College athletics in the future: A comparative study of presidents\u27 and athletic directors\u27 perceptions.

The major purpose of this study was to determine perceptions of Division I-A presidents and athletic directors as they concern the future direction of Division I-A athletic programs. A secondary purpose was to determine differences between Division I-A presidents and athletic directors perceptions according to conference affiliation and geographical district affiliation. Descriptive research was conducted using a questionnaire, which was taken from existing literature and adapted for use by the researcher. The questionnaire contained categories including: demographics, athletic scholarship, scheduling, eligibility, NCAA involvement, financial, and legislative involvement. The study\u27s population included all college presidents and athletic directors from 106 NCAA Division I-A institutions during the 1990-91 academic year. The return rate was 41% ({dollar}N = 86{dollar}). The statistical analysis was accomplished with use of a Chi square which determined whether presidents\u27 responses were significantly different from those of athletic directors on the probability as to the date of item occurrence, and an Independent T-test was used to determine whether presidents\u27 responses were significantly different from those of athletic directors as to the desirability of the item occurring and as to the impact on the quality of higher education. The data was also tabulated through a SYSTAT program which identified the frequencies and the percentages of responses. All statistical tests of significance used an alpha level of.10. The results of the study concluded that there were no significant differences when comparing: (1) presidents by conference affiliation; (2) athletic directors by conference affiliation; (3) presidents by conference affiliation to athletic directors by conference affiliation; (4) presidents by geographical district affiliation; (5) athletic directors by geographical district affiliation; (6) presidents by geographical district affiliation to athletic directors by geographical district affiliation; (7) all presidents; (8) all athletic directors; (9) all presidents to all athletic directors; (10) all presidents to all athletic directors from same institution concerning the future direction of college athletics in the categories of (a) athletic scholarships, (b) scheduling, (c) eligibility, (d) NCAA involvement, (e) financial, and (f) legislative involvement according to their best estimate as to the date the item will occur, according to the desirability of the item occurring and as to the impact of the occurrence on the quality of higher education