Interscholastic sport programs throughout the country had been severely impacted by tough economic crises in last few years. Without adequate funding and proper funding distribution based on gender equality, the female athletic participation will be likely decreased furthermore. To ensure a successful operation of interscholastic athletic programs, this study examined the perceptions of athletic directors and coaches on two key aspects: (a) identifying effective methods for generating athletic funds, and (b) examining the administrators’ thoughts on funding female sports and maintaining Title IX compliance
Method:
Twenty interscholastic athletic directors and coaches from eastern Kentucky region completed a survey containing five qualitative open-ended questions and 10 five-point Likert scale items from mid-March to mid-April of 2013. The survey covered two primary themes concerning effective strategies for generating athletic funds and maintaining equitable athletic budgets for both gender sports. The questions were created after a series of literature reviews (Kiely, 2005; Newell, 2002; Pierce & Bussell, 2011) and further reviewed by a panel of sport management faculty. Participants were recruited by the researchers through a stratified random sampling method that yielded a rate of return of 33%. Their qualitative responses were separately analyzed by each of the researchers and later recorded in agreeable terms after rounds of discussions between the researchers.
Analysis/Results:
In general, the participants adopted both direct sales (food, apparels, and tangible product items) and indirect sales (advertising spaces, conducting camps, and offering services) to generate revenues for their athletic programs. Athletic teams also engaged in many different types of charity events to solicit donations. Over 90% of participants believed that female students should receive necessary financial support and opportunity to accommodate their participatory need.
Conclusions:
The participants of this sample group had exactly adopted the popular fundraising methods which were commonly suggested by past literature. The willingness to share the funds equally for all sports and to keep an accurate Title IX report is the key to ensure a high level of Title IX compliance. The participants may conceptually agree that female sports are as important as male sports; however, they still prefer to keep the majority of funds for football and men’s basketball.