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

Introduction:

Ethical issues are coming to the fore in our society as a result of numerous problematic developments.

In addition to doping and profit orientation, child and teenage high-performance sport is a recurrent focus of discussions about ethical responsibility. The persons responsible, particularly leading members of sports associations and sport scientists, must make their position clear and help parents to shed their fears.

Abstract

The Moneyball theory illustrated in Lewis (2003) is revolutionizing the way Major League Baseball organizations draft future prospects. However, a dearth of academic statistical research has been found analyzing the reliability of the Moneyball theory. The purpose of this study was to compare the top collegiate and high school drafted baseball player's professional Moneyball offensive statistics- slugging percentage, on base percentage, and on base plus slugging (OPS) over a four year span. Participants in this study were college (n = 30) and high school (n = 30) professionally drafted baseball players. Results revealed a significant difference between collegiate and high school minor league slugging percentage. The importance of draft selection and future direction of professional baseball is discussed.

Introduction:

This paper is based upon qualitative, anthropological fieldwork conducted between 2000 and 2002 among Canadian journalists, high performance (ie. National, World, and Olympic level) figure skaters, coaches, sponsors, and others involved in the production of mediated representations of figure skating for mainstream Canadian television networks and other print media. With the permission of various organizations, I conducted participant observation and fieldwork in skating arenas and in the media centers of major competitions to understand the role of figure skating in shaping a sense of Canadian national identity. As standard practice in anthropology, the names of those interviewed are withheld to protect their anonymity. The goal of this paper is to highlight the role of the media in promoting particular gendered images of figure skaters for public consumption, thereby drawing attention to two issues: 1) the socially constructed nature of various representations of men and women in the sport, and; 2) the ways in which particular gendered images of sports figures are promoted in the interests of nationalism.

Introduction:

Why are athletic programs such a prominent part of higher education in the United States? Lately, educators have been questioning the value of a connection between high-visibility athletic programs and the academic mission of higher education (Sperber 2003). Do high-visibility athletic programs add value to a university education?

We conducted a study to test the idea that high-visibility athletic programs at major public universities can increase the prestige of their academic programs. That is, a high-visibility athletic program may increase the value of a university's degree, increasing the prestige of its graduates in general. If so, then increased university prestige may provide an explanation for the growth of university athletic programs and their prominent role in higher education.

Abstract

This study created a model to predict annual fund raising contributions to NCAA Division I-A athletic programs using 13 explanatory variables, re-examining an area of the literature unstudied in two decades. A statistically significant model was developed, explaining 60.7% of the variance in athletic contributions. Football home attendance (r=.721) and conference affiliation (r=-.621) were identified as the variables most closely related to annual athletic contributions.

Abstract

This research examines consumer discrimination in the NBA trading-card market. Using a sample of 298 NBA trading cards for the 1991-92 season, we find that race does not affect whether a trading cards sell above the common-player price. This is consistent with previous research on NBA trading cards. However, it was found that among players with common-player priced cards (average players), blacks out perform whites in points-per-game and assists-per-game. Further research is needed to see if black-white performance differences are related to discrimination in entry or retention in the NBA.

Given the many demands placed on the current day athletics director, the necessity of appropriate education has become paramount. Several years ago, Leith (1983) recognized the need for athletic administrators to be competent in a variety of skills. Today, the need for athletics directors to be well versed in multiple job-related skills has become even more apparent.

The current status of athletic administration among National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) colleges and universities suggest that occupational demands are being placed on sport administrators at an increasing rate (Bradley, 1993; Lea & Loughman 1993; Neilsen, 1990). Copeland and Kirsch (1995) recognized the escalating responsibilities and the inherent demands of contemporary sport in order to maintain competitive programs. It was discovered in a study undertaken by Cleave (1993) that intercollegiate administrators generally perceived their jobs as becoming more complex.

Abstract

Much research has been conducted on college athletics. The populations studied most often are four-year, NCAA member institutions. In higher education, 40 percent of the institutions in the United States are two-year colleges. These two-year colleges enroll more than ten million students annually (IPEDS, 2002). Although 56 percent of the students enrolled in these institutions are women, little research exists that examines the participation in two-year college athletic programs. The purpose of this study was to examine the degree of participation and opportunity for female students and coaches at two-year colleges within the state of Maryland. With 18 institutions reporting participation data, results of this study showed that female students participate in far fewer numbers in Maryland than do male students. Results of this study also showed that relatively few women hold administrative or coaching positions within existing sport programs.

Abstract

In the past few years, there has been a composite bat construction revolution in the softball bat industry. While composite material bats have enabled softball bat performance to increase much to the delight of hitters, they can pose a significant safety risk to defensive players and especially the pitcher. A controlled experiment using two composite softball and two wooden softball bat models has been conducted in order to present experimental data on the field performance of various bat/ball combinations. Three types of softballs were used in this study; low-compression, cork-centered softballs, mid-compression polyurethane softballs and high-compression polyurethane softballs ranging from 1134 to 2389 N/0.64 cm (255 to 537 lbs/0.25 in) compression. Three experienced softball players were chosen as test subjects for this study. Initial batted-ball velocities ranged from 126.2 to 164.3 km/h (78.4 to 102.1 mph), corresponding to an available pitcher reaction time ranging from 0.456 to 0.350 seconds. The goal of this study is to present the potential safety and injury risks associated with using composite softball bats in the sport of softball.