Open Access Kent State (OAKS)

The purpose of this study was to examine conditions impacting fans’ preference for watching their most disliked team and their favourite team. Previous work found that National Football League fans clearly preferred watching the favourite team, but only preferred watching the disliked team when it was a threat to the favourite. Using the Psychological Commitment to Team (PCT) scale to segment National Basketball Association fans, the current study found both high and low PCT fans preferred watching the disliked team when it was a threat to the favourite team. However, only high PCT fans preferred watching the disliked team when it was likely to lose. Finally, high PCT fans were more likely to watch the favourite team regardless of the conditions, while low PCT fans were significantly less likely to watch the favourite team when it was likely to lose.

Within intercollegiate athletics, a popular strategy to encourage ethical decision making and behavior has been to create codes of ethics. Despite the importance placed on codes of ethics, little is known about how student-athletes feel about their codes of ethics. To better understand student-athletes’ perceptions of the content and purposes of their codes of ethics, a sample of student-athletes from one NCAA Division I conference (n = 336) was surveyed. Results revealed student-athletes’ general perceptions of toward codes of ethics and their positions on responsibility for conduct, enforcement, and penalties. Further, results revealed student-athletes’ feelings toward important ethical ideals. Findings from this research should help conferences in writing codes of ethics that are more effective.

Deals with a study which assessed the motives of donors at National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Institutions. Research on intercollegiate athletic fundraising; Motivations for donating; Methods; Results; Discussion; Conclusion.

Organizational justice research has suggested that collective action is often necessary to change the distribution of resources. Sheppard, Lewicki, and Minton have identified seven factors that increase the likelihood of collective action. The current study demonstrates that an examination of these seven factors can be useful in explaining why women have been able in recent years to increase their relative share of the resources in intercollegiate athletics. The factors also help explain why the women’s sport teams do not yet receive the same share as the men’s teams. Finally, these factors can be helpful in explaining why student athletes have been largely unsuccessful in increasing their relative share of the resources during a period in which women have experienced some success.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether spectators prefer watching games featuring teams toward which they have a strong attitude, even if the attitude is negative. This hypothesis was based on research related to the Disposition Theory of Sport Spectatorship, the impact of sport team allegiances on self-esteem and public image, and the enjoyment of eustress among sport fans. The results indicated that spectators do prefer games featuring their favorite team, but they prefer games featuring the most disliked team only when that team is seen as a threat to the spectator's favorite team.

The importance of having a successful annual giving program has increased for most NCAA Division I schools. The current study focused on (a) the various methods used within annual giving programs, (b) the environmental factors that may influence the annual giving program, and (c) the impact of the environmental factors on the various methods. In order to identify the tackers and the methods, interviews were conducted with 10 directors of Division I annual giving programs. An effort was made to include directors who worked at both public and private institutions, who were located in various parts of the county and who were identified as experts at specific fund-raising methods. The researchers then attempted to identify relationships between the factors and the various methods based on the responses by the interviewers. The researchers identified 11 environmental factors, 6 methods, and a variety of relationships between the factors and methods.