United States Sports Academy - "America's Sports University"

Abstract

The role and importance of athletics in the lives of today’s male and female youth is analyzed in responses to a survey co-authored by a professor and conducted by two undergraduate students at the United States Sports Academy. Athletes at the middle school, high school and junior college level were asked to rate the importance of sports in their lives and the likelihood of advancement in athletics as well as careers in sports. The two survey researchers, their professor and a third undergraduate analyzed the results of the survey and how they reflect of the current status of males and females in athletics today. The authors concluded that female athletes have a different set of priorities regarding sports because of the difference in athletic opportunities afforded them.

Introduction

The differences in opportunities and recognition in sports between male and females have been well documented. Opportunities for female athletes have increased in certain areas in the past 30 years, but females continue to lag far behind their male counterparts.

The researchers in this project set out to find how that situation affects the values and opinions of young athletes at the middle school, high school and junior college level. How important are sports in their lives? What is the likelihood they will play sports at a higher level? What is the likelihood they will pursue a career in sports, either as a professional athlete, coach or administrator?

The hypothesis is that the differences in opportunities and publicity in sports for males vs. females would result in different answers between the male and female athletes.

Background

The progress made in athletics for women and girls since the Civil Rights act of 1964 was amended with Title IX in 1972 has been well documented.

Title IX was aimed at outlawing discrimination in schools that received federal assistance. When opportunities for females in sports began to be interpreted as “discrimination” and government-backed college loans and grants began to be interpreted as “federal assistance,” the expanded scope of the legislation allowed opportunities for females in athletics to increase dramatically. The recognition of female athletes resulting from increased opportunities parlayed into a larger place in the professional sports market place as three professional women’s basketball leagues, two pro softball leagues and a professional women’s soccer league have existed since the passing of Title IX.

“When I was growing up, the only women you saw in professional sports were in tennis and golf,” said Ann Meyers-Drysdale, ESPN analyst who played in the first women’s professional basketball league and was the first woman to try out for a team in the National Basketball Association. “Those are sports not very many people can afford to play, especially if you are in a family with 11 children (ussa.edu).”

The number of collegiate and professional opportunities in sports has increased for females, as well as participation (NCWGE, 2002). While such opportunities have increased, the differences between males and female opportunities in the sports are still apparent. Of the aforementioned professional leagues, only two continue operations today while the others lasted less than five years each.

Recognition in the media has also increased, as ESPN televised all games in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament for the first time in 2003. However, male sports figures still are far more prevalent in the media. Television commercials with male athletes endorsing products overwhelmingly outnumber those with female athletic endorsements. Seventy to 90 percent of the articles in Sports Illustrated are about male athletes (Eitzen and Sage, 2003).

An NCAA survey of Division One universities in 1992 revealed that men’s’ programs received 70 percent of all athletic scholarship funds, 83 percent of the recruiting funds and 77 percent of the operating budgets (Eitzen and Sage, 2003).

Women are underrepresented at all levels of sports, including coaching and administration opportunities, which have proportionately decreased since the passage of Title IX. In 1972, coaches in female sports were about 90 percent women. By 1998, that percentage dropped to 58 percent, 44 percent in 2002. Only 18 percent of those programs were administered by women (Coakley, 2004).

These facts are reviewed along with the results of the survey, to see if there is a reflection of the gender climate in sports in the athletes’ answers.

Process

Two undergraduate students and their professor composed a survey that asked the respondents to rate the values of sports and certain aspects there of on a scale of 1-5, with “5” meaning “very important” and “1” meaning “not at all important.” They were also asked to use a 1-5 scale to rate the likelihood of having a future in sports at various levels of college or careers in sports as a professional athlete, coach, official or in an administrative function. A score of “5” meant “very likely” and “1” meant “not at all likely.”

The specific questions are in Figure 1. The hypothesis was that female athletes were more likely to give accomplishments in sports a lower priority in their lives and to have lower expectations about their futures in sports. The researchers also believed that because the quantity and depth of athletic opportunities for males exceeds that for females, female respondents would give athletics a lower priority in their lives and have lower expectations of their future in sports.

Figure 1: Survey Content

One student surveyed 16 girls and 18 boys who participate in sports at Central Baldwin Middle School in Robertsdale, Ala. Another surveyed 17 girls and 13 boys who participate in sports at Murphy High School in Mobile, Ala. The same student surveyed 15 women and 14 men who participate in athletics at Bishop State Community College, also in Mobile.
After the results were computed, the professor, the two students and one additional student analyzed the results and the gathered facts about opportunities for females in sports to see if there was a difference in the responses between males and females that could be attributed to the current sport climate.

Results

Because opportunities in sports at a higher level are more prevalent for males than for females, it was believed that the more serious aspects of sports, -- such as competition, scholarship potential and challenges -- would be more important to the male athletes than the female and the more social aspects -- experience, building friendships, fun and physical fitness -- would score higher on the female responses.

The friendship hypothesis held true on all three surveys. Among middle school athletes, the average score of importance on “building friendships” was 4.38 for girls and 4.17 for boys, although a comparable number (nine girls and eight boys) gave that aspect a “5” score. The high school girls gave friendships an average rating of 4.41, compared to 4.15 for the boys, and the number of respondents rating it a “5” was 10 girls and seven boys. Community college athletes overall gave friendships less weight, with the women averaging a 4.0 response and the men 3.36. Only six women and two men rated friendship a “5.” Females at the middle school and community college level gave physical fitness a higher average score than males (4.75 to 4.61 middle school, 4.73 to 4.21 community college), but the high school boys gave it more importance than the high school girls (4.69 to 4.47). However, 12 high school girls and 10 high school boys gave physical fitness a “5.” The “experience” answer was close in the middle school group (4.38 girls and 4.33 boys with eight each rating it a “5”), but was clearly favored by the boys in high school (4.54 to 4.24) and women in community college (4.2 to 4.0). “Fun” produced mixed results, with girls giving it a higher score than boys at the middle school level, just the opposite in high school and about even in community college.

Scholarship potential rated a higher importance among boys than girls in the high school (4.62 to 4.0) level but it is just the opposite in middle school (4.38 girls, 4.17 boys). In community college, where some already have scholarships but may aspire to transfer and play at a four-year institution, the results were about even (4.6 women, 4.57 men). The scores were about even between male and female athletes at the high school and community college level in the area of “challenge,” but it ranked higher in importance for middle school boys (4.44) than girls (4.19). Competition was also an even factor between males and females at the high school and community college level, but higher among middle school boys (4.56) than girls (4.38).

The students were asked “How important in your daily time are the following activities?” with the choices being socializing with friends, time with family, practicing sports and time with boyfriend/girlfriend. Practicing sports was the number one answer among middle school boys (4.61) and high school boys (4.46) but number two for community college men (3.57) who gave studying the highest average score (3.79). Six of the 14 respondents gave studying a “5.” Middle school girls and community college women made “time with family” their top answer (4.5, 4.6), while high school girls found studying (4.41) most important. In all cases, female athletes gave “studying” a higher score than the male athletes.

The students were asked “How important are the following accomplishments to you?” with the choices being winning sports, personal accomplishments in sports and “good grades.” The results were often mixed when it came to male vs. female athletes at different levels, but the female athletes tended to be more serious about their studies as they approached the higher levels. Middle school girls gave “good grades” an average score of 3.44 with more than half giving it a “3” or lower, while high school girls scored it 4.82 and community college women 4.93.

The importance of sports in young athletes’ lives can also be indicated by the sources of influence in decisions regarding athletic participation. The athletes were asked “Whose influence is important to you in your decisions about sports?” with the options being parents, siblings, coaches, or teammates and friends. High school and middle school boys were most influenced by their teammates and friends while coaching influence was more important to the girls in high school and middle school (with parents and coaches rating a 4.63 for middle school girls). Parents were the biggest athletic influence among both men and women in the community college sample.

The athletes were asked to rate the likelihood they would be accomplishing each of the following: play sports National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) or at a small National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) institution, play sports at a Division One NCAA college or university, play professional sports and have a career in sports (coaching, administrative, officiating, etc.) In each category at each level, the male athletes gave themselves a higher likelihood score than the female athletes. The middle school boys gave a 4.22 to the likelihood they would have a career in sports and/or play sports professionally. The lowest average scores in likelihood of a career in sports were entered by the female athletes (3.13 middle school, 2.47 high school and 3.07 community college).

Conclusion

One of the most telling results of this survey as it reflects the situation of women in sports is the fact that female athlete at all levels gave extremely low scores among the likelihood they would pursue a career in sports, which could be a result of the declining number of women in coaching and administrative positions in female athletics.

The lack of exposure and opportunities for women’s professional sports is evident when it is noted that male athletes consistently gave themselves higher scores than female athletes when assessing the likelihood of playing professional sports.

Perhaps this also gives the female athletes a more balanced perspective. While the likelihood scores on professional sports and careers in sports were consistently low for females, the likelihood score declines in the male athletes as they reach a higher level: 4.22 in middle school, 4.08 in high school and 3.0 in college. While middle school and community college students gave high priority to study time and time with family at the high school and community college levels, it did not become a top priority for male athletes except in the community college survey.

These results call for future studies with more detailed questions and larger, more regionally heterogeneous populations. The question to be answered from future studies is whether the current gender climate in sports only discourages female athletes from taking their sport accomplishments to a high level or merely balances their priorities at an early age.

References

Coakley, Jay J. (2004). Sport in Society: Contemporary Issues. 8th edition. New York,
N.Y. McGraw-Hill.

Eitzen, D. Stanley and George H. Sage (2003). Sociology of North American Sport, 7th
edition, New York, N.Y. McGraw-Hill.

National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education (August 2002). Title IX Athletic
Policies: Issues and Data for Education Decision Makers. Washington, D.C.

United States Sports Academy, Women’s Basketball Pioneer Earns USSA Media Award,
retrieved March 28, 2006 from http://www.ussa.edu/news/2006/01/13/drysdale.asp