The relationship between selected individual factors and student opinions regarding the funding of intercollegiate athletics at Winona State College

The purpose of the study was to determine the relationship between selected individual factors and student opinions regarding the funding of intercollegiate athletics at Winona State College. In the study, consideration was given to whether or not:1. The personal factors (sex, age, marital status and military status) are related to the student opinions regarding the funding of intercollegiate athletics at Winona State College.2. The academic factors (student classification, cumulative grade point average, major area of concentration in school, method of financing education and employment while attending college) are related to the student opinions regarding the funding of intercollegiate athletics at Winona State College.3. The socio-economic factors (size of high school graduating class, participation in varsity athletics, father's occupation, and hometown population) are related to the student opinions regarding the funding of intercollegiate athletics at Winona State College. The major source for obtaining data was the "Administrator's Survey Instrument" which was in the form of a questionnaire administered to 500 full-time undergraduate students at Winona State College. The first section was concerned with the selected factors regarding each respondent and was designed to obtain information relative to the subject's personal, academic and socioeconomic background. The second section was designed to obtain data regarding student philosophy and opinions toward intercollegiate athletics and their source of funding at Winona State College.The chi-square test of independence was used to statistically examine the four hypotheses of the study to determine the statistically significant relationships between selected individual factors and student opinions regarding the funding of intercollegiate athletics at Winona State College.One primary and three subordinate null hypothesesPrimary HypothesisThere are no significant relationships between selected individual factors and student opinions regarding the funding of intercollegiate athletics at Winona State College.Subordinate Hypothesis AThere are no significant relationships between selected personal factors and student opinions regarding the funding of intercollegiate athletics at Winona State College.Subordinate Hypothesis BThere are no significant relationships between selected academic factors and student opinions regarding the funding of intercollegiate athletics at Winona State College.Subordinate Hypothesis CThere are no significant relationships between selected socio-economic factors and student opinions regarding the funding of intercollegiate athletics at Winona State College.Analysis of the data revealed that the three subordinate hypotheses could be rejected at the .05 level. In other words, there appears to be a relationship between selected personal, academic and socio-economic characteristics of the students and the opinions these students expressed about the funding of intercollegiate athletics at Winona State College. Twenty percent (20%) reached statistical significance in Subordinate Hypothesis A, nineteen percent (19%) reached statistical significance in Subordinate Hypothesis B, and eleven percent (11%) reached statistical significance in Subordinate Hypothesis C. Sixteen percent (16%) reached statistical significance in the Primary Hypothesis. On this basis, the Primary Hypothesis was rejected and it was concluded that there were statistically significant relationships between selected individual factors and student opinions regarding the funding of intercollegiate athletics at Winona State College.Results obtained from the study indicate the following recommendations relative to funding intercollegiate athletics at Winona State College: (1) continue support ofthe intercollegiate athletic program through the primary source of student fees, (2) continue aid to athletes based on need and for a four year period, (3) continue funding of intercollegiate athletics through student organizations, (4) recommend no increase of monies for additional recruiting of outstanding athletes, (5) recommend no increase of varsity athletic program, (6) provide additional money for national tournament participation, (7) continue to stabilize current team expenses for food, lodging and travel, (8) continue the conventional mode of travel (bus and car) and do not increase monies for air travel except when circumstances demand, (9) when curtailment of a sport is necessary within the athletic program, consider the elimination of the sports in the following order: golf, cross country, hockey, tennis, football, track, wrestling, swimming, baseball and basketball, (10) when teams qualify for national competition, continue to fund them for participation nationally, (11) coaches salaries not to be funded from student fees, (12) permit students to have an option relative to purchasing the student activity ticket for extra-curricular events, (13) when a reduction of the yearly allocation comes about, consider such actions as requiring student admission fees to each home athletic event, limit the size of traveling squads for all sports, eliminate spring football, reduce food and lodging allowances and reduce the travel distances for all teams.Thesis (D. 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