Development of a Conceptual Model of Occupational Stress for Athletic Directors in Sport Contexts

Previous studies have reported that occupational stress is a determinant risk factor for both chronic diseases and job performance among organizational leaders. Every occupation has its own culture and occupational climate influencing organizations within the industries. Thus, due to the idiosyncratic features inherent in sports, athletic directors may experience different occupational stressors. To date, there has been no comprehensive review of the occupational stress in athletic director contexts. Thus, based on the literature on both occupational stress and sport leadership, this study proposes a conceptual framework of occupational stress in sport leadership. The model identifies the five higher-order themes of occupational stressors and their associations with the first-level outcomes of individuals and the second-level outcomes of organizations. It also includes the two higher-order moderators of personal and organizational factors. It is hoped that this initiative can invoke interest in this topic to provide health-enhancing environments for athletic directors and quality sport services to society.

Double Punch to the Glass Ceiling: Career Experiences and Challenges of Ethnic Minority Female Athletic Directors

Women continue to struggle to reach senior-level leadership positions in collegiate sports, and ethnic minorities face the challenges due to their ethnicity as well. This research examined the experiences and challenges of ethnic minority women who are collegiate athletic directors at predominantly White institutions (PWIs). Semistructured interviews were conducted with eight participants using intersectionality as a theoretical framework. Three themes emerged from the data analysis: (a) intersectional challenges, (b) questions of competence, and (c) professional support. The women were continually battling the idea of having to prove themselves and negotiating the challenges of being an ethnic minority woman working in collegiate athletics. They credit their professional networks as a valuable resource during their career progression. The women noted that sexism was more prevalent in their experiences than issues related to their ethnicity. The masculine athletic director stereotype persists in collegiate sports, but the findings of this study can contest the notion of a standard leadership identity that has long been perceived as a White man.

The Association of COVID-19 Incidence with Sport and Face Mask Use in United States High School Athletes

ABSTRACTPurposeTo evaluate the influence of sport characteristics and face mask use on COVID-19 incidence among high school athletes.MethodsSurveys were distributed to high school athletic directors throughout the United States regarding sport re-initiation, COVID-19 cases, and risk reduction procedures in fall 2020.Separate mixed effects Poisson regression models were developed to evaluate the associations between reported COVID-19 incidence and 1) sport characteristics (contact/non-contact, individual/team, indoor/outdoor) and 2) face mask use while playing (yes/no).Results991 schools had restarted fall sports, representing 152,484 athletes on 5,854 teams. 2,565 cases of COVID-19 were reported, representing a case rate of 1,682 cases per 100,000 athletes and an incidence rate of 24.6 cases per 100,000 player-days. COVID-19 incidence was lower among outdoor versus indoor sports (incidence rate ratio [IRR]=0.54, 95% CI=0.49-0.60, p<0.001) and non-contact versus contact sports (IRR=0.78 [0.70-0.87], p<0.001), but not team versus individual sports (IRR=0.96 [0.84-1.1], p=0.49). Face mask use was associated with a decreased incidence in girls’ volleyball (IRR=0.53 [0.37-0.73], p<0.001), boys’ basketball (IRR=0.53 [0.33-0.83], p=0.008) and girls’ basketball (IRR=0.36 [0.19-0.63], p<0.001), and approached statistical significance in football (IRR=0.79 [0.59-1.04], p=0.10) and cheer/dance (IRR=0.75 [0.53-1.03], p=0.081).ConclusionsIn this nationwide survey of US high school athletic directors representing 152,484 athletes, lower COVID-19 incidence was independently associated with participation in outdoor versus indoor and non-contact versus contact sports, but not team versus individual sports. Face mask use was associated with decreased COVID-19 incidence among indoor sports, and may be protective among outdoor sports with prolonged close contact between participants.

The Precaution Adoption Process Model in Describing Emergency Action Plan Adoption

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the ability of the Precaution Adoption Process Model (PAPM) to classify athletic trainers (ATs) and athletic directors (ADs) readiness to act with regards to adopting an emergency action plan (EAP), and describe factors influencing PAPM stages. Method: We used a cross-sectional questionnaire design to evaluate readiness to act for developing an EAP among ATs and ADs working in United States high schools. The PAPM is a participant-driven model to identify someone’s readiness to act or change and has seven stages: Unaware, Unengaged, Undecided, Decided not to Act, Decided to Act, Acting and Maintaining. Prevalence ratios (PRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated. Results: A majority of ATs and ADs reported maintaining an EAP in their secondary school (AT “Maintaining” = 84.4%, AD “Maintaining” = 68.7%). ADs were more likely to be staged as “Decided not to Act” (PR=0.14, 95% CI= 0.05, 0.41) for the development of an EAP compared to ATs. ATs were more likely to be staged as “Maintaining” (PR=1.23, 95% CI = 1.16, 1.30) for the development of an EAP compared to ADs. Conclusions: The PAPM appears to be able to classify AT and AD readiness to act with adoption of an EAP. However, statistical modeling struggles to identify predictors for the various stages. Future research should aim to use the PAPM stages in the development of tailored interventions.

Tinkering With Policies in the Digital Age: How Interscholastic Athletic Directors Address Social Media Use by Student-Athletes

Social media use by student-athletes has become a topic of concern for interscholastic athletic directors. The recent Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. Supreme Court case highlighted how student speech has evolved in the digital age. This study explored how Texas interscholastic athletic directors view social media policy implementation and the effect it has on student-athlete behavior. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 13 athletic directors across all six University Interscholastic League enrollment classifications. Analysis revealed that athletic directors do have legal concerns when restricting online off-campus speech but see a need for promoting positive social media use by their student-athletes. The results suggest high school athletic departments must update their policies frequently to ensure that the information relayed to student-athletes is current, relevant, and based on recent case law.

Factors Affecting Leaders’ Adoption of Innovation:

This study's focus is to determine why some leaders adopt an innovation, while others do not, through the case of high school athletic directors' digital ticket adoption. We explore the process through which sport managers evaluate an innovation as the best course of action. The purpose of this study was to identify critical factors influencing high school athletic directors' decisions to adopt digital ticketing as the best strategy for securing revenue and serving their event attendees. High school athletic directors (N = 628) completed an online survey measuring the effects that leaders' prior conditions and perceived characteristics of the innovation (i.e., independent variables) have on their decision to adopt or reject the technology (i.e., dependent variable). From a theoretical perspective, we extend the conceptual model proposed by Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation Theory, including two constructs specific to the situation considered (i.e., trust and cost). From a managerial standpoint, there appears to be a need to educate athletic directors on the free digital ticketing options available and its ease-of-use. Future research should explore the athletic directors' decision-making process across a more extensive timeline through a longitudinal study.