Indiana Public High School Parents’ Perceptions of Interscholastic Competitive Balance

As part of the educational mission of interscholastic athletics, ensuring competitive balance is a priority of state athletic associations nationwide. Specifically, teams playing within a postseason championship tournament should have a fair and equitable chance to win. Private high schools, in particular, have been the focus of competitive balance scrutiny from public high school stakeholders due to disproportionately high success in many states. Despite much anecdotal scrutiny from public stakeholders, it is not clear how much they know about interscholastic policy or private school characteristics. Therefore, this study set to explore Indiana public high school parents’ perceptions of interscholastic competitive balance through qualitative interview data. Using thematic analysis, five themes emerged from the data influential to competitive balance (location, policy, sport culture, financial resources, and education). Each of these themes was influenced by an omnipresent private school impact, which reinforced a need for additional education of policy and private school characteristics.

Benefits of Athletics for Military School Students

This chapter studies the perception of cadets, alumni, and staff of military schools and colleges (N=220) who responded to a survey about the benefits of interscholastic and intramural athletics for students in military schools and colleges. Overwhelmingly, respondents agreed that both athletics build citizens with good character, foster leadership development, improve academic success metrics and overall personal wellness. Respondents surprisingly perceived athletics as slightly less impactful on fostering integrity and respect as well as on dropout prevention and furthering writing skills. Respondents perceive that interscholastic athletics were more likely to deliver positive returns than intramural athletics, even though most military schools and colleges require participation in intramural athletics, and participation in interscholastic athletics is often optional and based on ability level. Overall, there is a strong perception that participation in athletic activities of any kind offer positive returns for cadets attending military schools and colleges.

Getting to the Heart of It All: An Analysis of Due Process in Interscholastic Athletics

Based on authority of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, a person is entitled to procedural due process protections by the state prior to the deprivation of any life, liberty, or property interest to ensure a just outcome. While many people assert interscholastic athletics are an important part of a student’s overall education, courts have been reluctant to accept this argument. The purpose of this article is to examine how past legal precedent applies to the current structure and purpose of interscholastic sport. To achieve this, a single state athletic association (i.e., the Ohio High School Athletic Association) was examined as well as the state’s accompanying school districts. Mission statements, structure, and modes of operation were examined in-depth through surveying high schools and performing content analysis of state bylaws. Results revealed the use of pay-to-play, affording student-athletes academic credit for participation, and current mission statements and bylaws may be increasing the liability of school districts.

Key Factors for Providing Appropriate Medical Care in Secondary School Athletics: Athletic Training Services and Budget

Context: Research suggests that appropriate medical care for interscholastic athletes is frequently lacking. However, few investigators have examined factors related to care. Objective: To examine medical care provided by interscholastic athletics programs and to identify factors associated with variations in provision of care. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Mailed and e-mailed survey. Patients or Other Participants: One hundred sixty-six South Carolina high schools. Intervention(s): The 132-item Appropriate Medical Care Assessment Tool (AMCAT) was developed and pilot tested. It included 119 items assessing medical care based on the Appropriate Medical Care for Secondary School-Age Athletes (AMCSSAA) Consensus Statement and Monograph (test-retest reliability: r = 0.89). Also included were items assessing potential influences on medical care. Presence, source, and number of athletic trainers; school size; distance to nearest medical center; public or private status; sports medicine supply budget; and varsity football regional championships served as explanatory variables, whereas the school setting, region of state, and rate of free or reduced lunch qualifiers served as control variables. Main Outcome Measure(s): The Appropriate Care Index (ACI) score from the AMCAT provided a quantitative measure of medical care and served as the response variable. The ACI score was determined based on a school's response to items relating to AMCSSAA guidelines. Results: Regression analysis revealed associations with ACI score for athletic training services and sports medicine supply budget (both P < .001) when controlling for the setting, region, and rate of free or reduced lunch qualifiers. These 2 variables accounted for 30% of the variance in ACI score (R2 = 0.302). Post hoc analysis showed differences between ACI score based on the source of the athletic trainer and the size of the sports medicine supply budget. Conclusions: The AMCAT offers an evaluation of medical care provided by interscholastic athletics programs. In South Carolina schools, athletic training services and the sports medicine supply budget were associated with higher levels of medical care. These results offer guidance for improving the medical care provided for interscholastic athletes.