Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2017, Educational Leadership

This dissertation studies the experiences of women as leaders in Division I athletic departments through the utilization of narrative inquiry and a critical theoretical lens. The data gathered is a culmination of seven phone semi-structured interviews with women who hold the position of former or current athletic directors at the Division I level representing various institutions and varying levels of participation (Football Bowl Series, Football Championship Series, and Division I non-football). The study presents several emerging themes which reflect the experiences of the leaders serving as professionals in the gendered culture of collegiate athletics. The themes include: The Culture of Women in Sports, Barriers to Success, Success Strategies, and Mentorship. Analysis of the themes also resulted in several findings, which include: the current existence of gender bias within the leadership system of Division I athletics, the notion that the Senior Woman Administrator position perpetuates a lack of gender diversity within Division I athletics, an understanding that women must find ways to gain cultural and social capital in order to progress in Division I athletic administrations, the idea that male advocacy is vital to the success of women aspiring to top tier athletic administration role, and the fact women utilize several leadership styles as collegiate athletic administrators.

Committee: Lisa Weems Dr. (Advisor) Subjects: Educational Leadership; Social Psychology; Sociology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2022, Kinesiology

Modern leadership styles such as transformational and transactional leadership are well documented and practiced within the intercollegiate athletic industry. Although the case, inequities and historic scandals have continued to negatively impact the industry. As a result, practitioners and scholars alike have advocated for a reexamination of various leadership styles and practices. Various scholars have proposed that servant leadership may be a solution to the inequities and scandals faced in the industry. While the benefits of servant leadership have been well documented in literature, no study has examined the antecedents within the context of intercollegiate athletics. The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics, experiences, and practices of servant leadership among Athletic Directors and other senior level administrators. A two-part, mixed method approach was utilized in this study. The first phase included the utilization of the Servant Leadership Questionnaire (SLQ), and multiple regression analysis. The second phase include semi-structure interviewing of athletic directors and other senior level administrators. The results of this study indicated three main findings: First, senior level administrators exhibit servant leadership characteristics—people oriented, humility, authenticity, commitment to ethical behavior, providing direction, and wisdom. Secondly, childhood experiences, role models, religious experiences and professional development experiences influenced servant leadership behavior among senior level administrators. Thirdly, senior level administrators who exhibit servant leadership characteristics, implement various people-centric practices that demonstrate servant leadership behaviors. The results, practical implications and potential for future studies were also discussed in this study.

Committee: Brian Turner (Advisor); Sue Sutherland (Committee Member); Kwame Agyemang (Committee Member) Subjects: Sports Management

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2014, Leadership Studies

This qualitative study explores how an athletic code of conduct shaped the moral courage of student athletes in a Midwestern University. This study examined how eight student athletes, in a Division III institution, were motivated to engage in positive behaviors. It sought to understand how this selective group of student athletes perceived the three key concepts spelled out in the athletic code of conduct – sportsmanship, respect for others, and integrity – and how they were empowered to engage in acts of moral courage when on the field. Case study research design was used in general while giving special focus to portraiture. The concept of voice in portraiture was emphasized by preserving and listening to the student athletes' responses while simultaneously listening for stories. The present study also focused on highlighting the positive aspects of a social system, i.e., athletics, and extracting the element of goodness unlike current research in the field. The conceptual framework of the two constructs – understanding the importance of the athletic code of conduct and how this code shapes the student athletes' moral courage – is examined here by analyzing verbal and non-verbal interview responses of the participants and observations while being on-site. Participants' reflective journals were used implicitly to understand the lives of these student athletes. Data revealed emergent themes which responded to the five research questions. Findings indicated that one of the most important factors that enabled and empowered them to act with moral courage was their personal values. When personal values aligned with those of an athletic code of conduct, it was only natural to stand up and do the right thing. Student athletes in this present study unanimously believed that the values of such athletic codes of conduct should be integrated into their lives through intentional education, application and reflection throughout their careers as student athletes. Senior st (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Patrick Pauken (Advisor); Khani Begum (Committee Member); Christopher Frey (Committee Member); Sharon Showman (Committee Member) Subjects: Ethics; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration; Sports Management

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2005, Physical Activity and Educational Services

A majority of the literature regarding employee-organization relationships has focused on perceived organizational support (POS) (Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchison, & Sowa, 1986). POS is defined as employees' formation of global beliefs pertaining to how much the organization cares about their well-being and values their contributions. In accordance with Eisenberger et al. (1986) the overarching purpose of the current study was to investigate athletic administrators' POS. More specifically, the primary purposes of this study were to: (a) examine the antecedents of POS; (b) examine the consequences of POS, including, affective commitment, job satisfaction, and turnover intention; and (c) assess gender differences in regard to these antecedents and consequences, and (d) develop and test a comprehensive model of POS, applicable to intercollegiate athletic administrators. Two athletic administrators (one female and one male) at each of the 327 NCAA Division I institutions (N = 654) were asked to respond to the Athletic Administrator Questionnaire. A total of 222 athletic administrators completed and returned the questionnaire for a response rate of 34%. Results showed that combined, the antecedents (participation in decision making, supervisor support, growth opportunity, and procedural, distributive, and interactional justice) accounted for 78% of the variance in POS. However, growth opportunity was not a significant predictor of POS. In addition, athletic administrators' POS was positively related to both affective commitment and job satisfaction. Further examination showed that affective commitment and job satisfaction had a significant, negative relationship with turnover intention for athletic administrators. Both collectively explained 35% of the variance in turnover intention. Affective commitment was a better predictor of turnover intention than job satisfaction. Finally, POS did not have a direct relationship with turnover intention for athletic administrators (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Brian Turner (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Physical