age, sex, NCAA competition level, race/ethnicity, academic eligibility level, type of sport, and type of musculoskeletal injury was collected from all participants. Participants were recruited by their athletic trainers after a sports injury had occurred and were included based on being 18 years of age or older and sustaining an acute musculoskeletal sports injury that required the inability to engage in full sports participation for at least four weeks. The purpose of this four week requirement was to ensure that the injuries sustained were significant enough to require a rehabilitation program for at least a month (Shin et al., 2010). Collegiate athletes were excluded if they had a concussion, respiratory disease, metabolic disease, cardiac disease, autonomic nervous system disease, or chronic injury of an unknown origin.

Instrumentation

Zigmond and Snaith (1983)  designed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) as a 14-item questionnaire to measure the symptoms of depression and anxiety. The HADS consists of two subscales that are constructed of seven items for symptoms of depression (HADS-D) and seven items for symptoms of anxiety (HADS-A). Each item contains responses that are individually scored on a scale from 0 to 3 with higher scores indicating a higher level of symptom frequency (i.e., not at all, sometimes, occasionally very often, nearly all the time, etc.). The combined score of emotional distress (sum of HADS-A and HADS-D) ranges from 0 to 42 with scores of 11 or higher indicating a potential for a clinically significant mood disorder case. The total score of each participant places them into one of the following categories: non-case/normal (0 – 7), borderline case/borderline abnormal (8-10), case/abnormal (11 – 21+). Correlations ranging from .76 to .41 for the seven anxiety items (P < .01) and from .60 to .30 for the seven depression items (P < .02) have been associated with this instrument (Zigmond & Snaith, 1983).  Similarly, calculated Spearman correlations between subscale scores and confirmed psychiatric ratings have shown that R = .70 for HADS-D and R = .74 for HADS-A (P < .001). The HADS has been routinely established as an instrument that performs well in assessing the symptom severity and caseness of depression and anxiety in both psychiatric and primary care patients and the general population (including collegiate athletes) (Bjelland et al., 2002).

RAQ

Fisher et al. (1988) designed the Rehabilitation Adherence Questionnaire (RAQ) as a 40-item questionnaire to measure rehabilitation adherence, while Shin et al. (2010) later redeveloped the RAQ into a 25-item questionnaire and validated it for injured athletes. The RAQ consists of six subscales: support from significant others (five items), pain tolerance (five items), scheduling (four items), self-motivation (five items), perceived exertion (three items), and environmental conditions (three items), and participants using the RAQ rate their level of agreement to each item using a four-point scale (i.e., 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = agree, 4 = strongly agree). The responses to each statement are then summed for a total adherence score that can range from 25 – 100. Higher total adherence scores indicate that participants perceive themselves successfully adhering to and completing their rehabilitation programs as prescribed by their rehabilitative healthcare provider. Moderate to high intra-class correlation coefficients for the each of the six subscales (support from significant others = .81, pain tolerance = .64, scheduling = .72, self-motivation = .78, perceived exertion = .67, and environmental conditions = .82; P < .01) have been found for this instrument, thus indicating a high level of test-retest reliability within the RAQ (Shin et al.).

Data Collection

A non-experimental repeated-measures prospective cohort study design was used in the completion of this study. Human subjects research approval was provided from the East Stroudsburg University Institutional Review Board (protocol #ESU-IRB-041-2021) in March of 2021, with the data collecting period for this study starting in June of 2021 and ending in February of 2022. After an in-season sports injury had occurred, collegiate athletes who met the appropriate inclusion criteria were approached by their athletic trainer for voluntary participation in this study through the provision of an electronic informed consent form on their first full day of starting their rehabilitation programs. The collegiate athletes were made aware that their involvement in this study would not have any effect on their status as a student-athlete at their respective institution. Once enrolled in the study, the participants were asked to complete the HADS to measure their current post-injury depression and anxiety symptoms. Participants were then monitored throughout the duration of their rehabilitation programs until they received clearance for full sports participation from either their team physician and/or athletic trainer (i.e., at return-to-play). On the day this clearance was attained, the HADS was administered again as well as the RAQ to measure their self-perceptions of their adherence to their rehabilitation programs. All questionnaires in this study were administered through Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant Google Forms on either a password-protected tablet, smartphone, or computer desktop with all collected data being deidentified, kept confidential, and storedin a password-encrypted computer.

Data Analysis

The IBM SPSS 27.0 Statistical Package was used to analyze all collected data once the data collection period was complete. Descriptive statistics were reported and Pearson product-moment correlation tests with a significance level of P < .05 were conducted among HADS and RAQ scores to attempt to further identify the relationships between post-injury depression and anxiety and rehabilitation adherence in collegiate athletes. The following criteria were used to interpret R values: little to no relationship (.00–.25), fair relationship (.25–.50), moderate to good relationship (.50–.75), and good to excellent relationship (above .75) (Portney & Watkins, 2009).

Results

The 19 participants (M age: 20.58 ± 1.31; 17 males, 2 females) in this study were primarily NCAA Division II student-athletes (73.7%), White Caucasian (63.2%), academic seniors (42.1%), and football athletes (63.2%). The participants sustained various musculoskeletal conditions such as foot/ankle injuries (36.8%), knee injuries (21.1%), hip/thigh injuries (21.1%), and shoulder injuries (21.1%) with three participants not being cleared for a return to full sports participation at the conclusion of the data collection period. The cleared participants (n= 16) took 96.63 ± 31.90 days to recover from their sustained injuries before they were cleared for full sports participation. For the completion of the post-injury HADS (i.e., HADS 1 administration), the participants (n = 19) scored an 11.58 ± 5.26, while for the completion of the return-to-play HADS (i.e., HADS 2 administration), the participants (n = 16) scored a 9.63 ± 5.83. The participants (n= 15) rated their self-perception of rehabilitation adherence to be 57.20 ± 4.95 on a scale of 25 to 100 using the RAQ. A significant positive correlation was found between HADS 1 and HADS 2 scores (R = .55, P = .03), but no significant correlations were found between RAQ and HADS 1 scores (R = .52, P = .85) or RAQ and HADS 2 scores (R = .14, P = .63).

Discussion

The mean scores of both HADS 1 and HADS 2 falling above the asymptomatic normal HADS category indicates that depressive and anxious symptoms remain a substantial presence for collegiate athletes at post-injury and return-to-play states. Furthermore, although the findings of this study did not establish a significant correlation between post-injury depression and anxiety symptoms and self-perceptions of rehabilitation adherence, there is still strong existing evidence from previous researchers to believe that poor mental health may be associated with poor rehabilitation adherence. Holt et al. (2019) organized a literature review of 34 studies on the topic of adherence to exercise therapy interventions in children and adolescents with musculoskeletal conditions among 6 different databases. The selected studies represented 1,563 participants (35% male, 65% female, 2-19 years old), 11 musculoskeletal conditions, and multiple exercise interventions. Commonly identified barriers to rehabilitation adherence in this review included time constraints, physical environment (location), and previous negative exercise experiences. Holt et al. concluded that a diversity of barriers and facilitators to exercise therapy for musculoskeletal conditions exist and current strategies to boost adherence are not consistent with contemporarily identified barriers and facilitators. They clinically referenced that making exercise enjoyable, social, and convenient may be important to maximizing rehabilitation adherence to exercise therapy in young, injured athletes.

Jack et al. (2010)  developed a systematic review of 22 articles reporting on 20 independent cohort studies using the ADMED, CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PUBMED, PSYCINFO, SPORTDISCUS, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and PEDro databases to understand the barriers to treatment adherence in physiotherapy outpatient clinics. These researchers identified high quality studies that maintained a focus on the exploration of rehabilitation adherence in patients with musculoskeletal conditions. They found that there was strong evidence to indicate that poor treatment adherence was associated with low levels of physical activity at baseline or in previous weeks, low in-treatment adherence with exercise, low self-efficacy, depression, anxiety, helplessness, poor social support, greater number of perceived barriers to exercise, and increased pain levels during exercise. They also found that the research focused on the ability of health professionals and health organizations to address these barriers was comparatively limited. Holt et al. (2019)  and Jack et al. would agree that symptoms of depression and anxiety may negatively influence rehabilitation adherence and that future study on the barriers to rehabilitation adherence is essential to the development of useful interventions by sports medicine professionals and other healthcare providers.

Brewer et al. (2013)  studied the predictors of adherence to home rehabilitation exercises following ACL reconstruction in a study of 91 (58 males, 33 females) post-operative patients. These patients completed measures of athletic identity, neuroticism, optimism, and pessimism before ACL surgery and measures of daily pain, negative mood, stress, and home exercise completion for 42 days postoperatively. These researchers found that their participants reported high levels of adherence to the prescribed exercise regimen and that the participants completed fewer home exercises on days when they experience more stress or negative moods. They concluded that day-to-day variations in negative mood and stress may contribute to adherence to prescribed home exercises. This conclusion may be generalizable to athletic training settings in collegiate athletics, as past studies have supported the presence of poor rehabilitation adherence by student-athletes in these settings (Granquist et al, 2014; Fisher et al., 1988).

Evans et al. (2012)  researched the stressors experienced by injured athletes during the 3 phases of their recovery from sports injury (onset, rehabilitation, return to play) and the differences in the stressors experienced by team-sport athletes as compared to individual-sport athletes with the use of semi structured interviews. The sample in this study consisted of 5 previously injured high-level rugby players and five previously injured high-level golfers. These researchers found that the athletes in their study experienced sport, medical/physical, and social and financial stressors; they also found that these same athletes reported several differences in the stressors experienced across the 3 phases of injury recovery and between team and individual-sport athletes. These researchers stressed that their findings have important implications for the design and implementation of interventions aimed at managing the potentially stressful sport injury experience and facilitating the return of injured athletes to competitive sport. This research supports the notion that certain psychosocial components of sports injury affect the ability of collegiate athletes to return to sports participation without any limitations.

Wadey et al. (2014) explored the relationship between re-injury anxiety and return-to-play outcomes in a cross-sectional research study of 335 collegiate athletes (M age = 23.5 ± 6.6) from varying NCAA competition levels. The athletes in this study completed the RIA-RE subscale of the Reinjury Anxiety Inventory (RIAI) as an assessment of reinjury anxiety and the Return to Sport After Serious Injury Questionnaire (RSSIQ) as an assessment of the perceptions of athletes on returning to sport. These researchers also assessed the presence of coping strategies in these athletes with the use of the Crocker and Graham MCOPE measure. They found a positive relationship between re-injury anxiety and heightened return concerns (R = .62, P < .01) and significant indirect effects for coping were found for wishful thinking, venting of emotions, denial, and behavioral disengagement. They suggested that future researchers should continue to examine the relationship between anxiety and return-to-play outcomes using diverse methodologies. 

Conclusions

With the premise that poor mental health may be correlated to poor rehabilitation adherence, it is reasonable to suggest that rehabilitative healthcare providers should have an invested interest in utilizing effective psychosocial interventions within their programming when treating injured collegiate athletes. Additionally, they should re-evaluate their own mental health screening practices to ensure that they are screening for appropriate mental health symptoms at baseline, at post-injury, and at return-to-play, as this is now considered best practice (Baez & Jochimsen, 2023). Rehabilitative healthcare providers should also be keenly aware of the fact that underreporting and a proven reluctance to ask for help in this population may play a role in masking certain symptoms through the entire rehabilitative process. These same elements may have also played a role as to why a relationship was not established between post-injury depression and anxiety symptoms and self-perceptions of rehabilitation adherence in this study. Other study limitations, including a small, predominantly White and male sample, timing and scheduling issues in the athletic training facility, and a lack of standardization when it came to the rehabilitation programs prescribed by the athletic trainers, could also have impacted the results. Future researchers should seek to create similar studies with much larger, diverse sample sizes that explore correlations between the individual subscales of HADS-D and HADS-A and the self-perceptions of rehabilitation adherence of collegiate athletes.

Applications in Sport

Members of the collegiate athlete care team, such as coaches, athletic trainers, and other healthcare providers, should be aware that the common underreporting of mental health symptoms in this population might make it difficult to establish the relationship between these symptoms and their recovery process after an injury. A holistic recovery approach should be considered in any injury recovery processes to allow collegiate athletes to heal both physically and psychologically. Despite their inability to sometimes be vulnerable and transparent in reporting, collegiate athletes clearly struggle with their mental health and more research is needed to better understand how the more nuanced aspects of depressive, anxious, and disordered eating symptomatology affect them while they are recovering from a sports injury. The best collegiate athletic environments are those that permit collegiate athletes to report any and all mental health symptoms, concerns, and crises without any fear of consequences stemming from coaches and other relevant personnel.

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George Minoso2025-05-02T11:00:25-05:00

Shamateurism in Romanian Soccer Refereeing: The Path to Professionalization in an Evolving Sports Landscape

George Minoso2025-05-02T11:00:25-05:00June 20th, 2025|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sport Education|

Andrei Antonie has been a PhD Candidate at the University of Eastern Finland since 2011. His research focuses various aspects of soccer referees’ careers, such as career development and stress factors, as well as on sport policy. Andrei has also been an active soccer referee in the Romanian top tier (Superliga) since 2017 and has participated several times in the Dallas Cup as a referee.

Shamateurism in Romanian Soccer Refereeing: The Path to Professionalization in an Evolving Sports Landscape

ABSTRACT
Purpose: Top-level soccer has become part of the international entertainment industry. The role and status of referees have changed over the last 30 years. The purpose of this study was to (a) analyze the level of referee professionalization in European football and (b) place Romanian refereeing on the sport labor market. Methods: Analytic autoethnography and interactive interviews were the research methods used in this study. I have been refereeing since 2002 and part of the elite refereeing population since 2017. The interactive interviews with the six Romanian elite soccer referees were held in July 2023. Key findings: The results offer evidence that referees’ professional status is influenced by the TV rights dimension, refereeing being a ‘serious leisure’ activity in the leagues with insignificant revenues and being recognized as a profession in the ‘top’ European leagues. The intermediate step is ‘shamateurism’, which also applies to Romanian refereeing. Romanian elite referees have an amateur status, even though they have a professional approach and their refereeing income exceeds the earnings from their regular jobs. Moreover, a significant number of Romanian top-league referees have no regular jobs, or they work for regional soccer associations in order to focus on refereeing. Romanian elite refereeing is characterized by monopsony, due to the relationship between the governing bodies and the referees’ earnings, working conditions, and labor conditions. Conclusion: The findings generally support the idea of interdependence among the domestic league revenues from TV rights contracts, refereeing professionalization status, and the monopsonic character of refereeing.

Key Words: soccer (football), referee, serious leisure, shamateurism, profession, monopsony 

INTRODUCTION
Webb et al. (1) divided soccer (or football) into two social groups: the ‘ingroup’ (i.e., players, coaches, and spectators) is concerned with the result, winning being the primary objective, whereas the ‘outgroup’ (i.e., referees) is only interested in correctly applying the Laws of the Game and ensuring that the game is conducted according to them. Accepting that referees constitute a distinct ‘group’ inside soccer might lead to conflicts with players, coaches, and fans, which could give refereeing a negative image. Although the ‘ingroup’ frequently complains about the quality of today’s refereeing, there is ample evidence to suggest that referees and the quality of officiating are better than in the past. Referees are now in better physical condition, being stronger and faster than their predecessors because of technology, equipment, training facilities, and knowledge of body mechanics. Psychological and tactical preparation has improved referees’ performance in terms of correct decisions and game management.

Changes in soccer in recent decades have led to an explosion in the amount of research on the sport. Also, research on soccer refereeing has recently become an interesting area of scientific research, the most discussed topics being physiological demands, performance (e.g., decision making, mental demands, and stress during matches), and physical demands (e.g., fitness, training, and fatigue). Pina et al. (2) identified 267 studies of refereeing, while Vasilica et al. (3) found in their systematic review that only 381 studies have examined refereeing, with a limited number of researchers (i.e., 20) having published three or more studies.

Few articles address referees’ career trajectories. Antonie (4) developed a career success model for Romanian soccer referees, whereas Loghmani et al. (5) studied the career dynamics of Iranian elite soccer referees. Pina et al. (6) proposed a multidisciplinary skill model for excellent referees covering matters such as individual preparation, game preparation, and game management, whereas Mendes et al. (7) created a general referee performance model for Portuguese referees. Loghmani et al. (8) studied the job characteristics of Iranian soccer referees, focusing on internal psychological factors. Most occupational and professionalization research inside soccer has focused on players, with limited consideration given to referees. Little is known about the socio-economic aspects of refereeing, such as professionalization, labor conditions, and economic stability, due to the insignificant amount of research.

RESEARCH AIMS & METHODS

This study analyses the professionalization of soccer referees at two levels. First, I will review the general trends in the professionalization of refereeing, i.e., how top referees have gradually turned professional in the 2000s, especially in the ‘big European football’ countries. The main research questions are: How has this change occurred? What factors have contributed to this change? What will the situation be in the 2020s? Commercialization has had an impact on soccer in recent decades, and among the biggest impacts has been that of broadcasting, as reflected in TV rights deals. Nowadays, TV rights represent a significant part of league and club revenues, and have also impacted soccer refereeing. Second, I will focus on Romania, as an interesting target for such research because of its tradition and success in soccer, including in terms of refereeing. On the other hand, Romania is not one of the biggest soccer countries in the world or Europe. In any case, a shift is now occurring even in Romania toward the professionalization of referees. I will consider the position of the Romanian top referees between amateurism and professionalism: What is their position, and how do the top referees themselves perceive it?

One theoretical starting point of the analysis is Dunning’s (9) typology and the concept of ‘shamauterism’, which has been practiced in various forms across a variety of sports and countries. His conceptualization emphasized financial aspects, which were divided into legitimate and illegitimate payments, but also focused on athletes, with the referees being ignored in his analysis. Another theoretical perspective is Stebbins’ (10) concept of ‘serious leisure’, recognizing that, from a societal perspective, serious leisure participants are hobbyists, career volunteers, and amateurs. Career volunteers provide services in education, science, and civic affairs, whereas hobbyists and amateurs are common in art, entertainment, and sport. I will also link my analysis of the role of Romanian top referees to the concept of monopsony, as associated with the functioning of the labor market in professional sports. Rosen and Sanderson (11) recognized that Rottenberg was the first researcher to publish a serious economic analysis of labor markets in professional sports in 1956. Some of the topics Rosen and Sanderson discussed were monopsonist exploitation, investments in training, contracts, payments, and the player drafts, as well as their implications, and most of these topics are also applicable to soccer refereeing.

In-depth interviews are a key source material for this study of Romanian referees. The participants in this study were six male Romanian elite soccer referees operating at the highest national and international levels at the time of the interviews. According to the Romanian Football Association, the elite group of Romanian (Superliga) referees for the 2023–2024 season comprises 27 referees (25 male and two female). Before the interviews, the subjects received detailed information about the study. They were guaranteed anonymity, and pseudonyms are used to protect their identity. Because of privacy issues, no other information about the sampling of the selected referees will be disclosed. The interviews were held at the Summer Seminar for Romanian Elite Referees in July 2023. The sampling was done so as to represent the best of the population of Romanian elite soccer referees: two were FIFA referees, another two were Romanian top-league referees with over ten years of experience at the highest level, and the last two were considered ‘talents’, refereeing in the top league but with under five years of experience at this level.

Anderson (p. 375, 12) defined analytic autoethnography as ethnographic work in which “the researcher is (1) a full member in the research group or setting, (2) visible as such a member in the researcher’s published texts and (3) committed to an analytic research agenda focused on improving theoretical understanding of broader social phenomena.” My own refereeing career started in 2002 and I have been a Romanian elite referee (Superliga) since 2017. Therefore, I have not had to deal with any red tape regarding working closely with other elite referees: as part of the elite group, I have established both professional and personal relationships with them. Hughes and Pennington (p. 15, 13) stated that “autoethnographic methods of data collection and analysis are inclusive of many types of qualitative methods, such as reflective journaling, videotaping, interviewing and fieldwork.” As part of the elite referee population, I took part in the referees’ ‘hot topic’ discussions when meeting for courses and for matches. When asked targeted questions in interviews, the interviewees could not lie to me about certain facts and events that I also was privy to but that would have been unknown to an outsider. Their answers revealed confidential details of refereeing activity. The recorded discussions were frank and I was usually treated as a fellow referee and not as a researcher. At the same time, some topics might have been influenced by my subjectivity, just as their subjectivity could also have influenced the interviewees’ answers.

Semi-structured interviews were employed to investigate current referees’ challenges in terms of their occupation, not only in Romania but also around the world, through their life stories and experiences as elite referees. The interviews lasted 30–90 minutes (average, 55 minutes) and were conducted and recorded in the Romanian language. A narrative inquiry was conducted to enable the referees’ job trajectories, in terms of refereeing, to be constructed. Clandinin (p. 10, 14) described narrative inquiry as “an overarching term that encompasses the activities involved in generating, analyzing and re-presenting stories of life experiences.” An interactive in-depth interview protocol was designed to realize these aspects of narrative inquiry. On occasion, the questions were not asked in strict order or in their entirety, because the conversations moved into new and unexpected territory and so produced new information.

In line with Ryba et al. (15), I transcribed the interviews verbatim and then translated them into English. In the follow-up phase of the study, I read and reread the interviews several times. The thematic analysis was conducted based on common codes and comments, which represented the central themes of each interviewee’s narrative. A narrative analysis of form was performed to ensure that the narratives were coherent. Consequently, common discourses emerged from the professional stories of the interviewed referees. The information provided during the interviews about the referees’ employment by different national football associations (FAs) around the world was cross-verified where possible, using online sources or previous studies, to strengthen the reliability. Collecting data on referees’ employment types was challenging due to the limited transparency of the National Referee Committees. There are publicly available data on referee employment only from England, Japan, the USA, Canada, Iran, Belgium, and Mexico.
Being part of the Romanian elite soccer referee group helped me to get closer to the studied phenomenon and basically become part of it, although this could arguably create challenges in terms of validity and reliability. To enhance the validity and reliability of this research, the criterion of trustworthiness was integrated into the research process. In accordance with Merriam and Tisdell (16), two external peer reviewers with experience in soccer refereeing who are aware of the actual situation of Romanian refereeing confirmed that the findings were plausible. Confirmability was achieved by bracketing during the data collection and analysis process, to reduce researcher bias, eliminate preconceptions, and reflect data without prejudgments.

FROM SERIOUS LEISURE TO A PROFESSION IN REFEREEING

FROM SCHOOL MASTERS TO PROFESSIONALS

The role and status of referees have changed over the last 30 years. These changes are part of a wider cultural change in soccer that started in the 1980s, intensified in the following decade, and accelerated in the 2000s. Three major factors underlie these changes. The first is the growth of top-level soccer in particular, marketization, and an increased emphasis on economic factors, as top-level soccer has become part of the international entertainment industry. Second, the role of referees has been affected by major changes in the interpretation of the rules of football since the 1990s. The romantic period of refereeing lasted over 100 years, when referees had well-paid jobs and respected positions in society. The change was brutal as the referees now had to be top athletes due to the increased speed of the game, leading to the implementation of various fitness tests in order to ensure better physically prepared referees. Refereeing specialization also occurred, establishing the difference between referees and assistant referees. In short, these changes have increased the powers of referees, but also their responsibilities on the pitch. Third, the role of referees has changed in the 2000s with the introduction of technical equipment, the best-known examples being the video assistant referee (VAR) and goal-line technologies.

CURRENT REFEREEING PROFESSIONALIZATION LEVEL IN EUROPE

In recent decades, European domestic soccer competitions have grown notably as a commercial product in economic terms. One reason for this has been the continuous increase in the amounts paid for TV rights by broadcasters. The continuous growth of soccer as a commercial product has involved the greater professionalization of all actors involved in the industry, from management to coaches and players. Consequently, refereeing could not be excluded from this natural development. In 2017, Italian Serie A was the first domestic league that implemented VAR. This was one of the most significant changes in soccer and refereeing, and influenced the career paths of match officials. Samuel et al. (17) showed that VAR’s implementation changed the career prospects of Israeli elite referees. FAs across Europe have implemented VAR in the vast majority of top leagues in under ten years, which not only required financial investment in the technology, but also involved the appointment of a larger number of referees. Thus, the National Referee Committee has had to find strategies to attract referees and to determine the most suitable financial compensation.

Table 1 European Top Leagues’ Total Revenue and Domestic TV Rights

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) (18) has released the financial data for all European domestic leagues for the 2023–2024 season. Table 1 presents the financial results of 52 out of 55 European domestic leagues (Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus are excluded from the analysis, because their data are influenced by current political conditions). The following analysis determines whether there are any links among league revenue, domestic TV rights, and VAR implementation (marked in bold and italics in Table 1), as well as the referees’ professionalization level in European countries.

REFEREEING AS SERIOUS LEISURE

The UEFA has divided the European football leagues into three groups based on their revenues. The analysis starts from the lowest leagues (i.e., the top 36–52), which have annual revenues under EUR 20 million. Eleven national leagues in this group have no TV rights income, while six others receive under EUR 0.5 million. A similar pattern applies to VAR implementation, as only six leagues in this group have benefited from it; interestingly, these six leagues are not the same six in this group that earn the most from TV rights.

The middle group of leagues (i.e., the top 21–35) are the ones with total revenues of EUR 20–100 million. Ten out of 15 of these leagues benefit from TV rights and, as can be noted, five leagues do not. Only one league in this group that sells TV right earns under EUR 1 million from doing so. Six of the leagues in this group earn EUR 1–10 million and the Cyprus league earns over EUR 15 million from selling TV rights. The only league earning over EUR 20 million from TV rights is the Romanian league. In terms of VAR implementation, 12 out of 15 leagues use VAR on a regular basis.

Based on the data on these two groups, 18 out of 33 leagues use VAR. In terms of TV rights, 16 out of these 33 leagues benefit economically from selling these rights, but only two receive more than EUR 10 million from doing so. As a consequence of the minimal professionalization of these leagues, refereeing is also affected. In these leagues, referees receive match fees and additional costs for travel and accommodation. In these conditions, refereeing cannot be considered more than ‘serious leisure’, as defined by Stebbins (p. 23, 10). ‘Serious leisure’ is “the systematic pursuit of an amateur, hobbyist, or volunteer activity sufficiently substantial and interesting for the participant to find a career there in the acquisition and the expression of a combination of its special skills, knowledge, and experience.” Johansen (19) concluded that Norwegian elite referees officiate because of their passion for the game and for social reasons, whereas their economic benefits are negligible, because the match fees have hardly any impact on their monthly income. Moreover, the financial unpredictability of refereeing was demonstrated by Voight (20), who revealed that one of the most important stress factors for US referees is the conflict between officiating and work demands, whereas the overall performance of Turkish referees is affected by their income (21). Voight’s research is partially supported by Gillue et al. (22), who studied stress factors among Spanish referees, finding that work and family demands were among the most important stress factors outside of matches. Rullang et al. (23) revealed that two of the key factors explaining why German referees end their careers are related to professional considerations and insufficient compensation. Their study was supported by Choi and Chui (24), who described how South Korean referees quit or leave their careers before becoming highly qualified due to financial reasons. Although the above-cited studies were conducted in countries other than those previously mentioned in this section, they might well be relevant, assuming that they treat familiar topics associated with serious leisure. It is common for financial, work, and family reasons to affect the elite referees in these countries. Hence, refereeing remains a ‘serious leisure’ activity as long as elite referees have other jobs and an amateur status in soccer in these countries, and no forms of refereeing employment are identified.

REFEREEING AS A PROFESSION

The European Top 20 leagues are among the most important ones worldwide and have annual revenues of EUR 100 million–7.1 billion, with greater total revenues associated with more valuable TV rights. In this group, only Czechia earns under EUR 10 million from TV rights, while the majority (13 out of 20) earn between EUR 20 million and EUR 100 million. The French and Portuguese leagues earn between EUR 180 million and EUR 500 million from their TV rights, whereas the broadcasters pay between EUR 1 billion and EUR 3.2 billion for the English, Spanish, German, and Italian league TV rights. In these leagues, soccer is a business, having a high degree of professionalization at all levels. The VAR implementation in 19 out of 20 of these leagues was a natural consequence of soccer development. There is one exception, however: Swedish fans own over 50% of each club’s shares, and they blocked VAR implementation in their league, considering that technological intervention would destroy the drama of the game.

Refereeing should be in line with the state of soccer’s economic development, so the best leagues should have the best prepared referees. Webb (25) stated that the question of the professionalization of referees was first raised in England in 1964. The subject was debated until 2001, when referees signed contracts in England, the first country in the world that recognized refereeing as a profession. Abadi et al. (p. 89, 26) defined ‘profession’ as “the work that an individual does for a living, having the degree of knowledge, expertise and training required.” Closely connected to profession is the notion of career success as explored by Shen et al. (p. 1755, 27), who studied ‘career success’ across 11 countries and defined it as “the accomplishment of desirable work-related outcomes at any point in a person’s work experiences over time.” Financial achievement is the primary indicator of a successful career worldwide, being closely followed by ‘promotion/achievements’, defined as a sense of career success based on attaining better positions or assignments. This can also be applied to soccer refereeing, where reaching the top means promotion resulting in better match assignments that result in higher match fees. At an international level, the elite FIFA referees from Europe (21 referees from 17 countries) did not mention the refereeing demands among the experienced stress factors (28). At the moment, 15 out of 20 of the European top leagues offer referees different types of contracts, as presented in Table 2.

Table 2 Soccer Referees’ Professionalization Level in Top 20 European Leagues

In terms of professionalization, England, Italy, and Germany are the most developed countries by far, because referees there who officiate in the first and second tiers are paid monthly salaries, although there are different types of contracts depending on the number of years of experience at the highest level or the number of games officiated per season. Although they had ‘full-time’ jobs as referees, Webb (p. 82, 25) revealed that most English referees continued also having part-time jobs because they were contracted to work in refereeing on a seasonal basis, which could not guarantee them financial stability for longer periods.

The second contract type is found in those countries in which all the top-league referees are offered full-time contracts. This applies to Spain, Germany, France, Turkey, Poland, and Hungary. Israel and Denmark offer part-time contracts to their top referees. In Norway and Sweden, only FIFA referees work as full-time referees, whereas only FIFA referees sign part-time contracts in Portugal.

The last contract type is the hybrid type of contract represented by the Netherlands and Belgium. In the Dutch system, FIFA referees have full-time contracts and the remaining top-league referees have part-time contracts. In Belgium, 12 out of 29 referees work as part-time referees; they receive two days of training (physical, mental, and theoretical) at the Belgian Football Centre (29).

Soccer refereeing is a profession not only in Europe but also in other countries that have competitive leagues. Countries outside Europe are not part of this study, but it is interesting to note other soccer leagues around the world that also recognize refereeing as a profession. All the data I could find about referees’ professionalization status worldwide are presented in Table 3.

Table 3 Soccer Refereeing as a Profession in the Rest of the World

In conclusion, refereeing has recently become a profession not only in Europe but also in the other continents. Fifteen European leagues and another 11 worldwide have recognized refereeing as a profession. There had been little change in refereeing for over 100 years, and the professionalization trend arose only in the last decade due to soccer commercialization as well as the involvement of VAR technology. Professionalization and the use of technology are only common in top-league soccer refereeing, whereas the otherleagues are still operating under the old conditions. Therefore, a line of change that divides soccer internally also differentiates refereeing and distinguishes countries.

THE ROMANIAN CASE

SHAMAUTERISM

Romania has a strong tradition in soccer, participating in several World Cups and European Championships and producing players such as Gheorghe Hagi and Cristian Chivu, who are part of contemporary soccer history. Romanian refereeing is equally prominent, having important representatives at the international level. Nicolae Rainea refereed five games at three World Cups and the European Champions Cup final in 1983, while Ion Crăciunescu was the referee of the Champions League Final in 1995. The best generation of Romanian referees is the current one, having Istvan Kovacs and Ovidiu Haţegan as its main representatives. Both of them took part in Euro 2020, which was a great achievement for Romanian refereeing. Romania was the only country with two referees, excepting the big five soccer countries, which always have two referees at the main tournaments. Moreover, Kovacs was the fourth official at the 2022 Qatar World Cup and was appointed by UEFA to referee the Conference League and Europa League finals.

Although Romanian referees have performed well, the referee professionalization process has been slower in Romania than in other countries due to the domestic economic situation and soccer bodies. Many Romanian referees have refereeing as their main focus, and the income from it is significant because they have no other job or a poorer-paying one. Even though they still have an amateur status, the top Romanian referees perceive themselves as professionals with their main focus on refereeing. All these features are typical of the concept of ‘shamateurism’.

No forms of referees’ employment were identified in the top 21–35 European soccer leagues and there is hardly any data about referees’ match fees across Europe due to the National Referee Committees’ lack of transparency. Each soccer league across Europe has its specific arrangements. The same is true regarding Romania, which is 23rd according to the UEFA ranking but is in the Top 20 based on TV rights revenues. Further analysis will determine whether these revenues exert any influence on the referees’ professionalization level. The starting point of the analysis was to identify the Romanian elite referees’ professions using autoethnographic tools, which was easy as I was part of the group and had had long-term professional and personal relationships with them (i.e., 27 referees, comprising 25 men and two women) for over ten years, as presented in Figure 1. The soccer referee population is small, and all referees know one another not only from professional contacts but usually from personal ones as well. Nine out of 27 of the Romanian referees work solely as referees and have no other jobs. Five of them work in soccer for county FAs and have different roles, such as the president, general secretary, or chairman of the county referee committee. Another five work as physical education (PE) teachers. Two of the elite referees work in healthcare, as a physiotherapist and a nurse, respectively. Three of the referees are entrepreneurs who have their own businesses, while the remaining three work as managers in various companies.

Figure 1: The Professions of Romanian Soccer Referees

Dunning (p. 114, 9) defined ‘shamateurism’ as “any kind of ludic activity from which people obtain financial gain,” in his discussion of professional sports. He identified different types of sports that involve relationships between the producers and consumers of the sporting performance and others who offer financial support to the producers. Furthermore, his typology includes legitimate types of sports professionalism, including those types of professionalism in which financial support for athletes is derived from ticket sales and those types of professionalism in which financial support is provided by commercial entities, such as sponsors. Based on Dunning’s conceptualization, the theoretical perspective of shamateurism can be developed and also be applied to refereeing. The new type of shamateurism is defined as a legitimate sports activity that economically benefits its practitioners but is not officially recognized as a profession. Shamateurism in refereeing is characterized by the financial support received by the referees from commercial entities, such as the national FA as concerns match fees and sponsors as concerns equipment or other benefits.

            As mentioned in the previous section, the Romanian Superliga started using VAR technology in 2022. It was a big step in the referees’ professionalization process due to the intense preparation required for the implementation. The proposed definition of shamateurism was supported in the interviews, which revealed that five out of six Romanian referees work solely as referees:

If refereeing was my passion, my hobby, ten years ago, now it’s my job, my business. My approach is 100% pro, although in Romania you can’t work as a full-time referee. (Referee 1)
Referee 2 added:

Right now, refereeing is everything. It’s the most important thing in my life. Everything else takes second place compared with my refereeing duties. (Referee 2)

During the interviews, a pattern emerged:

I quit my job when I made the FIFA list. Being an international referee made me more determined than ever to focus more on refereeing. (Referee 3)

At the same time, young referees who have the chance to become international referees also focus on refereeing:

At the moment, refereeing is my number one priority. I am one hundred percent focused on refereeing. (Referee 5)

However, another national league referee prefers to have a regular job because it offers him financial stability in case he is unable to earn enough from refereeing:

Refereeing is like a profession for me because it’s more than a passion, but I still have a full-time job. At the same time, you can’t survive being just a referee, but you can still live without being a referee … I might quit my job if I could be on the FIFA list, but I’m not sure, maybe I would change to a part-time job that wouldn’t pay that well but would provide an income in case there were any critical situations. (Referee 6)

To illustrate the trends in the referees’ professional status, the 2006 World Cup referees’ and 2023–2024 Romanian Superliga referees’ professional status will be compared. Although one might criticize the comparison of the two groups, they share certain features: in both groups, refereeing is not recognized as a profession, and both groups are refereeing at the highest level. Therefore, both groups might be relevant in terms of trends and the future of refereeing from the profession perspective. Nevala (30) was interested in the professions of referees who officiated at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, finding that 18 out of 21 had other full-time jobs: ten of them (48%) were senior white-collar employees (i.e., middle managers and teachers), five (24%) were entrepreneurs or CEOs, three (14%) were regular employees (i.e., a nurse, sales representative, and IT expert), and the last three (14%) were professional referees or worked for a soccer organization at the time. Nevala’s categorization was also applied to Romanian elite referees in order to have comparable data: 14 out of the 27 were full-time referees or involved in county FAs; six were entrepreneurs and CEOs, five were teachers and middle managers, while the last two were a nurse and physiotherapist.

Figure 2 shows that there are insignificant differences in the nurse/physiotherapist and entrepreneur/CEO groups. While the vocational profession of nursing/physiotherapy might be considered to have the same pattern as refereeing, the entrepreneur and top-level management professions might offer sufficient flexibility that refereeing can be done. While teaching and middle management used to be popular professions among referees, it seems that newer generations of referees focus on refereeing or find jobs linked to soccer activities, such as working for county FAs. This pattern reflects the current pace of change in terms of employment and indicates that becoming a professional referee also involves aspects other than purely financial ones. Excepting match fees, the referees need financial stability throughout the year, for times when there are no games or they are not appointed to any. Moreover, insurance in case of injuries as well as retirement pensions are also important for them. Only when all these requirements are met will referee professionalism become a reality. In conclusion, although refereeing is not recognized as a profession in Romania, half of Romanian elite referees are active only in soccer, in what could be easily recognized as shamateurism.

Figure 2: Trends in the Professions of Elite Soccer Referees

MONOPSONY

In becoming a profession, refereeing has had to find its place on the professional sports labor market. Monopsony is a familiar theoretical concept in major professional sports (e.g., baseball, American football, basketball, and ice hockey) in America that could also be applied to soccer refereeing. Robinson (p. 215, 31) defined ‘monopsony’ as a “market with a single buyer.” Most scholars have taken a purely economic approach to monopsony, especially focusing on the clubs’ and leagues’ power over the players’ salaries. This study, however, focuses more on the socio–economic particularities of monopsony.

Soccer refereeing is not yet fully considered a profession in Romania, although a significant number of Romanian elite referees identify themselves with this profession. Thus, this study tries to identify whether the monopsony concept can also be applied to Romanian refereeing. A characteristic typical of monopsony is that the sport leagues and governing bodies are the sole employers of referees for professional games, giving these bodies significant control. In this case, the sport league is the Romanian FA and the governing body is the Romanian Referee Committee. The monopsony’s main features are related to earnings, working conditions, job security, and labor relations between the referees and decision makers (i.e., the Romanian FA and Committee). Each of these features will be treated separately below.

EARNINGS
Referees are socially acknowledged for their sports careers, giving them not only social status but also consistent financial benefits. Table 4 presents the data on match fees in the Superliga and the average net earnings in Romania. Any referee appointed to more than two matches per month earns more than the average net earnings in Romania. This analysis does not take into account match fees from international matches. FIFA referees earn more than other referees due to their international appointments. It is sometimes the case that non-FIFA referees also travel abroad as fourth officials or assistant video assistant referees.

Table 4 – Romanian Superliga Match Fees and Average Earnings in Romania

The income from refereeing guarantees a decent standard of living:
If you’re a top-ten referee in the Romanian league, you might officiate at around 20 games per season. The match fee is around EUR 1200, less accommodation, travel, and tax. Basically, you earn around EUR 900 to 1000 after each game. We should also not forget the new opportunities offered by VAR. So, referees can earn EUR 2500 to 3000 per month if they don’t make mistakes. As you know, each mistake means there’s no game the next week or in the coming weeks. (Referee 3)

The second group of referees comprises maybe ten referees who officiate at 10–15 games per season, plus at games as VAR and fourth officials, which can earn them a monthly income of around EUR 2000. The last group of referees, who officiate at under ten games per season, would earn a monthly income of around EUR 1500:

There are huge financial benefits compared with what other Romanians earn. I think all Superliga referees earn more than EUR 2000 per month, which is a good wage for Romania, with the possible exception of people who work in IT, or entrepreneurs. (Referee 6)

Trifan and Berceanu (32) compiled statistics on referees’ incomes after the regular Superliga season (30 match days in nine months), not taking into account the last ten match days (playoffs and playouts). This only concerned Superliga appointments as a referee, fourth official, and VAR referee, without taking into account international or Liga 2 appointments. It was the first season in which VAR was used in Romania, and 24 referees were appointed to the Superliga matches. As the referees revealed in the interviews, the statistics indicate that the top-ten referees earned EUR 2500–3350 per month, the next seven EUR 2100–2450 per month, and the last seven EUR 1510–1955 per month. This shows that being a referee in the Superliga offers a decent standard of living for a country like Romania.
To be paid by the Romanian FA, soccer referees must be registered as sole proprietors/self-employed. The referees also have to pay taxes and travel expenses, including food and accommodation, from their match fees, which is an unusual practice.

WORKING CONDITIONS
Refereeing at the highest national level is a demanding activity. Being a referee is not just about the match but is also about careful match preparation. The Romanian Referee Committee has certain requirements for its match officials. Preparing for a match has several aspects that should be taken into consideration by top referees. The most important aspect is physical preparation, followed by mental and tactical preparation. All six referees confirmed that they trained every day and that they had to submit monthly reports on their training to a fitness coach who works for the Committee. Moreover, their appointments are influenced by the level of their physical preparation:

I train for around two hours every day. I also focus on recovery after a match, which includes a massage or a sauna. (Referee 3)

Tactical preparation has become increasingly important. The Romanian Referee Committee offers different learning platforms that keep elite referees updated on the most recent information regarding their interpretation of the Laws of the game. FIFA Red and Perception4perfection are two e-learning tools, both of which are very useful for offline referee training; they also help with VAR training by providing the most recent incidents from European soccer. Elite referees also have a platform that features all the matches from the Romanian Superliga. This gives them the opportunity to prepare for their next games in terms of game tactics and players. Refs.sportsmatrix.com is also used by the chair of the Romanian Referee Committee to provide educational video clips from Romanian Superliga games after every match day in order to give the Committee guidelines for upcoming matches.

A soccer match nearly always requires a referee to make three to four decisions every minute, and some of these decisions might be difficult close calls based on ambiguous situations, and referees also have to deal with pressure, both physical and mental. Referees are usually emotionally drained after each game:

A referee is physically exhausted after a game and very tired mentally. On the pitch, they have to control 22 personalities [i.e., players], plus coaches, and are in charge of everything that’s going on, including pressure from the fans, coaches, and the media. When you finally get home, you’re really worn out. So, in order to recover mentally, it’s important to go for a walk or go and see a movie. Isolated and quiet places help me to relax. Psychological recovery is very important for me because a massage may take care of your physical needs, but mental recovery is essential because refereeing requires a huge mental commitment. (Referee 4)

As previously mentioned, the referees pay their own travel and accommodation expenses. It seems that Romanian referees are the only referees in Europe who have to pay such expenses themselves. In most other European countries, it is standard practice for these expenses to be paid by the clubs through the FAs. All Superliga games are televised, the first game of the match day being on Friday, while the last game is on Monday, with the matches usually kicking off at either 19.00 or 21.00. The amount of time spent traveling and the poor infrastructure create problems for referees:

We have to travel long distances to matches and we can’t always travel by plane. In terms of holding down a job, you have to find one where people understand your passion for refereeing, or you must run your own business. This means we’re always in a hurry after matches, driving all night to get home or go to work. (Referee 1)

Figure 3 shows Romanian Superliga soccer clubs and the geographical distribution of referees. As can be noted, the Bucharest area has the most clubs (four) and referees (ten). This is followed by Craiova, with two clubs and three referees. Cluj-Napoca also has two clubs, but only one referee. Four towns each have one club and one referee: Arad, Galaţi, Ploieşti, and Sfântu-Gheorghe. There are also towns that only have referees: two each in Satu-Mare, Piteşti, and Râmnicu-Vâlcea and one each in Braşov and Târgu-Mureş. Finally, Botoșani, Iaşi, Sibiu, and Constanţa have clubs but no referees.

Figure 3: Superliga Clubs and Referees, 2023–2024 Season: Geographical Distribution

The analysis is important from the appointment perspective. The rules of the Romanian Referee Committee allow referees from Bucharest to officiate at matches involving clubs from Bucharest even if they are a home or an away team, whereas the remaining referees cannot officiate at matches involving clubs from their hometown. Moreover, the rules of the Romanian Referee Committee recommend that the whole referee team should be accommodated in the same hotel before matches and that they should not leave a city or town if a match finishes after 23.00.

Although these are the rules, it is common for referees to go directly to a stadium if it is near their hometown, especially when they are a fourth official or VAR. Most referees leave directly after a match, regardless of whether they live in the same city or town or have to travel by car for several hours. The referees act in this way because they are responsible for booking and paying for the hotel accommodation, which is sometimes challenging and time consuming. The Romanian FA and the Referee Committee are responsible for nothing in terms of covering these expenses. Obviously, referees from Bucharest, Ploieşti, and Piteşti have an advantage over other referees from an economic perspective as long as they do not spend too much on food and accommodation if their appointments are near their hometown. The most disadvantaged referees are from Satu-Mare, Oradea, Arad, and Galaţi because they have to pay higher travel and accommodation expenses. In conclusion, referees from southern Romania are economically advantaged by the actual Committee rules.

LABOR RELATIONS BETWEEN REFEREES AND GOVERNING BODIES

Soccer refereeing is characterized by two aspects that are the most important for anyone involved in the game:

Let’s not waste time talking about it. In refereeing, the only things that matter are appointments and promotions. This is all we’re interested in and nothing else matters. (Referee 2)

This study focuses on the top league only, where the only thing worth discussing is appointments. A referee’s income is determined by the appointments made by the Romanian Referee Committee. There used to be clear rules about the appointments, but discretionary rules have recently been introduced that have created conflict and confusion among referees:

I expect all of us to be treated equally. There were times when I had a good game but I wasn’t offered any appointments for the next five consecutive match days, whereas other referees who had made clear mistakes were appointed on the next match day. We also need predictability, to know when we’re going to be appointed or how many match days we’re going to miss if we make a mistake. Some of us also have other jobs and need to know, or maybe want to take our families on holiday. (Referee 4)

There was a timid attempt to establish a referee union over ten years ago, but the union was not officially recognized by the Romanian FA and Referee Committee. These bodies continuously discouraged the union, as a powerful one would decrease their monopsonic power over referees (33). Moreover, no referee wanted to assume the leadership role because it could affect his career, since the referees were used to acting on their own behalf rather than as part of a collective. Nowadays, Romanian referees are not represented by any union and have no representative in the Romanian Referee Committee to advocate for their rights. Consequently, the decisions are influenced by the subjectivity of the Referee Committee.

JOB SECURITY

By far the most controversial subject for referees was medical emergencies that stop them from officiating at matches. All the interviewed referees agreed that there was only one reason they would give up refereeing:

At the moment, there’s nothing that would make me give up refereeing, unless I got ill. I am a Superliga referee, and I enjoy every single moment on the pitch whatever I’m doing: training or refereeing. (Referee 5)

Recently, five referees could not referee for extended periods for health reasons. In these situations, the referees were responsible for their own circumstances without any financial support from the soccer bodies, although in two situations the injuries occurred during the fitness test organized by the Referee Committee. In 2017, FIFA referee Radu Petrescu had brain surgery and could not officiate for a whole season (34). In 2019, Florin Marcu ruptured his Achilles tendon during a fitness test in which I also took part. Consequently, he could not officiate for a whole season. Although he returned to the pitch, he retired in 2021 at the age of 44, even though there is no longer any age limit in Romanian refereeing. In 2021, I witnessed another injury when Cătălin Buşi suffered the same Achilles injury in the same circumstances and could not officiate for a whole season (35). In March 2022, Ovidiu Haţegan, the best Romanian FIFA referee at the time and a candidate for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, suffered a heart attack and had heart surgery (36). He returned to the pitch after a season although he was appointed to the Superliga as a VAR after six months. The last case concerns Sorin Costreie, who was also involved in the UEFA CORE program and suffered a back injury in the summer of 2022. He was off the pitch for six months after having an operation and was only appointed as a VAR. In the summer of 2023, he had a relapse and had another operation, which might affect his presence on the pitch, although he was again appointed as a VAR referee (37).

The biggest issue we have to face is that there’s no financial support for us as referees if we get sick or are injured. If you only work as a referee and you need brain or back surgery, you’re on your own, nobody cares about you and, from being a top referee, you end up in dire straits without any income. (Referee 1)

Referee 6 continued:
There’s no stability in refereeing. If I happened to return home after the interview and fell down the stairs and broke my neck, my refereeing days would be over. Most types of work are more stable than refereeing and have a certain degree of predictability. (Referee 6)

Thus, health is one the most important considerations for referees, and most referees are concerned about getting injured or becoming sick and the financial consequences of their inability to officiate.

In conclusion, the Romanian FA and Referee Committee have monopsony power over referees in that the referees have almost no influence. There is no referee union or representative to advocate for their rights. No negotiations regarding the match fees take place, and the referees are merely informed if there are any changes. Moreover, promotions to the Elite group or to the FIFA list are made solely by the Referee Committee without clear and transparent criteria, and the Committee members retain full power. No investment in training is offered to referees, the full responsibility being on referees.

CONCLUSIONS

THEORETICAL IMPLICATIONS

This study extends our knowledge of the professionalization of European football refereeing, demonstrating that this incremental process has been influenced by several factors. The technological development in soccer of VAR, the increased number of matches per season, and the high level of commercialization have all impacted referees. This study proves that there is a link between the league revenues and the income from selling TV rights. The leagues with lower economic potential cannot offer contracts to the referees, even if they apply a professional approach. The financial rewards offer them a good standard of living, even though refereeing is an unpredictable activity. Overall, refereeing in countries like Romania is characterized by shamateurism.

Throughout this analysis, the professionalization of top-level referees has been treated as an incremental process consisting of three stages, i.e., serious leisure, shamateurism, and professionalism, as presented in Figure 4. Refereeing had been a serious leisure activity until the 1990s, when referees had become highly respected and started forming a subculture in soccer. Refereeing was characterized by shamateurism until the 2010s, because referees continued working in their side jobs but had become top athletes as the physical demands of refereeing mounted ever higher. In the last decade, refereeing has become a profession, and an increasing number of soccer bodies are offering contracts, although each country has its own particular approach.

Figure 4: Professionalization Process in European Soccer Refereeing

The soccer leagues with low revenues and insignificant TV rights contracts can hardly offer career opportunities to referees. Refereeing is a serious leisure activity for the referees in these leagues, the main reasons for their involvement in the game relating to social motivations and love for the game, with the financial rewards being less significant.

One contribution of this study is that it has developed the shamateurism concept in the soccer refereeing context. The Romanian league does not offer any formal employment terms even to its elite referees and does not officially recognize refereeing as a profession. TV rights revenues are closely connected to refereeing development, so that Romanian referees could have a good standard of living based solely on match fees. After the interviews, I was able to verify that the responses of the four experienced referees were direct and that they were not afraid to give straight answers to critical questions. There could be two reasons for this: first, they are part of an elite group and have to deal with similar situations and, second, they have a certain status and are ready to talk openly about the ‘dark’ side of elite refereeing. However, the responses of the two ‘talents’ (i.e., less experienced referees with good potential to reach the FIFA list) to critical questions were ‘politically correct’ because they were concerned that honest responses could have negative consequences if any decision maker were to find out, which is a typical reaction in a monopsony. Consequently, a significant number of Romanian elite referees prefer to focus only on refereeing or to be involved in regional associations and not to have a regular refereeing job. A limitation of this study is its lack of data from other countries about match fees, due to the lack of transparency of national FAs, to compare with Romanian fees.

The most profitable European soccer leagues have recognized refereeing as a profession. There are 26 countries worldwide, 15 being in Europe, that provide formal employment to their referees. The professionalization of referees has taken an irreversible path toward elite soccer refereeing being recognized as a profession. A clear distinction should be made between elite and grassroots refereeing, which should retain its amateur status. The introduction of VAR is only the starting point of technological involvement in elite soccer, and the relationship between soccer refereeing and technology will become increasingly close. Gottschalk et al. (38) have studied the possible implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in soccer refereeing, and its implications. The rapid development of AI suggests that it would be integrated into VAR technology, but there is always a ‘grey area’ in the Laws of the Game that require human decision making and interpretation that cannot be replaced by technology, an aspect that should not be neglected (39). There is a need for further research that takes into account the fact that FIFA and UEFA are aiming to achieve consistency in the decisions made by referees. Furthermore, I suggest that future research into soccer refereeing should focus on national committees’ policies and the profiles of referees from their own perspectives.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS IN SPORT – The Romanian Case

Despite the different professionalization stages and employment models around Europe, soccer refereeing as a profession deserves a place on the sport labor market. In connection with this, Romanian soccer refereeing was analyzed, and it was concluded that refereeing is characterized by monopsony. To address the Romanian FA’s monopsonic position, several steps should be taken by the Romanian Referee Committee. The first step would be for referees to have a representative on the Committee who would work in the interests of their colleagues. Second, there is a need to establish a referee union that would represent the interests of referees, negotiating with soccer bodies for better conditions for all Romanian referees, regardless of the league.

There should be a clear distinction between Superliga referees and national referees. Most European National FAs complain about the lack of referees at the grassroots level. There is a clear need for strategies to attract young people to refereeing. The Romanian FA through the Romanian Referee Committee needs to provide adequate support for the national referees from Liga 2 and Liga 3. Psychological and medical (nutritional) support should be provided to young referees in order to help them develop in a performance environment. The implementation of VAR has created additional positions for referees, but they receive very little personalized feedback. Most European countries have specialized observers for VAR referees who give feedback after each match, but this is not the case in Romania. At the same time, there is a clear need to train accredited VAR referees. Referees learn by doing and through their ability to learn from experienced VAR referees. At the moment, refereeing in Romania is an individual activity with no clear guidelines. The Romanian Referee Committee also needs to be more transparent and inform all referees about its decisions and strategies. There is currently no communication between the Committee and referees, who learn about all relevant decisions through informal channels, creating numerous rumors and conflicts among them.

The transition to professional refereeing in Romania remains a complex challenge due to structural inertia and financial considerations. While refereeing provides substantial income for elite referees, the lack of contractual recognition prevents long-term stability. Future reforms should include structured contracts, financial protections, and referee unions to advocate for fair employment conditions. Due to the international elite soccer refereeing context, my interpretation is that sooner or later, Romanian elite referees will be invited to sign their first contracts and the refereeing activity will be recognized as an profession.

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Troy Palmer2025-05-23T11:26:33-05:00

Efficacy of 12-Week Handgrip Strength Training Program Amongst Older Adults: A Pilot Study 

Troy Palmer2025-05-23T11:26:33-05:00June 13th, 2025|Research, Sport Education, Sport Training, Sports Coaching, Sports Exercise Science, Sports Health & Fitness, Sports Medicine|

ABSTRACT 

Handgrip strength is indicative of overall health and longevity. The significance of a strong grip increases with age as it relates to lower mortality rates and improved functional capacity.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness of a 12-week handgrip strength training program amongst older adults. METHODS: A total of 12 participants (mean age = 82.7 ± 4.8 years; height = 160.7 ± 7.4 cm; body mass = 64.2 ± 13.9 kg; 2 males; 10 females) completed the 12-week exercise intervention. The participants engaged in a twice-weekly, 45-minute suspension training regimen that incorporated a range of exercises targeting upper body strength and stability. Handgrip strength was assessed via a handgrip dynamometer at baseline and post-intervention. A paired samples t-test was employed to assess differences between pre-and post-intervention grip strength. A Bonferroni correction was applied to mitigate the risk of Type I error due to multiple comparisons, setting the adjusted alpha level at p = 0.025. Effect sizes were calculated using Cohen’s d to assess the practical significance of the findings. RESULTS: The analysis revealed a statistically significant improvement in right-handgrip strength, with values increasing from 21.5 ± 1.3 kg in Week 1 to 23.0 ± 1.4 kg in Week 12 (p = 0.006). No significant improvement was observed in left-handgrip strength (20.2 ± 1.2 kg to 21.1 ± 1.5 kg; p = 0.12). The right handgrip strength demonstrated a large effect (d = 0.99), whereas the left handgrip strength exhibited a moderate effect (d = 0.48). CONCLUSION: Findings from this study suggest that the 12-week suspension training and handgrip strength exercise regimen was both statistically and practically effective in increasing HGS in older adults. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Allied healthcare professionals should educate older adults on the importance of HGS and incorporate targeted exercises into their regimens to mitigate age-related functional decline and promote better outcomes.

KEYWORDS: Suspension Training, Longevity, Handgrip Strength

INTRODUCTION 

By the year 2050, the global population of older adults is projected to reach 2.1 billion (10). As this demographic shift occurs, various risks associated with aging, including falls, cognitive decline, and impaired longevity and quality of life, become increasingly concerning (8, 14, 45). A crucial yet frequently underappreciated factor contributing to falls and other age-related risks is diminished handgrip strength (HGS), which impairs an individual’s capacity to stabilize themselves and prevent injuries (16, 19). Research suggests that HGS is representative of overall body strength (1). Handgrip strength is defined as the maximum amount of force the hand generates when gripping an object. Thresholds for HGS required to perform functional tasks in older adults are estimated at greater than 18.5 kg for females and 28.5 kg for males (2). Beyond serving as a measure of physical strength, HGS is also a strong predictor of longevity and overall quality of life, making it especially relevant in the context of aging (1). Comprehending the relationship between HGS and other fitness components is essential for devising effective strategies to preserve functional independence and enhance quality of life, particularly as the global population experiences unprecedented aging trends.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), falls represent the leading cause of mortality among individuals aged 65 years and older. Annually, approximately 36 million older adults experience falls, with 32,000 cases resulting in fatal outcomes (4). Falls impact the quality of life by jeopardizing health, mobility, and independence. Although multiple factors influence fall risk, prioritizing interventions to improve HGS may offer a practical and impactful approach to reducing the incidence of falls among older adults (24).

In 2016, Szulc and colleagues examined 890 men aged 50 and older, assessing appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM), physical function, and HGS (42). Over a 5-year follow-up period, 813 participants aged 60 and above were monitored, of whom 144 experienced multiple falls. Findings from this research investigation revealed that those who sustained Grade 2 or Grade 3 vertebral fractures and multiple fractures had reduced HGS, decreased physical function, and an increased risk of multiple falls (42).

The number of global dementia cases is expected to almost triple from 57.4 million cases in 2019 to 152.8 million in 2050 (17). That said, aging significantly elevates the risk of cognitive decline, potentially leading to a loss of independence and other adverse outcomes. Although many factors are involved in preventing and treating cognitive decline and related illnesses, HGS may play a key role in determining who is at risk for these diseases. Physical impairments, such as diminished HGS, can interact with other factors to amplify the risk of age-related cognitive decline (7, 18). Consequently, investigating the relationship between HGS and cognitive function is essential for addressing the challenges of an aging global population.

In 2022, Orchard et al. evaluated both gait speed and HGS as predictors of cognitive decline and dementia (36). The participants were community-dwelling older adults who were cognitively intact at the onset of the study. Researchers assessed each participant’s 3-meter walk time and measured their HGS. A 4.7-year median follow-up was used to gather data on the prevalence of cognitive decline and dementia among participants. Slower walking gait and low HGS were independently related to an increased incident risk of dementia and cognitive decline. When these variables were combined, slow walking gait and low HGS were associated with a 79% increase in the risk of dementia development and a 43% increased risk of cognitive decline (36).

Precursory research has revealed that a culmination of exercise methods, including resistance training, Vitality Acupunch training program, multi-modal training, and suspension training (ST), can impact the HGS of older adults (2, 3, 10, 21, 23, 25, 26, 44). Among these, ST programs, such as total resistance exercise (TRX), stand out as accessible and adaptable methods. Due to the nature of ST, users possess the unique opportunity to train in several different facets of fitness at differing scalable resistances in a single bout of exercise (27). The suspension training system enables individuals to perform strength exercises adapted to their unique capabilities, offering progressive resistance to facilitate individualized strength development (15, 27).

In 2018, Campa, Silva, and Toselli conducted a study to determine the effects of a 12-week ST intervention on the phase angle and HGS of female older adults. Thirty older women were randomly assigned to either a control or training group. Participants in the control group continued their usual activities throughout the study, while those in the training group underwent a 12-week ST program. Both groups were assessed on various fitness parameters, including HGS. At the conclusion of the study, researchers found that ST promoted improvements in HGS in older women (3).

In 2022, Pierle and associates conducted a study to examine the efficacy of a 6-week ST program on a sample of 11 older individuals (37). The fitness parameters of interest were functional reach, overall balance, body fat, body mass, and HGS. While this study demonstrated improvements in functional reach and overall balance, body fat, body mass, and HGS showed no significant changes. These findings suggest that ST may be an effective exercise modality for enhancing certain aspects of fitness in older adults. However, further investigation is crucial to understand its impact on HGS better and determine whether ST can optimize strength outcomes in this population (37).

Against this backdrop, given the dearth of research examining the effects of ST protocols on HGS and the relationship between HGS and fall prevention, further investigation is imperative to elucidate the potential benefits of ST, especially amongst the older adult population. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study is to fill this critical gap by evaluating the efficacy of a 12-week ST and HGS exercise program in enhancing handgrip strength in this population. The apriori hypothesis posits that significant improvements in HGS will be observed between pre- and post-assessment measurements, underscoring the potential of ST and HGS as a targeted intervention to improve strength and reduce fall risk among older adults.

METHODS 

Participants

Prior to participating in this study, participants were screened using inclusionary and exclusionary criteria. The inclusion requirements included participants who currently exercise, are older than 55 years of age, and are independent of assistive walking devices (e.g., walker, rollator, wheelchair, etc.). The exclusionary criteria included participants not having a medical release form on record, being overwhelmed by the exercise routine, specifically, mild increases in heart rate and blood pressure during exercise, or possessing a pacemaker or other internally implanted device. All participants, therefore, were required to have a medical release to participate. This study was approved by the university’s institutional review board and adhered to the practice of ethical research standards.

All participants were recruited from a local retirement community and were required to report to the Wellness Center onsite for 24 sessions over 12 weeks. Flyers were posted, and those interested were instructed to sign up for an appointment with the principal investigator (PI) to complete the protocol requirements. Participants were encouraged to contact the PI or co-PI by phone or email if any question(s) arose or if any of the requirements remained unclear.

Upon arrival for the pre-assessment session, participants read/signed/dated an informed consent form approved by the University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) for human subject use (IRB#: H24-0565). Ten females and 2 males (Age = 82.7 ± 4.8 years; Height = 160.7 ± 7.4 cm; Body Mass = 64.2 ± 13.9 kg), completed the 12-week exercise intervention.

Protocol

Once the informed consent was obtained, pre-assessment data was collected. All participants were instructed to remove footwear, socks, and stockings before stepping onto the scale. Height (cm) and body mass (kg) were assessed via Seca 217 Mobile Stadiometer (Model Number 2171821009, USA). The participant’s height and body mass results were displayed and recorded via a data collection sheet. Grip strength was assessed via the Smedley Creative Health Products III Analog Grip Strength Dynamometer (T.K.K. 5001, Japan). Participants were instructed to maintain the standard bipedal position during the entire test with the arm in complete extension and to avoid touching any part of the body with the handgrip dynamometer except the hand being measured. Participants comfortably grasped the handgrip dynamometer and were encouraged to exert maximal grip.

Three trials, with brief pauses, were allowed for each hand alternately. The sum of the highest left and right values was recorded on the data collection sheet. The PI was the lead exercise instructor of the 12-week exercise intervention. The PI took attendance, organized, and provided corrective feedback/instructions during each exercise session. A team of fitness instructors at the retirement community and a research assistant also led these classes by providing feedback to participants and keeping each session organized. The exercise intervention required participants to attend two sessions per week for 12 weeks, with each class being 45 minutes. Attendance was recorded at the start of each class to keep track of the adherence rate. Every session consisted of seven strength training exercises in a circuit style (Table 1), followed by a grip strength series consisting of four exercises (Table 2).

Strength training exercises were advanced every 4 weeks, specifically, progressing from 30-second intervals (first micro-cycle) to 35 seconds (second micro-cycle) to 40 seconds (final micro-cycle). The Farmer’s Carry exercise specifically intensified each micro-cycle, starting with holding one dumbbell each set, then holding one dumbbell each set vertically upright by the head of the weight, and finally holding the head of a dumbbell in each hand. The grip strength series progressed throughout the 12-week intervention, starting with one set of each exercise for 15 seconds per hand in the first 4 weeks and followed by 8 weeks of performing each exercise for two sets of 15 seconds. Each session started with a 5-minute warm-up, followed by 35 minutes of exercise, and concluded with a 5-minute cooldown. The 12-week exercise training intervention took place as a group fitness class in the fitness center of a local retirement community, giving participants the advantage of working with partners for each exercise, increasing accountability and motivation. The TRX suspension training (ST) allowed users to exercise in a customizable and scalable capacity that fits their personal specifications, comfort, and intensity levels (27). Additionally, the PI used a timed-circuit style class versus measuring each exercise based on repetition, allowing participants to perform at their own intensified pace.

Statistical Analysis

A paired samples t-test was employed to assess differences between pre-and post-intervention grip strength. To mitigate the risk of Type I error due to multiple comparisons, a Bonferroni correction was applied, setting the adjusted alpha level at p = 0.025. Effect sizes were calculated using Cohen’s d to assess the practical significance of the findings. 

RESULTS 

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a 12-week exercise intervention on handgrip strength (HGS) in a population of community-dwelling older adults. Sixteen participants were initially recruited; however, four withdrew during the study, resulting in a final sample size of 12 participants (Age = 82.7 ± 4.8 years; Height = 160.7 ± 7.4 cm; Body Mass = 64.2 ± 13.9 kg; 2 males and ten females). Attendance was monitored at each session, yielding an average adherence rate of 83%. The adherence rate remained consistent throughout this study.

A paired-sample t-test was conducted to assess differences between pre- and post-intervention measurements. A Bonferroni correction was applied to mitigate the risk of Type I errors due to multiple comparisons, resulting in an adjusted alpha level of p = 0.025. Effect sizes were quantified using Cohen’s d, with thresholds of 0.2, 0.5, and >0.8 representing small, medium, and large effects, respectively.

The analysis revealed a statistically significant improvement in right-hand grip strength, which increased from 21.5 ± 1.3 kg at baseline (Week 1) to 23.0 ± 1.4 kg post-intervention (Week 12, p = 0.006). In contrast, no statistical improvement was observed for left-hand grip strength (20.2 ± 1.2 kg to 21.1 ± 1.5 kg, p = 0.12). The effect size for right-hand grip strength was large (d = 0.99), whereas the left-hand grip strength demonstrated a moderate effect (d = 0.48). Detailed results are presented in Table 3.

DISCUSSION 

Limited research exists with respect to investigating sustained strength training (ST) programs and handgrip strength (HGS) in older adults (12, 23). Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of a 12-week ST and HGS exercise program in a community-dwelling older adult population. The researchers hypothesized a statistically significant improvement in HGS between pre- and post-assessment data. At the conclusion of the 12-week ST and HGS exercise program, right-HGS improved significantly and demonstrated a large effect size, while the left hand showed a moderate but non-significant change. These findings suggest that a 12-week suspension training exercise program may enhance grip strength and potentially improve functional independence and reduce fall risk in older adults. However, additional research is needed to fully understand these effects and any differences between dominant and non-dominant hands.

 In 2018, a research study was conducted by Campa and colleagues in which the participants were divided into two groups: 1) 12-week ST exercise group and 2) control group that maintained their usual daily activity (3). Both groups of participants underwent pre-and post-tests, evaluating several fitness components, including HGS. Findings from the current research study and the study by Campa et al. (3) revealed both shared and contrasting results in how structured exercise interventions affect HGS in older adults. More precisely, both studies reported statistically significant HGS improvements following their 12-week interventions. The current research study observed an increase in right-hand grip strength from 21.5 ± 1.3 kg to 23.0 ± 1.4 kg, equating to an approximate 7.0% improvement. Similarly, Campa et al. (3) reported an increase in dominant-hand HGS from 38.2 ± 9.7 kg to 40.1 ± 9.0 kg, reflecting a significant 4.97% improvement. Both findings confirm the efficacy of a 12-week exercise program in promoting upper-body strength among older adults. Notably, both studies targeted older adults, with the current study involving a mixed-gender cohort (mean age 82.7 years) and Campa et al. (3) focusing on men with a mean age of 67.4 years. Despite this approximate 15-year age difference, the consistency in outcomes underscores the adaptability of exercise interventions across different subsets of older adults. Both research studies spanned 12 weeks, suggesting that this time frame is sufficient to elicit measurable improvements in muscular strength. Given these similarities, improvements in HGS in both studies align with broader health and functional benefits. Because HGS is a well-established predictor of overall physical health (29, 35), these findings highlight the role of resistance-based interventions in enhancing the quality of life and functional independence among older adults.

While both studies displayed shared findings, it was noted that the baseline mean HGS of the current study was strikingly lower (21.5 ± 1.3 kg) compared to Campa et al.’s (3) sample group (38.2 ± 9.7 kg). This discrepancy may be due to the age difference of about 15 years, which more than likely contributed to variations in baseline physical fitness and adaptive capacity. Older adults often experience diminished neuromuscular responsiveness and muscle plasticity (7, 32).

To summarize, the current research study and Campa et al.’s (3) study demonstrate significant improvements in HGS following 12-week exercise programs, reinforcing the utility of structured ST in mitigating age-related strength decline. Both studies provide compelling evidence that targeted interventions can yield functional strength gains in older populations regardless of modality. However, the differences in participant demographics highlight the influence of baseline fitness levels and age on HGS outcomes.

The results from a study by Gaedtke and Morat (16) also revealed results like those of the current study. Eleven older adults (Mean Age = 66.0 ± 4.0 yrs) participated in a 12-week TRX-OldAge training program, composed of seven exercises progressing through multiple stages of difficulty. The intervention method utilized TRX equipment, shared by Gaedtke and Morat (16) and the current study. Both studies also had similar sample sizes and durations, spanning 12 weeks. The results displayed within Gaedtke and Morat’s (16) research study share thematic similarities with the current research in demonstrating improvements in HGS. Both studies emphasize the potential of targeted programs to enhance functional strength, which is critical for maintaining independence and reducing the risk of falls in aging populations. Specifically, the current research reported a 7.0% increase in right-hand grip strength, showcasing the tangible benefits of a 12-week intervention. Similarly, participants in Gaedtke and Morat’s (16) study subjectively reported strength gains as the most notable improvement following the TRX-OldAge program. However, Gaedtke and Morat (16) did not provide quantifiable pre- and post-assessment metrics for HGS, which limits direct comparisons. While participant feedback highlights strength improvements, the lack of quantifiable data undermines the ability to assess the efficacy of the intervention, specifically on grip strength. This limitation in Gaedtke and Morat’s (16) study underscores the importance of incorporating quantifiable assessments in future investigations to validate self-reported outcomes and to draw more substantial comparisons with similar studies. Regardless, given the vast similarities between the two research studies, it is evident that a TRX-related exercise regime conducted for 12 weeks does enhance muscular strength in older individuals.

In a study conducted by Skelton et al. (41), a 12-week progressive ST intervention was implemented to assess its effects on the strength, power, and functionality of women aged 75 and older (41). The intervention included three exercise sessions per week, with two sessions conducted at home and one in a group setting. The additional day of exercise, as well as the inclusion of home exercise sessions, differs from the current study, which took place twice a week in a group fitness class setting. While the exercises did not mimic the functional tests entirely, each session was tailored to work the specific muscles relevant for functional tasks. Exercises were performed in three sets of four to eight repetitions, using rice bags and elastic bands for resistance. An assortment of pre- and post-assessments were conducted, including a HGS test, resembling the current study.

Despite these methodological differences, Skelton and colleagues (41) demonstrated increases in HGS, which aligns with the improvements observed in the current research study. In Skelton et al.’s (41) 12-week progressive resistance training program, participants experienced a significant 4% increase in HGS, from a pre-training mean of 21.6 ± 3.4 kg to a post-training mean of 22.3 ± 3.9 kg. This outcome parallels findings from the current research study, whereby a significant 7% improvement in HGS was observed. This supports the notion that 12 weeks of functional resistance training may improve HGS amongst a sample of older individuals.

A potential explanation for the greater improvement in HGS observed in the current study may be the focused, grip-specific training regimen utilized. Skelton et al.’s (41) training program, while progressive and resistance-based, did not include exercises that mimicked or directly engaged the musculature required for grip strength improvement. Instead, the program targeted broader functional movements, such as knee extensors, elbow flexors, and other large muscle groups. This specificity likely contributed to the larger improvement in grip-related performance observed in the current study.

Because the current study partially mimicked and addressed some of the limitations of Pierle and colleagues (37), detailed comparative results will be described. Pierle et al. (37) evaluated the efficacy of a 6-week ST intervention on multiple fitness components of older adults (37). This intervention consisted of 1-2 sets of 8 ST exercises performed twice a week. At the conclusion of this study, participants showed improvements in several fitness and functional areas. In contrast to the current study, Pierle et al. (37) did not observe improvements in HGS.

In the current study, participants demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in right-HGS following a 12-week intervention. Pre-assessment HGS for the right hand was 21.5 ± 1.3 kg, which increased to 23.0 ± 1.4 kg, reflecting a 7.0% improvement and a large effect size (d = 0.99). Conversely, left-hand HGS exhibited a smaller, non-significant increase from 20.2 ± 1.2 kg to 21.1 ± 1.5 kg (4.5% improvement, d = 0.48). Comparatively, Pierle et al. (37) observed no statistically significant changes in HGS, with pre-assessment values averaging 22.4 ± 1.9 kg and post-assessment values averaging 22.8 ± 1.8 kg. The effect size (d = 0.03) was minimal, indicating negligible gains in grip strength.

The differences in duration and intervention may explain this disparity in findings. For instance, the intervention in Pierle et al.’s (37) study lasted for 6 weeks, with two sessions per week, totaling 12 training sessions. This short duration may have limited the time available for participants to experience significant neuromuscular adaptations, such as improved motor unit recruitment and muscle hypertrophy, which are crucial for strength gains (6, 33). In contrast, the current study required participants to exercise for 12 weeks, providing twice the intervention time, therefore allowing for a more progressive overload and adaptation. The longer program likely facilitated more robust changes in muscle strength, particularly in the dominant hand. Previous research documents that strength improvements, particularly in older adults, rely on consistent and prolonged exposure to resistance-based stimuli to elicit meaningful neuromuscular adaptations (9, 20).

Another potential reason for the difference in findings is the modality and specificity of exercises. Pierle and colleagues’ study (37) focused on general ST, which emphasized functional movements, overall balance, core stability, and flexibility but did not prioritize grip-intensive exercises. In contrast, the current study employed targeted resistance and isometric exercises specifically designed to enhance HGS, ensuring a more direct focus on grip-related adaptations. Previous research has shown that exercise modality plays a critical role in the specificity of adaptations (15, 21). The lack of direct HGS training in Pierle et al.’s (37) protocol likely limited the magnitude of HGS improvements compared to the current research study.

The current study displayed a statistically significant improvement in right-HGS. While no statistically significant improvement was observed in left-HGS. While said findings were unanticipated, previous research investigations have displayed similar asymmetrical findings (22, 30, 43). In 2008, Thomas & Sahlberg recruited 41 college-aged males and females to complete an 8-week resistance training protocol with the aim of enhancing HGS. Data revealed by Thomas and Sahlberg (2008) align closely with the current investigation in demonstrating significant improvements in right-hand HGS, while no significant changes were observed in the left-hand HGS. In Thomas and Sahlberg’s (43) study, participants in the training group exhibited a statistically significant increase in right-hand HGS (32.9 ± 8.6 kg to 35.5 ± 7.6 kg) over an 8-week general resistance training intervention. However, the left-hand HGS showed no significant changes (30.7 ± 8.4 kg and 30.2 ± 6.0 kg). Similarly, the current research reported a statistically significant improvement in right-hand HGS (21.5 ± 1.3 kg to 23.0 ± 1.4 kg) but observed no significant change in left-hand HGS, which increased only marginally from 20.2 ± 1.2 kg to 21.1 ± 1.5 kg.

The consistency between these studies highlights the tendency for dominant-hand HGS to exhibit greater responsiveness to resistance training interventions. Both studies emphasize the role of hand dominance in determining training outcomes, with dominant hands showing significant strength gains due to frequent daily use and greater neuromuscular efficiency (5, 39). Conversely, the non-dominant hand may require more targeted stimuli to achieve comparable improvements, as evidenced by the lack of significant HGS gains in the left hand in both studies (13, 40). These findings emphasize the importance of tailoring training programs to address asymmetries and maximize bilateral strength development.

In 2019, Labott and colleagues conducted a comprehensive meta-analytical review to evaluate the effects of various exercise interventions on HGS in older adults. The review analyzed 24 research articles involving 3,018 participants with a mean age of 73.3 years (22), focusing on interventions ranging from resistance training to multimodal programs. While the findings revealed small but statistically significant improvements in HGS overall, the results emphasized a common trend across studies to the extent that greater responsiveness in right-hand HGS compared to the left-hand HGS. These authors concluded that task-specific and multimodal training interventions often yielded measurable gains in dominant hand strength, as this hand benefits from more frequent use and neuromuscular efficiency in daily activities. In contrast, left-hand HGS frequently displayed minimal or no significant change, reflecting the need for targeted stimuli to elicit comparable adaptations in the non-dominant hand. The review highlights this asymmetry as a recurring observation in HGS research, reinforcing the importance of tailored interventions to address disparities between dominant and non-dominant hand strength (5,22).

Although no statistically significant improvement was observed in left-hand HGS among participants in the current study, the practical implications of the findings should not be overlooked. A mean increase of 1.1 kg (4%) represents a meaningful real-world difference, particularly within aging populations. For older adults, even modest improvements in HGS can translate into enhanced functional capacity, better mobility, fall mitigation, greater independence in activities of daily living, and improved overall quality of life (11, 22, 28, 31, 38, 46). Moreover, from an applied perspective, a 4% increase in left-hand HGS may provide critical support in scenarios requiring quick reflexive actions, such as maintaining balance or catching oneself during a fall (28, 34). This seemingly minor improvement could make a significant difference in preventing injury and maintaining mobility, highlighting the value of targeted interventions to enhance HGS, even in cases where statistical significance is not achieved.

There were several limitations to this study that may have impacted the results. The small sample size (n = 12) and the low male participation in this study may have stifled the results from reaching their full expression. Future studies would benefit from a larger and more gender-balanced sample to enhance the generalizability of findings. Additionally, an increased sample size would allow for a control group to be utilized, bolstering the findings of future studies. Adherence to the 12-week intervention proved difficult as it slowly declined by 17% throughout the study, as many participants had busy schedules and prior commitments that interfered with consistent session attendance. Future studies may consider methods to improve adherence, such as scheduling flexibility or at-home modifications. Longer intervention durations may yield more robust findings, as 12 weeks might not have allowed the intervention to reach its full potential. Confounding variables, such as diet, sleep, and baseline activity levels, were not accounted for and may have influenced the results. Tracking these variables in future studies could provide additional insights into their potential impact.

As individuals age, their priorities often shift toward improving quality of life, extending longevity, and maintaining functional independence. Because HGS directly impacts these aspects of healthy aging, its maintenance, or better yet, improvement, should remain a priority in interventions targeting older adults. The intention of this study was to discover the efficacy of a 12-week ST exercise intervention on the HGS of older adults and underscore its importance for healthy aging. The current study revealed a statistically significant improvement in right-HGS, whereas no significant improvement was observed in left-HGS. Future research should evaluate asymmetrical HGS, as this was not an anticipated finding. Additionally, further research should investigate ST in older adult populations, addressing the limited existing evidence on its efficacy in this demographic.

CONCLUSION 

Findings from this study suggest that the 12-week ST and HGS exercise regime was statistically and practically effective in increasing overall HGS in older adults. These findings may serve as valuable guidance for fitness instructors, physical therapists, and other allied healthcare professionals working with older adults. Integrating ST exercises and HGS-specific exercises results in improved HGS, an essential component of maintaining functional independence as individuals age. Utilizing the TRX system for this intervention provided unique advantages, as the exercises were simple to perform and customizable to each participant.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Implementing an exercise program focusing on HGS has broader implications, as HGS correlates with improved quality of life, longevity, and reduced risk of falls. Allied healthcare professionals working with older adult populations should educate their patients on the importance of HGS and adopt intentional HGS-focused exercises into their regimens. In doing so, they can help mitigate age-related functional decline and promote better outcomes for aging individuals.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author would like to personally thank the health and wellness team at Carolina Bay at Autumn Hall: Shannon Hardy and Madison Norris.

The author would also like to thank the Center for the Support of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships for their generous contributions.

George Minoso2025-03-27T07:20:41-05:00

Losing Matters: A European Association Football Model for NCAA Men’s Basketball

George Minoso2025-03-27T07:20:41-05:00June 6th, 2025|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sport Education, Sports Studies|

Tricia Muldoon Brown, PhD, is a Professor of Mathematical Science at Georgia Southern University in Savannah, GA.  Her research interests include recreational mathematics associated with games and sport.

Andrew M. Heroy is employed by the Metis Foundation.  His area of specialty is data science. Eric B. Kahn, PhD, is a Professor of Mathematics as Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania. His research interests are in mathematics in sport and IBL in mathematics.

Losing Matters: A European Association Football Model for NCAA Men’s Basketball

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of applying a European association football model to American men’s college basketball.

Methods: Structures for NCAA men’s basketball and European association football are analyzed, and an Association Football (AF) model is proposed which utilizes features of the European system of promotion and relegation and a mathematical model for tournament bids and seeding.  

Results: Data were collected for NCAA men’s basketball teams from 2010 through 2019 and we identify teams which would be affected by promotion and relegation each year and compare the AF-modeled NCAA tournament to the actual tournament brackets finding 85% similarity.

Conclusions: Geographic conferences and relegation models where losing matters could be applied to men’s college basketball to decrease costs and increase excitement and fairness, while still having strong agreement with data from recent years.

Applications in Sport: American sports should consider adopting some selection and organizational practices from European sports, particularly objective selection and seeding and regional groupings.

Key Words: college basketball, tournament model, relegation, geographic conferences

INTRODUCTION

European and American sports cultures have many dissimilar features, but none are more notable than the disparate consequences for losing. European football associations follow an open model where teams can be moved between tiers based on their performance that season. On the other hand, American sports leagues use a closed model that does not allow for movement between major and minor leagues. An attempt was made in the 2010’s and early 2020’s to apply a more American system to European football, forming a super league that would bypass the Premier League’s current system of promotion, relegation, and championship selection. When asked about this idea, as reported in Sports Illustrated (1) Man City coach Pep Guardiola famously says, “It is not a sport when it doesn’t matter if you lose.” In contrast, the American version of these opinions is fictionalized in the popular television series Ted Lasso (20). Ted is the new head coach of FC Richmond, and one of his players questions what happens to losing teams if there is no relegation in America. Ted says, “You know, they play out the rest of the schedule, go through the motions in meaningless games contested in lifeless, half-empty stadiums, and everyone is pretty much fine with that.” The negative ramification of a poor season is not the only difference in European and American sports. We also wish to apply the regional nature of the clubs and teams in the European system and the objective selection process for both promotion and relegation, and postseason selection and seeding. These features have benefits in cost, transparency, and enthusiasm.

Taking advantage of these three association football characteristics, an open system, objective ranking process, and regional structure, we propose a new model for National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball conferences and tournaments. We begin by describing the current NCAA conference model and tournament selection process as well as that used by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the English Football League. Then we introduce the Association Football model for men’s basketball which realigns the conferences, creates a system of promotion and relegation, and objectively selects and seeds the NCAA tournament. Finally, we use the proposed model to identify teams for promotion and relegation and retroactively determine the tournament field using data collected for each year from 2010 through 2019.

METHODS

Current NCAA Model

Basketball is the most sanctioned sport in the NCAA with over 350 colleges and universities fielding Division I (DI) men’s basketball teams. While the precise number of participating teams varies slightly from year to year as teams move up from or down to Division II, every Division I school has a men’s basketball team.

Conference geography and alignment

Division I teams are organized into 32 conferences. The first college basketball conferences were developed in the early 20th century in an attempt to standardize rules and regulations and protect student athletes. These were primarily geographic in nature, as evidenced by many of the naming conventions such as the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association, or the Pacific Coast Conference. While versions of these conferences still exist in the SEC, the Big 12, and the PAC 12, the participating schools have expanded to include those outside of the original geographic region. For example, the Big 12, originally covering the Missouri Valley, added West Virginia University in 2012 and expanded in 2023 to include Brigham Young University, University of Houston, and University of Central Florida extending the border of the conference from Utah to the gulf of Texas to Florida to West Virginia. Additionally, the Big 10 added University of California Los Angeles and University of Southern California in 2024, stretching the conference from the coast of Maryland to the coast of California. While more feasible today than in 1915, such expansions have an increased cost in dollars and time for teams traveling longer distances.

Moreover, conference affiliation is not necessarily stable, many of the realignments mentioned above were catalyzed by the University of Texas and University of Oklahoma agreeing to move to the SEC for the 2025 season.  Conference movement causes ripple effects as losing a university (or two) creates a void, leading conferences losing a team to invite teams from other conferences subsequently leaving other holes to be filled. Further, conferences not directly impacted by a team leaving or entering will often feel the need to realign to stay competitive. Moriarty (13) explores how some conferences benefit while others are harmed by this domino effect. Although conference realignment is often spurred by football, the other sports, including basketball, are also impacted. Conference realignment is not a recent or transitory phenomenon, Daughters (5) finds that 78 teams switched conferences during the period 1998-2013. Conference realignment, studied in the context of college football, has varied effects including increased attendance and profits for the athletic department while lessening regional rivalries. (See Hoffer and Pincin (10) or Dennie (6) for example.) The movement of schools from one conference to another has been and will likely remain a part of the landscape of college sports.

Tournament selection and seeding

Men’s basketball teams typically play around 30 regular season games each year in a mix of conference and non-conference games. The outcomes of these games and the conference tournament help determine selection for and seeding in the NCAA Men’s basketball tournament. Since 2011, 68 college basketball teams have participated in the tournament; the selection process includes 32 automatic bids going to the conference tournament winner for each conference, as well as 36 at-large bid which are selected by a committee to participate in the tournament. The NCAA selection committee is composed of 12 members, expanded from 10 in 2022 (24), and consists of collegiate athletic directors, conference commissioners, and other conference officials. The committee uses a mix of metrics, discussion, and balloting to seed the field (14). While the teams’ win/loss record is the first consideration, many other factors are considered including distances to event locations, expected attendance numbers, television viewership, player injuries, and recency of strong wins. While objective metrics are applied, tournament selection and seeding are essentially subjective processes and come under fire when things like the “eye test” are used to determine whether teams should be in or out. Personal bias can creep in, and despite recent attempts to increaase transparency, the process remains secretive.

Studies on bias in the selection process have produced mixed results. Criticism has been levied toward the Ratings Performance Index (RPI) which was used as a major determining factor until 2018. The RPI is a blunt metric solely determined by a team’s wins and losses as well as their opponents’ wins and losses. Research into bias of the RPI includes Sanders (19) who, building on previous work on bias in the RPI, divides teams into four different types according to the performance of the conference and the performance of the team within its conference, finding a bias against lower performing teams in higher ranked conferences compared with higher performing teams in lower ranked conferences. Coleman (3) looked at bias in both selection and seeding, finding bias towards teams with a conference member on the selection committee and against mid-major teams. On the other hand, Paul and Wilson (16) asserted the RPI is inherently biased as it omits the margin of victory in its calculation. When attempting to correct for this, (as the committee has access to the margin of victory data) they found no bias. The NCAA introduced a newer ranking system in the 2018-2019 season, hoping to correct some of these issues. This system, called NET, classifies wins by quadrants and incorporates variables such as the location of the game and margin of victory. Some recent analysis is available on the effectiveness of part of this newer system. Reinig and Horowitz (18) use a linear programming approach to incorporate the use of the quadrant system, finding results more consistent with the actual tournament selection.

Because of these flaws with subjectivity and bias, we argue a better selection and seeding method should be free of personal biases and transparent. It is not a new idea to apply non- subjective models to the NCAA Tournament selection process. For example, Matthews et. al. (12) applied the PageRank algorithm to rank all teams, selecting the top 64 teams for the tournament; this method has the advantage of incorporating more variables than RPI including venue, date, and point margin. Also, Dutta and Jacobson (7) made use of a decision tree with 11 stages to pairwise compare all NCAA teams. Those with the most pairwise wins were selected for the tournament, and this method successfully selects almost all the participating teams from 2012-2016. Both of these methods have an implied rank so seeding could be affected with the traditional S-curve (and possibly a tie-breaking mechanism). Further, Reinig and Horowitz (17) used seven variables such as RPI and BPI but also polling ranks to generate a final ranking of the teams that respects domination, that is, one team being equal or ahead of another team in all seven variables.

We note that other works are attempting to predict the selection committees’ choices, such as Coleman, DuMond, and Lynch (4) and while we compare our selections with the past selections, this is as validation not prediction. Furthermore, it is understandably a popular topic to predict the outcomes of games in the tournament, but that is not the purpose of this work.

To summarize, the current NCAA model is flawed by its subjective and semi-transparent process of tournament seeding and selection, the higher costs of moving away from a regional conference alignment, and the instability of movement within these conferences. To correct these flaws, we will propose a model adapted from European association football.

European association football as a model

Association football or soccer has been played in Europe since the 1800’s. The football clubs are organized regionally, primarily by nation, with a few exceptions. The modern international governing body is the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) while the clubs in England are regulated by the English Football Association. Here we discuss the promotion and relegation of the English clubs in their national association and selection and seeding for the UEFA tournament.

Promotion and relegation in the English Football League System

The English football league is structured as a pyramid with eleven defined levels where the 20-team Premier League sits on the top tier of the pyramid. At the end of each season, teams are moved between tiers based on their performance. Higher performing teams are promoted up the pyramid to the next level and lower performing teams are relegated down the pyramid to the previous level. In the English system, the number of teams promoted and relegated depends on the level with typically between one and four teams moving into and out of each league. In theory, this system allows any local club the opportunity to move up to the national stage over time. Similar relegation and promotion systems are in place in all the major national football associations. Positive benefits have been seen in the European promotion and relegation systems such as increases in both net attendance and player compensation Noll (15).

In particular, the national teams competing in UEFA Champions League (UCL) or UEFA Europa League (UEL) are almost always selected from the top tier of the pyramid. As we are using the UCL as a model for the NCAA tournament, we also wish to include a series of promotions and relegations. Here we model a shorter pyramid with the so-called “power conferences” above mid-major conferences. Because precedence is given in the tournaments to teams from power conferences in college basketball and premier leagues in association football, the promotion system allows high-performing teams from mid-major conferences the opportunity to move up to play against stronger competition but also have increased opportunity for tournament selection. Next, we look at European tournament selection and seeding.

UEL tournament selection and seeding

The UEFA consists of over 50 members and is composed primarily of national football associations in Europe, with some exceptions for associations formed from groups of nations and nations not having their own association. Each member association falls in one of four categories which determine how many representatives will compete from that association in the UCL and UEL championships. The UCL is considered the premier competition with high-ranking teams failing to qualify for the UCL group stage being selected to compete in the secondary UEL.

We are interested in the UEFA championship as a model for the NCAA tournament because this process is objective. Association representatives for the championship are chosen entirely by mathematical rank within the national championship with between one and four of the top finishing teams chosen from that league (with a rare possibility of five teams if the previous year’s UCL or UEL winner fails to qualify). The number of teams is determined by the association’s five-year club coefficient, a metric that measures the average number of points earned by a qualifying team in UCL and UEL competitions, where points are awarded for wins and ties. Specifically, 2 points are allocated for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss. Each association is ranked by association coefficient (with a tie-breaking system in place when coefficients are identical). Once these teams enter the field, under typical circumstances 26 teams directly qualify for the group stage. These are the UCL and UEL title holders, the champions from associations ranked 1-10, the second-place teams from members ranked 1-6, and the third and fourth place teams from associations ranked 1-4. (If the UCL or UEL title holder qualifies in one of the other categories, then the champion from the eleventh ranked member or the third placing team from the fifth ranked member association, respectively, is selected for the group stage.) The remaining teams are chosen from two pathways: the Champions path and the League path.

The playoffs allow lower ranking teams a chance to play their way into the UCL group stage. The qualifying phase consists of a preliminary round, and three qualifying rounds along with a final playoff round. Fifty-five teams qualify for the playoffs consisting of 44 champions, 9 runners-up, and 2 third place teams from the remaining highest ranking member associations. The champions play along the Champions path and the second and third place teams play in the League path. The teams earn byes for earlier stages based on their ranking.  For example, the top two ranking champions enter in the final play-off round, but the lowest four must begin play in the preliminary round, and the top three runners-up begin playing in the third qualifying round while the next six begin playing in the second qualifying round. Teams are paired based on seeding (determined by an individual club coefficient) and a draw with (after the preliminary round) each pair playing two matches or legs, one on each home field, with the winner determined by total score differential. Any team eliminated before the UCL group stage gains automatic entry in the UEL with byes determined by progression through the qualifying phase and playoff. Furthermore, seeding in the tournament is also determined by coefficients except in extreme instances. Thus, the European system of seeding and selection is based purely on points and is simple, transparent, and unbiased.  To make use of these advantages, we propose the Association Football (AF) model for NCAA men’s basketball.  Our method provides conference alignments, a tournament selection process, and a promotion and relegation system.

Geographic conference alignment

To create new conference alignments, we classified seven conferences[1] in men’s college basketball (ACC, American, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, SEC, and PAC-12) as top-level basketball conferences, because, although there is variability from year to year, these seven conferences typically have the highest non-conference win percentages. For example, in the 2019-20 season these conferences were each winning over 70-80% of their games outside of their conferences according to Wittry (22). In the AF model, the 87 teams from these conferences will form a league analogous to UEFA’s Premier League and as such, they will receive a higher proportion of automatic bids into the tournament. Our proposal of geographic redistricting condenses these seven conferences down to five (East, Central, Midwest, South, and West), with each conference being sub-divided into two divisions. Figure 1 illustrates the top teams grouped into 10 new divisions within five geographic top conferences which we call the Premier-5 (P5) conferences.  (Table 7 in the Appendix lists the teams by conference and division.)

Figure 1: Premier-5 teams grouped by divisions

The remaining D1 teams are placed in Mid-major (MM) conferences (also named East, Central, Midwest, South, and West) that are also subdivided into divisions. Universities are assigned to conferences and divisions with regional proximity as the main factor, and as a secondary factor we tried to keep teams from the same state in the same division. Figure 2 illustrates the distribution of Mid-major teams into 18 divisions. Full lists of these divisions with additional images can be found Tables 8-12 in the Appendix. (Note, the Ivy League with its differing athletic philosophy is exempt from this realignment.)

As expected, universities are not evenly distributed throughout the United States. A lower density of universities in the western states causes those conferences to be geographically larger while a higher density on the eastern seaboard causes those conferences to be geographically smaller but to consist of a larger number of teams. There is precedence for this variation of size

Figure 2: Mid-major teams grouped by divisions (excluding Hawai’i)

within UEFA’s national associations; for example, Scotland has 12 teams while England has 20 in their top leagues. Current DI conferences averaging about 12 teams: the smallest conference is the Ivy League with 8 teams and largest is the Big 10 with 18 teams. The seven major conferences contributing to the AF realignment have expanded in recent years and now average 14 teams per conference. Our five new Premier-5 conferences are comparable in size, but slightly bigger averaging 17 teams per conference and 9 teams for each division. The 13 new mid-major divisions are larger than current conferences averaging about 14 teams per division with a minimum of 8 teams and a maximum of 21 teams in a division.

NCAA tournament

As in association football, some mechanism of promotion and relegation is needed to help the Premier-5 conferences maintain their premier status and deservedly earn the extra automatic bids in the NCAA tournament. Following the association football model, associated with each conference will be a numerical conference coefficient and with each team a numerical team coefficient. Let team P5 wins be the number of games a team wins against Premier-5 teams, and similarly team MM wins are the number of wins the team had against Mid-major teams. The team games are the total number of games played by the team in the regular season.  We define team coefficient as follows:

Conference coefficients are then the mean of the team coefficients in that conference.  Likewise, division coefficients are the mean of the team coefficients in that division. Mimicking association football, we use a simple 2-1-0 point system. The difference being, as college basketball games do not end ties, we keep track of the typical expected difficulty of the game by awarding 2 points for a Premier-5 win, 1 point for a Mid-major win, and 0 points for a loss.

With the team and division coefficients in place, the NCAA tournament can be restructured into two-tiers where top teams are automatically entered into the final tournament of 64 teams and lower-tier teams are given the opportunity to win a one-game playoff or “play-in” game for entry into the tournament. The teams are ranked within their conference by their team coefficients.  We say TC1 is the team with the highest coefficient, TC2 the team with the second highest coefficient, and so on. Then we rank the Premier- 5 conferences from 1 to 5 based on their conference coefficients, and we rank the Mid-major conferences from 1 to 19 based on their conference coefficients. Similarly, here PC# represents the #th ranked premier conference and MC# represents the #th ranked mid-major conference. Along with a tiebreaker, the coefficients completely determine seeding and region for each team. All teams labeled TC1 get an automatic bid, but teams TC2, TC3, and TC4 in PC1 also get an automatic bid as well as teams TC2 and TC3 from PC2 and PC3. This allocated the first 32 spots in the tournament. Further, the order of the locations may be rotated each year so each part of the country has the option to host the top-ranked team, as is done with the FBS national tournament, or alternately, as has been proposed for the NCAA, the teams given one seeds could choose their region with the PC1 TC1 team choosing first, the PC2 TC2 teams choosing second, and the PC3 TC1 team choosing third. The seeding of the teams with automatic bids is found in Table 1.

Table 1: Tournament Seeding

SEED	EAST	SOUTH	MIDWEST	WEST
1	PC01 TC1	PC02 TC1	PC03 TC1	PC04 TC1
2	PC03 TC2	PC02 TC2	PC01 TC2	PC05 TC1
3	PC01 TC3	PC02 TC3	PC03 TC3	PC01 TC4
4	MC03 TC1	MC02 TC1	MC01 TC1	PC01 TC5
5	MC04 TC1	MC05 TC1	MC06 TC1	MC07 TC1
6	MC11 TC1	MC10 TC1	MC09 TC1	MC08 TC1
7	MC12 TC1	MC13 TC1	MC14 TC1	MC15 TC1
8	MC19 TC1	MC18 TC1	MC17 TC1	MC16 TC1

The remaining 32 teams are determined by play-in games and are seeded by S-curve with the winner of the top-ranked play-in game seeded 9^th in the East to the winner of the lowest-ranked play-in game seeded 16^th in the East. To determine the teams in these play-in games we rank all unseeded premier conference teams by their team coefficients. The top 36 Premier-5 conference teams from any division will play in the preliminary round of the tournament. Here we identify the teams rather than the conferences with P#. Similarly, we rank all unseeded Mid-major conference teams by their team coefficients labeling them M#. Here the top 28 Mid-major teams will get a spot in the play-in round. The play-in games are seeded as shown in Table 2. The choice of 36 Premier-5 conference teams and 28 Mid-major conference teams may seem somewhat arbitrary, but when comparing the team coefficients of the 36th Premier-5 conference team and the 1st Mid-major team we saw consistency and so believe this strikes the correct balance. (See the discussion in Section 5.)

Table 2: Play-in games

Game

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Home

P01

P02

P03

P04

P05

P06

P07

P08

P09

P10

P11

P12

Away

M28

M27

M26

M25

M24

M23

M22

M21

M20

M19

M18

M17

Game

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

Home

P13

P14

P15

P16

P17

P18

P19

P20

P21

P22

P23

P24

Away

M16

M15

M14

M13

M12

M11

M10

M09

M08

M07

M06

M05

Game

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

Home

P25

P26

P27

P28

P29

P30

P31

P32

Away

M04

M03

M02

M01

P36

P35

P34

P33

Promotion and relegation

An obvious difficulty with applying the model of promotion and relegation from a professional sports league to a collegiate setting is travel. Professional teams are composed of adults whose primary relationship to the team is that of an employee making extended travel simply a component of the work environment. On the other hand, college athletes have the additional responsibilities of being students, and the negative impact of extensive travel demands on scholastic responsibilities should be minimized if possible. With teams being promoted and relegated between Premier-5 and Mid-major conferences, coordinating geographic regions between the conferences is one way to achieve lower travel costs on the student athletes. There is evidence that geographic redistricting can be advantageous in more ways than the direct savings in time of travel. Lawrence (11) suggests rearranging the divisions around regional competition and rivalries will save in operational costs but also help ease overall inequalities between institutions. Additionally, Featherston (8) argues that geographic conferences are central to a student- centered conference alignment approach over the current model driven by financial incentives of national exposure.

With these coefficients in place, the promotion and regulation are simple processes. At the end of each season, within each conference teams are ranked by their team coefficients. The lowest ranking team in each of the ten Premier-5 divisions is identified. Within each mid-major conference, the divisions with the two highest division coefficients are selected and the team with the largest team coefficient from that division is chosen. Then the premier teams and mid-major teams move down and up respectively. Geography is used to determine how the Premier-5 and Mid-major teams are paired and swapped. A total of four teams will be directly affected by the promotion and relegation process in each of the five conferences.

We note, while it may seem unfair to have almost twice as many team vying for the promotion in the East, very talented winning teams in lower-ranked Mid-major East divisions will still have the option to move up in the next season’s promotion. Further, given the large number of mid-major teams in the West it may make sense to promote without relegation for the first two years to increase the size of the Premier-5 West conference to 16 teams to more closely parallel the other four conferences. Finally, the teams from the Ivy League conference will lie outside of this system and remain at the Mid-major level.

DISCUSSION

We have specified how the geographic AF model has the potential to lower costs for the schools and the athletes in terms of travel time and travel expenses as well as potentially balancing operational expenses. The AF model of promotion and relegation also provides stability. There is still movement and excitement or disappointment among the fan bases, but in a controlled manner, so conferences are not left floundering if a team leaves. Objective tournament selection and seeding also has the advantage of reducing bias by removing subjectivity. It should be acknowledged that the weighting system for wins in Premier-5 versus Mid-major divisions will benefit from further study to evaluate if it unfairly favors certain types of teams. The geographic model also has the advantage of increasing fan attendance and revenue as fans of opposing teams will be more able to travel to see the games. These competitive atmospheres could increase and build regional rivalries leading to higher excitement about the game. Most historic college basketball rivalries are geographic in nature, so there is unlikely to be a net negative effect here as well, for example Duke and North Carolina or Kentucky and Louisville, will either remain in the same conference or division, or switch from being in different conferences to being in the same conference or division.

We also posit an increased incentive to win nearer the end of the season for certain teams. With the current system, teams at the bottom of their league in a premier conference are only incentivized to win regular season games through seeding in the conference tournaments and the seeding in the NCAA should their long shot of winning the conference tournament occur. With the AF model, these lower-performing teams will be fighting against relegation, trying to keep their spot in premiere conferences. For Mid-major teams near the top of the conference, current incentives to win the conference and get top seeding in their conference tournament are already strong. Earning promotion will provide another tangible payout for winning the conference title.

Along with these general advantages, we consider potential impacts to the specific teams who get promoted or relegated at the end of the season. These schools will likely see changes in revenue, especially regarding media contracts and possibly apparel and licensing, depending on whether the team was promoted or relegated, changes could be positive or negative. In either case, schools would have to deal with the logistics of rebranding for their new conference. As discussed, conference realignment is already a frequent process so these impacts likely will not be worse in most cases, but there is the possibility a team could move up and down frequently. (For example, Grimsby Town F.C. has been promoted or relegated at least 30 times among different English club tiers over its 100+ year history (9)). Using data from the English Football League, Wilson (21) finds that 75% of teams survive promotion for at least one year with an average rate of 3.1 years before relegation. The English model has five tiers and thus four possible avenues of promotion and the rates of surviving that first promotion vary widely among the tiers.

There is also uncertainty remaining. One major difference between professional sports leagues and college athletics is the recruitment process and choices to attend or transfer from a school that are made by the college athlete. Would teams on the edge of either promotion or relegation see positive, negative, or neutral net impacts on recruiting and transfer decisions? Another uncertainty is the effect on competitive balance. Regular conference realignment can help balance the power within the conference, but geographical divisions do not consider the strength of the program, currently or historically.

RESULTS

We now retroactively apply the AF model to past NCAA tournaments. Data was collected on regular season wins and losses for NCAA Division I men’s basketball teams for the years 2010 through 2019. These data were collected from the website Basketball Reference (2) during the months of May and June in 2021 and used to calculate the previously described team and conference coefficients for each team, conference, and year.

Retroactive promotion and relegation

First, we recognize the teams who are promoted or relegated by the Association Football model from 2010 to 2019 using the AF model conference and division alignments.  (See Table 3.)

Table 3: Teams Promoted or Relegated under the Model by Year

Year	Relegated	Promoted
2010	Nebraska, Tulane East Carolina, Penn State DePaul, Indiana Auburn, Central Florida UCLA, Utah	Missouri State, Sam Houston State Rhode Island, Richmond Marshall, Northern Iowa Murray State, UAB Gonzaga, UT El Paso
2011	Oklahoma, TCU Providence, Wake Forest DePaul, Indiana Auburn, South Florida Oregon State, Utah	Missouri State, North Texas Fairfield, Richmond Marshall, Northern Iowa Belmont, Coastal Carolina Gonzaga, Brigham Young
2012	Nebraska, Texas Tech Boston College, East Carolina DePaul, Butler Auburn, South Carolina Southern California, Utah	Rice, Saint Louis Davidson, Wagner Dayton, South Dakota State Murray State, Southern Mississippi Gonzaga, New Mexico
2013	TCU, Tulsa Penn State, Virginia Tech DePaul, Xavier Auburn, South Florida Oregon State, Washington State	S. F. Austin, Saint Louis Davidson, Massachusetts Akron, North Dakota State Middle Tennessee, Southern Mississippi Gonzaga, New Mexico
2014	TCU, Tulsa Boston College, Virginia Tech Butler, DePaul Mississippi State, South Florida Southern California, Washington State	S. F. Austin, Saint Louis North Carolina Central, VCU Green Bay, Toledo Middle Tennessee, Southern Mississippi Gonzaga, New Mexico
2015	Missouri, Texas Tech Rutgers, Virginia Tech DePaul, Michigan Auburn, South Florida Southern California, Washington State	Sam Houston State, S. F. Austin Old Dominion, Wofford Dayton, Northern Iowa Georgia Southern, Murray State Colorado State, Gonzaga
2016	Missouri, Tulane Boston College, East Carolina Minnesota, Ohio State Auburn, South Florida UCLA, Washington State	Texas A&M Corpus Christi, S. F. Austin Monmouth, James Madison/VCU Dayton, South Dakota State Chattanooga, UNC Wilmington Gonzaga, Hawai‘i
2017	Tulane, Wichita State Boston College, North Carolina State DePaul, Indiana/Ohio State South Florida, Mississippi State Oregon State, Washington	Louisiana Tech, UT Arlington VCU, Winthrop Dayton, Illinois State Middle Tennessee, UNC Wilmington Gonzaga, Nevada
2018	Oklahoma State, Tulane East Carolina, Pittsburgh DePaul, Indiana Mississippi, South Florida California, Washington State	Louisiana Lafayette, Southern Illinois Saint Bonaventure, UNC Greensboro Loyola (IL), South Dakota State College of Charleston, Middle Tennessee Gonzaga, New Mexico State
2019	Oklahoma State, Tulane East Carolina, Pittsburgh Illinois, Notre Dame Georgia, Vanderbilt California, Washington State	Abilene Christian, Louisiana Lafayette VCU, Wofford South Dakota State, Toledo Belmont, College of Charleston UC Irvine, Nevada

While examining this table, unsurprisingly Gonzaga, a mid-major team who has been a national title contender in multiple tournaments, is predicted to be promoted in each of the years except 2019 and in that year their division coefficient was lower than the other two divisions in their conference. Other often-promoted teams are Dayton, Middle Tennessee, Stephen F. Austin, South Dakota State who were promoted four times. Further, DePaul is outclassed in their proposed division and would be predicted to be relegated in 8 of the 10 years. Auburn, East Carolina, Tulane, and Washington State are also relegated in five of the ten years and USF would have been relegated six times. More remarkably, we note that it is possible for quite good teams to get relegated. The Midwest Great Lakes conference was so strong that either Indiana or Ohio State, with 17-14 records, were relegated in 2017. Finally, there is plenty of variety, 42 different teams had seasons bad enough to earn relegation and 56 different teams were promoted.

Comparison of the Association Football model to past NCAA tournament selections

We can also look at the model through the lens of the seeding of the NCAA tournament. We have chosen the 2016 tournament as an example. Tables 5 and 6 found in the Appendix illustrate how the tournament could have been seeded that year.  Between the 32 automatic bids and the 32 play-in bid winners the AF model allows for 96 teams to make the NCAA tournament field, that is 32 pre-first round play-in games followed by the traditional 63 game single-elimination tournament. Given the on-and-off discussion for expanding the tournament field, we argue that this model increases the satisfaction of teams involved, allowing for more teams to participate as well as improving the selection process. Since the AF model has 28 more teams than the current model for tournaments from 1999 through 2010 and 24 more teams for tournaments after 2011, we examine teams that would not participate in the tournament as determined by the AF models but did receive a bid under the current system. These are the teams that potentially object to the change in system.  Table 4 lists the teams not selected by the AF model from 2010 to 2019. Except for 2011, only one or two premier teams were not selected by our model each of the ten years, with a total of sixteen Premier-5 teams being selected in the actual tournaments, but not by the AF model. There was a wider range of Mid-major teams that were not selected: between six and twelve each year and a total of 83 over the ten years. Therefore, the AF model agrees with 85% of the tournament committees’ selections.

We can also look at a basic analysis of the automatic seeding in the model as compared to the committee’s seeding. We consider 13 top teams automatically seeded from the premier conferences. Because the committee is much more likely to take a top premier conference team that does not win its conference tournament, these are less likely to be affected by upsets in a conference tournament than the remaining 19 teams selected after these top-ranked teams.  Thirty-nine of the 40 number 1 seeds in our model were selected for the tournament by the committee, with the one missing being Oregon in 2012. Seeding by the committee ranged from 1 to 6 with the average seeding over these 39 teams being 2.205. There were also 39 of the 40, number 2 seeds selected for the tournament by the committee. The excluded team being SMU in 2016 that was ineligible for the tournament due to NCAA violations. The range here of actual seeds was from 1 to 9, and the average seeding was 3.000. Regarding number 3 seeds, there were again 39 of 40 teams selected by the committee. (SMU in 2014 is the excluded team in this case.) The range is broader, from 1 to 12, with an average seed of 4.203. Overall, the committee and model seedings for teams selected by both was off by an average of 1.110 in those 13 top-ranked teams.

We also used the data to justify the play-in team ranking of 36 Premier-5 teams followed by 28 Mid-major teams. Over the ten years, the 36th-ranked Premier-5 team had a mean team coefficient of 0.9139 while the following top-ranked Mid-major play-in team had a team coefficient of 0.9246. This is less than one one-hundredth of a point advantage to the premier conference team.

We recall that the committee only chooses the at-large teams, with 32 teams chosen automatically by winning their conference tournament. The AF model is unable to account for the situation where a team that performed poorly in the regular season won their conference tournament and received an automatic bid. In fact, many of the current Mid-major conferences have such weak strength of schedules that even teams with reasonably good records won’t be selected unless they win their conference tournament. So, discounting the teams whose records were not strong, but received and automatic bid by winning their conference tournaments, there were only twelve teams that that the AF model omitted. These are: Penn State (2011), Marquette (2011), Southern California (2011), Xavier (2012), Temple (2013), Texas (2014), Purdue (2015), Wichita State (2016), Vanderbilt (2017), Alabama (2018), and Butler (2018).

CONCLUSIONS

We hypothesize some reasons for these teams being selected by the committee despite their poorer performance in the AF model. First, some teams may have been selected based on the “star-power” of that team. The primary example is the 2011 Marquette team that had both Jae Crowder

Table 4: NCAA Tournament teams not selected by the AF model from 2010 to 2019

Year	Teams	Premier-5	Mid-major	Total
2010	New Mexico State (12), Houston* (13), Ohio (14), Robert Morris (15), UC Santa Barbara (15), East Tennessee (16), UA Pine Bluff (16), Lehigh (16)	1	7	8
2011	Butler* (8), Penn State* (10), Marquette* (11), USC* (11), Indiana State (14), Wofford (14), Saint Peter’s (14), Northern Colorado (15), UC Santa Barbara (15), Akron (15), UT San Antonio (16), Alabama State (16), UNC Asheville (16), UA Little Rock (16), Boston University (16)	4	11	15
2012	Xavier* (10), Saint Bonaventure (14), Detroit Mercy (15), Mississippi Valley State (16), Western Kentucky (16), Vermont (16)	1	6	7
2013	Temple* (9), New Mexico State (13), Pacific (15), Iona (15), Albany (15), James Madison (16), Long Island (16), Western Kentucky (16), Liberty (16), North Carolina A&T (16)	1	9	10
2014	Texas* (7), Tulsa* (13), Lafayette (14), Milwaukee (15), American (15), Wofford (15), Coastal Carolina (16), Weber State (16), Albany (16), Mount Saint Mary’s (16), Cal Poly (16), Texas Southern (16)	2	10	12
2015	Purdue* (9), UC Irving (13), Valparaiso (13), UAB (14), Northeastern (14), Belmont (15), Texas Southern (15), New Mexico State (15), Lafayette (16), North Florida (16), Robert Morris (16), Manhattan (16), Hampton (16)	1	12	13
2016	Wichita State* (11), Florida Gulf Coast (16), Fairleigh Dickinson (16), Holy Cross (16), Southern (16), Austin Peay (16), Hampton (16)	1	6	7
2017	Vanderbilt* (9), Kent State (14), Iona (14), Troy (15), Jacksonville State (15), Mount Saint Mary’s (16), South Dakota State (16), Texas Southern (16), UC Davis (16)	1	8	9
2018	Alabama* (9), Butler* (10), Davidson (12), Marshall (13), CSU Fullerton (15), Iona (15), LIU Brooklyn (16), Radford (16), North Carolina Central (16), Texas Southern (16)	2	8	10
2019	Mississippi State* (5), Mississippi* (8), Saint Mary’s (11), Colgate (15), North Carolina Central (16), North Dakota State (16), Fairleigh Dickinson (16), Prairie View A&M (16), Iona (16)	2	7	9

and Jimmy Butler, two current NBA stars, and Darius Johnson-Odom who were all drafted in 2011 or 2012. Another example, is Colin Sexton on Alabama in 2018 who was the No. 2 ranked point guard coming out of high school and drafted 8^th that year. Other teams with future NBA draft picks include USC in 2011 with Nikola Vusevic, or 2016 Wichita State with Landry Shamet. Even undrafted players can excite notice: for example Fred VanVleet on that same Wichita State team twice won the Missouri Valley Player of the Year and the 2017 Vanderbilt team with Luke Kornet breaking school shot-blocking records. Although impossible to precisely measure the impact these future NBA players had on the national conversation, it is quite natural that committee members, also being fans, would be excited to see what some of these players could do in the tournament.

The committee might have also placed extra weight on runs in the conference tournament even if the team did not end up winning the championship game. Penn State and Xavier lost in their conference championship game while USC, Texas, Purdue, Wichita State, Vanderbilt, Alabama, and Butler all lost in their conference semifinals. In fact, 6 of the 9 lost to the eventual winner of the conference tournament. The AF model does not include data from the conference tournaments, so these wins may have helped propel these teams into the tournament if included.

Another explanation for the omission of some teams is strength of schedule as based on the Premier-5 and Mid-major teams in our model. Take the 2016 Wichita State team as an illustration. Overall, their record of 26-9 is favorable, but Wichita State did not move into the American Athletic Conference until the 2017-18 season. So, while they are considered a Premier-5 conference school in AF rankings, they almost exclusively played Mid-major schools in the 2015-16 season precipitating a low team coefficient. There may also be a recency bias; the committee may have felt that based on the past success of Wichita State in the Missouri Valley Conference the 26-9 record deserved a bid, even though our metric disagrees. Wichita State may not be the only team that was selected because of recent tournament success; a weak 2018 Butler was granted a spot in the tournament after stronger Butler teams had appeared in the previous three tournaments and nine of the last eleven.

Finally, we suggest that the committee composed of humans is fallible and some of these teams simply should not have been selected. Especially since our model selected an additional 28 (31 in 2010) teams, team omissions from our model suggests we ranked them significantly lower than the tournament committee who placed them in the field of 68 (65 in 2010). In particular, we point to the selection of Mississippi in 2019. Mississippi had a mediocre record of 20-12 and exited the SEC tournament in the first round. They had no notable players and no tradition of playing in the tournament with only two appearances (2013, 2015) in the previous 15 years. We see also in this year; Mississippi State was selected by the committee and not by the AF model. This decision is also questionable as Mississippi State had a mediocre record of 23-10 and quickly exited the SEC tournament reaching only the quarterfinals. They did however have some second-round future NBA draft picks in Quinndary Weatherspoon who was drafted 49th overall in the 2019 draft and Robert Woodard and Reggie Parry who were drafted 40th and 57th, respectively, in the 2020 draft.

To conclude, geographic conferences and relegation models where losing matters could be applied to men’s college basketball to decrease costs and increase excitement and fairness, while still having strong agreement with data from recent years.

APPLICATIONS IN SPORT

American sports should consider adopting some selection and organizational practices from European sports, particularly objective selection and seeding and regional groupings.

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15. Noll, R. G. (2002). The Economics of Promotion and Relegation in Sports Leagues: The Case of English Football. Journal of Sports Economics, 3(2), 169-203.
16. Paul, R. J. and Wilson, M. (2015). Political Correctness, Selection Bias, and the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Journal of Sports Economics, 16(2), 201-213.
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[1] Conference membership as of 2023

George Minoso2025-05-23T11:23:16-05:00

Effect of a Lace Locking Device on Skate Lace Tension

George Minoso2025-05-23T11:23:16-05:00May 30th, 2025|General, Sport Training|

Effect of a Lace Locking Device on Skate Lace Tension

ABSTRACT

Ice hockey skate boots traditionally use laces to secure the foot inside the boot, limit slippage, customize fit and enhance performance. A lace locking device was proposed to enhance the role of laces, maintain lace tension and customize tension zones throughout the lacing pattern. Applied sport research is often challenged by the lack of portable measurement instrumentation that can quantitatively assess the merits of athletic equipment and the effectiveness of specific equipment components. With a measurement apparatus developed in the previous research¹, the merits of skate laces can be easily assessed. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of without versus with the lace locking device installed on lace tension pre-post a bout of skating in two skating conditions: on a skating treadmill and on real ice. No significant differences were revealed with the lace locking device installed, potentially suggesting that lace tension was maintained by the device (p<0.05). Outcomes of the study suggested that the lace locking device provided a resistance to lace slippage, had the ability to maintain pre-established tension specific to the location where the device was installed, and further supported the athletes in customizing their skate setup.

Keywords: footwear, lace tension, lace locking device

INTRODUCTION

Athletic footwear is the vehicle by which mechanical function is translated to human motion and sport performance. The athlete-equipment interaction in gliding and sliding sports has been recognized as a fundamental component of performance success^2–5. However, quantitatively assessing the merits of equipment, namely athletic footwear on the execution of technique, is technically challenging and has been handcuffed by the lack of portable, reliable, and sensitive research instrumentation that can be used in a real-world sport environment.

Previous research has provided proof of concept that laces can help limit foot-shoe movement and achieve better fit⁶. Different lacing patterns are often employed in an attempt to address anatomical differences in individual foot morphology⁷ and customize tension preferences in footwear. In the sport of ice hockey, skate boots traditionally use laces to secure the foot inside the boot and further enhance fit and comfort. It is common for an athlete to customize their skate lacing setup by using different types of laces or lacing strategies to create varying tension zones at different locations along the lacing pattern to optimize fit, comfort and ultimately support skating performance. Some practices have included using different materials of laces (e.g., waxed versus non-waxed), different lacing patterns (e.g., skipping or doubling up on eyelets), or by installing ad hoc lace locking devices. These practices are somewhat temporary band-aid solutions since laces are continuous; tension may disperse across the length of the laces and lacing pattern. Furthermore, the material properties of the laces allow for stretch¹ and as a result, lace tension loosens. All these factors may result in changes in the original or intended effect of securing and customizing footwear setup.

A novel practice that has emerged recently to enhance lace tension and secure footwear is the use of a self-lacing technology. One innovative method utilizes a motorized cable instead of the traditional lace permitting automated and precise control of lace tension. A recent study by Myers et al. (2022)⁸ investigated the impact of self-lacing technology on foot containment during dynamic motion. Results revealed significantly less movement of the foot within the footwear that potentially translates to related improvements in athletic performance and reduced injury potential, with the technology at low (-10% preferred), preferred, and high (+10% preferred) tensions. A subjective measure of athlete’s perception also revealed an increase in the athlete’s confidence level when performing dynamic motion with higher tension. However, the technology described above is currently unavailable in specialized footwear, such as ice skates.

Previous research has established relationships between lacing practices, tension and athletes’ confidence and performance^7–9. Quantitatively assessing the merits of lace locking practices is technically challenging. A portable apparatus was designed, built and reliability assessed previous research¹, specifically for the purpose of quantifying lace tension parameters [applied force (N) and displacement from skate tongue (mm)] while the footwear is secured on the foot. The apparatus included a customizable platform to accept different types of footwear (e.g., running shoes, hiking boots, ski boots, ice skates), allowing lace tension to be assessed when the footwear was secured on the foot, pre and post a bout of activity in both the controlled environment of a laboratory and when subjected to a sport-specific, real-world environment.

The current study proposed an alternative lace locking device to maintain lace tension during activity and to further support comfort and fit of the athletes’ equipment in sport-specific environments. The piece of equipment under investigation was a patented and commercially available after-market lace locking device (Figure 1). The lace locking device can be installed on the existing lace of athletic footwear with the intention to reduce lace slippage, permit the user to create distinct zones of lace tension, and reduce the need of retying the footwear during extended use. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to confirm these claims by comparing lace tension pre and post a bout of skating without and with the lace locking device both in a lab environment on a skating treadmill and in a real-world environment on ice.

Figure 1

Note. Illustrations of the lace locking device in three positions (a) the Lace Locking Device, (b) Device open with laces, (c) Device closed with laces secured.

METHODS

Study Design

The study was a mixed methods experimental design including two interventions, namely without and with the lace locking device installed on the skate boot laces. The intervention was repeated in two experimental environments; (i) in a controlled laboratory environment on a skating treadmill, and (ii) in the real-world sport environment, on the ice during game play. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Office of Research Ethics Board at Brock University (File #21-251).

Instrumentation

A portable apparatus (Figure 2) designed and built specifically for the purpose of quantifying lace tension parameters¹ was used for the current study. Data collection procedures and data analyses were consistent with procedures developed in the previous study¹.  Output measures of the apparatus included force (N) and displacement (mm) collected by the load cell and the calliper when a force is applied to the lace. To facilitate this, the hook secured to the end of the cable was attached to the lace at the desired eyelet location. Once a force was applied to the lever, the force was transferred to the lace via the cable and pulled the lace away from the tongue of the footwear¹.

Figure 2

Note. Different views of the apparatus. (a) View at 45 degrees (b) Frontal view. The base of the apparatus was designed to secure all types of footwear including ice skates. There are adjustable stoppers located at the front and the two sides of the base. There is a slot in the middle of the base plate which can allow skate blade to fit in to provide constrain to footwear movement. The lever on the top coming out of the back provided a loading mechanism through the cable while the load cell and calliper attached at the other end measure force and displacement of the force applied respectively. The microcontroller was used to initiate and stop the data collection while recording measurements from the load cell and the calliper.

Phase 1 – Investigation of lace locking device installed on a skate boot in a controlled laboratory environment while skating on a skating treadmill

The purpose of Phase 1 was to investigate the effect of without the lace locking device installed versus with the lace locking device installed on lace tension pre and post a bout of skating on a skating treadmill.

Participants

A total of eight participants (n=8) were recruited (four males and four females). The eligibility criteria included: participants were treadmill trained defined by having completed a minimum of eight sessions of previous skating treadmill training, participants were self-reported as injury free, and participants were actively playing hockey at a competitive level.

Equipment

Participants wore their own skates. Skates were sharpened to game play conditions and a new pair of non-wax laces (Howies Hockey Tape, MI, USA) were installed in all skates. A previous study suggested that laces stretch under tension loads and depending on the material of the laces, some stretches more than the other¹. For the purpose of consistency across all participants, non-waxed laces were selected for the study. The lacing pattern was consistent. Each participant tied their own skates to their own preferred tension for game-like conditions. Plantar pressure insoles (XSENSOR® Technology Corporation, AB, Canada) were inserted into the skate boots prior to lacing the skates. The insoles were used in the study to provide a baseline measure of fit of the skate and lace tension for each intervention. Baseline pressure measures (psi) were defined as the pressure exerted on the insoles from the foot due to the tension of the laces securing the foot to the footbed. The baseline pressure measures were collected prior to the skating bout in both interventions. Participants were required to sit on a bench with knees extended and feet lifted from the ground to unweight the skates for five seconds. The baseline pressure measures were calculated as the average pressure over five seconds for each section of the foot (forefoot, midfoot, heel and total foot). Paired samples t-tests of the baseline pressures (psi) recorded by the insoles at the forefoot, midfoot, heel and total foot were conducted between interventions. An analysis of the pressure data revealed consistent pre skate baseline pressures for each section of the foot and total foot between interventions. This consistency in the pressure data can be interpreted as a consistent fit of the skate and lace tension prior to the bout of skating in both interventions. 

Warmup

A skating treadmill in a controlled laboratory environment was used for the purpose of this study. The surface of the treadmill is 3.6 m² (200cm by 180cm) covered by a series of parallel polyethylene slats prepared with silicon to simulate the frictionless surface of real ice. A harness was fit and secured to each participant and connected to an overhead track system as a safety measure. A standardized and supervised warm up protocol consisted of three 20-second skates at a speed of 7.5mph (12.07km/h) and an incline of 5° on the skating treadmill.

Treadmill Skating Protocol

Participants completed a standardized protocol of moderate intensity consisting of five 30-second bouts of skating at 7.5mph (12.07km/h) speed and 5° incline, followed by three 30-second bouts of skating at 7mph (11.27km/h) speed and 10° incline. Moderate intensity was dictated by participant’s previous treadmill training experience and calibre of play and was consistent and repeated for both interventions. A work-to-rest ratio of 1:3 was implemented to control for the effect of fatigue while skating on the treadmill.

Without lace locking device – pre and post lace tension measurement procedures

Pre: Following the warmup and prior to the skating protocol described above, participants were instructed to sit in a chair to loosen and retie the laces of the skates to ensure the pre skate tension measures were not influenced by any skating prior to the start of the skating bout. The lace tension apparatus (Figure 2) was used to measure the force (N) required to pull the lace as well as its displacement (mm) away from the tongue of the skate boot (Figure 3). Lace tension measurements were recorded at the second (below the lace locking device hold zone), the fourth (between the lace locking device hold zone), and the sixth (above the lace locking device hold zone) eyelet of the left skate.

Post: Following the skating protocol described above, participants were again required to sit in a chair and lace tension measurements were repeated at the same eyelet locations (two, four, and six) as the pre measurement on the left skate.

With lace locking device

Participants were instructed to loosen their laces so that the lace locking device could be installed. Lace locking devices were installed on the laces aligned with the third and the fifth eyelets on the left skate during the retying process. The hold zone referred to the space between the two lace locking devices (Figure 3). The skating protocol and measurement procedures were consistent with those performed for the previous condition, without the lace locking device.

Figure 3

Note. Locations for the lace locking devices in Phase 1 with the red box indicating hold zone.

Figure 4

Note. Setup of the apparatus during data collection of Phase 1.

Phase 2 – Investigation of lace locking device installed on a skate boot in a real-world environment while skating on the ice

The purpose of Phase 2 was to investigate the effect of without the lace locking device installed versus with the lace locking device installed on lace tension pre and post a bout of skating on the ice.   

Participants

A total of 14 female participants (n=14) were recruited. Eligibility criteria included; participants were self-reported as injury free and were actively playing competitive hockey. All participants were instructed to wear their own skates sharpened for game like conditions.

On Ice Skating Protocol

Participants warmed up with their own choices of movements for the first 5 minutes of the skate. A 45-minute bout of on ice skating simulated the movement patterns, speeds, and intensities of competitive game play.

Pre and post lace tension measurement procedures

Pre: Participants were required to sit in a chair with their knees flexed at 90°. The lace locking device was installed on the seventh eyelet from the toe of each participant’s left skate. No lace locking device was installed on the right skate. The measurement apparatus was used to collect force (N) and displacement (mm) of a pull on both left (representing with) and right (representing without) skates of each participant at the sixth eyelet (one eyelet below the lace locking device).

Post: Following the on-ice bout of skating, participants were required to sit in a chair with their knees flexed at 90° in order to repeat tension measurements (force (N) required to pull the lace and lace displacement (mm) away from the tongue of the skate boot) at the same eyelet location (eyelet 6).

Figure 5

Note. Apparatus setup during Phase 2 data collection.

DATA ANALYSIS & RESULTS

Phase 1 – Results of lace tension with lace locking device installed on a skate boot in a controlled laboratory environment while skating on a skating treadmill

At each of the measurement sites (eyelets 2, 4, and 6), a force (N) versus displacement (mm) plot was generated for both pre and post skate data. A linear line of best fit was generated for each data set; the slope of the line represents the stiffness property of the lace materials and the translation value represents the shift in displacement (mm) for pre and post measurements. The shift in displacement (mm) was compared and used as a quantitative metric for lace tension. Paired-comparison t-tests were performed to compare means of the lace tension parameter between pre and post skate measurements without and with lace locking device.

Results revealed significant differences in lace tension parameter pre and post a bout of treadmill skating for both interventions (without and with the lace locking device) at the fourth and the sixth eyelets, but no significant differences at the second eyelet (Table 1). An observation of graphs revealed less change was observed between pre and post measurements for the second (see Figure 6) and the fourth eyelet (Figure 7) with the lace locking device equipped, but not in the sixth eyelet (Figure 8). Measured displacements were negative as they reflected the direction the calliper was moving when the lever of the apparatus was pulled. Less magnitude in the displacement measured by the apparatus indicates that there was less “give” in the lace which means there was less likelihood of foot shift and discomfort caused by loosening of the lace.

Table 1

Paired comparison t-test results for treadmill data collection.

Compared Pair	Mean ± SD	p-value
Without Eyelet 2 Pre – Post	0.56 ± 0.97	0.076
With Eyelet 2 Pre – Post	1.30 ± 2.84	0.119
Without Eyelet 4 Pre – Post	0.63 ± 0.69	0.018
With Eyelet 4 Pre – Post	2.16 ± 2.74	0.031
Without Eyelet 6 Pre – Post	1.44 ± 1.33	0.009*
With Eyelet 6 Pre – Post	3.01 ± 1.90	0.001*

*p<0.05 for indication of statistical significance.

Figure 6

Note. Pre and post skate comparison of force – displacement plots for in-lab skating session at eyelet 2. (a) Result without the lace locking device equipped (b) Result with the lace locking device equipped. X and Y axis of the plots were scaled to the same values. There is a larger change in displacement measurements pre versus post skate without the lace locking device equipped meaning there is more change to lace tension without the device equipped at eyelet 2.

Figure 7

Note. Pre and post skate comparison of force – displacement plots for in-lab skating session at eyelet 4. (a) Result without the lace locking device equipped (b) Result with the lace locking device equipped. X and Y axis of the plots were scaled to the same values. There is a larger change in displacement measurements pre versus post skate without the lace locking device equipped meaning there is more change to lace tension without the device equipped at eyelet 4.

Figure 8

Note. Pre and post skate comparison of force – displacement plots for in-lab skating session at eyelet 6. (A) result without the lace locking device equipped (B) result with the lace locking device equipped. X and Y axis of the plots were scaled to the same values. There is a larger change in displacement measurements pre versus post skate with the lace locking device equipped meaning there is more change to lace tension with the device equipped at eyelet 6.

Phase 2 – Results of lace tension with lace locking device installed on a skate boot in a real-world environment while skating on the ice

The change in displacement of the lace tension measurements were plotted and statistically compared pre and post skate without and with lace locking device using the same analysis performed in phase 1. Pre and post skate measurement differences were used as a comparative lace tension metric between the right (without lace locking device) and left (with lace locking device) skate.

Results revealed significant differences in lace tension on the right skate (without lace locking device installed) pre and post a bout of simulated game play skating on ice. However, no significant difference in lace tension was seen on the left skate (with the lace locking device) (see Table 2). Force-displacement plots provide a graphical representation of the collected data (Figure 9) where the slope of the line represents the stiffness property of the lace materials and the translation value represents the shift in displacement (mm) for pre and post measurements. The shift in displacement (mm) was then used as a quantitative metric for lace tension.

Table 2

Paired comparison t-test results for on-ice data collection.

Compared Pair	Mean ± SD	p-value
Without Pre – Post	2.76 ± 4.30	0.016*
With Pre – Post	1.43 ± 4.29	0.116

*p<0.05 for indication of statistical significance.

Figure 9

Note. Pre and post skate comparison of force – displacement plots for on-ice skating session. (a) result without the lace locking device equipped (b) result with the lace locking device equipped. X and Y axis of the plots were scaled to the same values. There is a larger change in displacement measurements pre versus post skate without the lace locking device equipped meaning there is more change to lace tension without the device equipped during on-ice skating session.

DISCUSSION

The study provided a comparative analysis of lace tension parameters without the lace locking device versus with the lace locking device installed in the controlled environment of a laboratory on a skating treadmill and in a sport-specific real-world environment on the ice. The behaviour of the laces is governed by their material properties, and as such, the lace locking device is an add-on device with the specific purpose of adding value to the role of laces. By maintaining tension established by the athlete, the lace locking device could potentially help reduce friction induced injuries, increase athlete confidence, and footwear comfort.

Results revealed more change in pre and post lace tension measurements without the lace locking device versus with the lace locking device installed. These results were consistent across both environments, on skating treadmill and on ice. This potentially implies that the lace locking device consistently maintains tension at the location where it is installed in both a controlled lab and a real-sport environment.  

Through improving the fit of the footwear and foot containment, maintaining lace tension at preferred tension or higher lace tension can provide athletes with confidence in their equipment while performing dynamic movements. The lack of shifting of the lace tension with the lace locking device throughout the skate has multiple implications for a user. By holding lace tension, the lace locking device made it easier for athletes to customize their skate lacing setup knowing that the setup would maintain tension, providing athletes with the confidence to perform dynamic movements required throughout their performance.

Limiting the movement of the foot inside the footwear can also further reduce the potential for friction related injuries, such as lace bite, heel spurs and bunions. Treatment for these friction related injuries involve reducing contact force and friction between the footwear and the foot or ankle¹⁰. The lace locking device achieved that objective by holding lace tension at its optimal tension to prevent further irritation due to overly tight skate. The lace locking device may potentially be used as preventative measures for friction induced injuries as well.

FUTURE RESEARCH

It is a logical progression to extrapolate and implement assessment methodologies across athletic footwear in different sports requiring footwear models consisting of 2-15 eyelets. Funding has been secured to investigate the generalization of the lace locking device across different footwear models consisting of 2-15 eyelets. Further investigation is needed to provide insight on how different configurations and quantity of the lace locking device on the laces could potentially impact the tension results. Further investigation is also needed to help eliminate friction-based injury in footwear with the lace locking device. This will build upon the current academic-industrial relationship established and generalize the effectiveness of the device across a variety of athletic footwear.

REFERENCES