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Journal of Sport Management

Official Journal of the North American Society for Sport Management

Indexed in: Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest, EBSCOhost, EBSCO A-to-Z, Google Scholar

Print ISSN: 0888-4773 Online ISSN: 1543-270X

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Volume 38 (2024): Issue 2 (Mar 2024)

JSM is published bimonthly, in January, March, May, July, September, and November.

The Journal of Sport Management aims to publish innovative empirical, theoretical, and review articles focused on the governance, management, and marketing of sport organizations. Submissions are encouraged from a range of areas that inform theoretical advances for the management, marketing, and consumption of sport in all its forms, and sport organizations generally. Review articles and studies using quantitative and/or qualitative approaches are welcomed.

The Journal of Sport Management publishes research and scholarly review articles; short reports on replications, test development, and data reanalysis; editorials that focus on significant issues pertaining to sport management; articles aimed at strengthening the link between sport management theory and sport management practice; and book reviews ("Off the Press").

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Jeff James Florida State University, USA

Editors Emeriti

Gordon Olafson (Founding Editor: 1987–1991) Janet Parks (Founding Editor: 1987–1991) P. Chelladurai (1992–1993) Joy DeSensi (1994–1996) Trevor Slack (1996–2000) Wendy Frisby (2000–2003) Laurence Chalip (2003–2006) Lucie Thibault (2006–2009) Richard Wolfe (2009–2012) Marvin Washington (2012–2015) David Shilbury (2015-2018) Janet Fink (2018-2021)

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Scott Tainsky Wayne State University, USA

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Heath McDonald RMIT University, Australia

Jon Welty Peachey Gordon College, USA

Steven Salaga University of Georgia, USA

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Nola Agha, University of San Francisco, USA

Kwame Agyemang, The Ohio State University, USA

Natasha Brison, Texas A&M University, USA

Adam Cohen, University of Technology Sydney, Australia

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Elizabeth Delia, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA

Timothy DeSchriver, University of Delaware, USA

Alison Doherty, University of Western Ontario, Canada

Brendan Dwyer, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA

Sheranne Fairley, University of Queensland, Australia

Lesley Ferkins, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand

Kevin Filo, Griffith University, Australia

Andrea N. Geurin, Loughborough University, UK

Heather Gibson, University of Florida, USA

Chris Greenwell, University of Louisville, USA

Kirstin Hallmann, German Sport University Cologne, Germany

Kate Heinze, University of Michigan, USA

Larena Hoeber, University of Regina, Canada

Michael Hutchinson, University of Memphis, USA

Yuhei Inoue, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

Kyriaki Kaplanidou, University of Florida, USA

Matthew Katz, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA

Timothy Kellison, Florida State University, USA

Lisa Kihl, University of Minnesota, USA

Jeeyoon (Jamie) Kim, Syracuse University, USA

Dae Hee Kwak, University of Michigan, USA

Sarah Leberman, Massey University, New Zealand

Dan Lock, Bournemouth University, UK

Brian McCullough, Texas A&M University, USA

Jennifer McGarry (Breuning), University of Connecticut, USA

Brian Mills, University of Texas, USA

Katie Misener, University of Waterloo, Canada

Calvin Nite, Texas A&M University, USA

Norm O’Reilly, Ohio University, USA

Milena Parent, University of Ottawa, Canada

Rodney Paul, Syracuse University, USA

Daniel Rascher, University of San Francisco, USA

Dominik Schreyer, WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management, Germany

Nico Schulenkorf, University of Technology Sydney, Australia

Chad Seifried, Louisiana State University, USA

Sally Shaw, University of Otago, New Zealand

Emma Sherry, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia

Brian P. Soebbing, University of Alberta, Canada

Popi Sotiriadou, Griffith University, Australia

Per Svensson, Louisiana State University, USA

Nefertiti Walker, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA

Marvin Washington, Portland State University, USA

Nicholas Watanabe, University of South Carolina, USA

Pamela Wicker, Bielefeld University, Germany

David Wooten, University of Michigan, USA

Masayuki Yoshida, Hosei University, Japan

James Zhang, University of Georgia, USA

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Review article, critical social science in sport management research: a scoping review.

Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

Sport management scholars have called for the application of broader research approaches, including critical social science. Such approaches help uncover the less-desirable aspects of sport and, therefore, offer a basis for positive change. While there have been advancements in the use of innovative research approaches over time, there remains little understanding of how these calls have been addressed. The purpose of this scoping review is to examine trends, gaps, and the use of critical social science and associated approaches in sport management scholarship. Two hundred sixteen relevant articles were identified through a database search (i.e., five platforms), complemented with a manual search of 419 journals. Results indicate that an increase in critical research published in sport management journals was evident following 2005. Findings suggest that there remains space for increased publication of critical social science work in sport management journals and for researchers to better articulate their research approaches in scholarly outputs.

Introduction

In the past two decades, scholars have increasingly called for sport management researchers to include more critical social science in their work ( Amis and Silk, 2005 ; Skinner and Edwards, 2005 ; Chalip, 2006 ). Notably, in Frisby's (2005) Zeigler Award address, a prestigious award offered by the North American Society of Sport Management (NASSM), the use and applicability of critical approaches to advance the sport management field was highlighted. Frisby (2005) stated that critical approaches to sport management research would help to illuminate the “ugly” sides of sport management in hopes of informing change to improve practice. Similarly, in the introduction to a special issue on critical reflection in sport management, Amis and Silk (2005) acknowledged that while sport management journals published a variety of research approaches, perspectives, and theories, there was still much to unpack regarding the philosophical and political backbone of work in the field. Critical approaches are heavily employed in sport sociology, and scholars have further suggested that drawing on critical sociological perspectives in sport management can strengthen the field and our understanding of power in sport organizations ( Knoppers, 2015 ). Alongside such calls for the use of more diverse research approaches, scholars have recently employed a variety of paradigmatic, methodological, and theoretical strategies in their work (e.g., McSweeney and Faust, 2019 ). For this study, we focus on critical social science, which is “a way of empowering individuals by confronting injustices in order to promote social change” ( Frisby, 2005 , p. 2). This includes a variety of theories (e.g., critical theory; Kincheloe and McLaren, 2011 ) and associated research approaches (e.g., participatory action research). Critical research approaches, and articulating such approaches clearly, help to unpack systemic issues within social spheres, and therefore offer new insight into areas that need improvement. Critical approaches typically offer the opportunity to investigate power structures within taken-for-granted systems and provide researchers with the tools for understanding how and why systems may be exclusive, oppressive, or otherwise need improvement ( Knoppers, 2015 ; Sveinson et al., 2021 ). In sport specifically, this is important for practice to determine how to best provide programming and sport resources to as many people as possible.

Research has expanded beyond post-positivist approaches and has begun to explore various lenses through which sport management topics can be understood. One of many possible examples includes Singer's (2005) call for the use of critical race theory to address issues of race and ethnicity in sport. More recently, Chen and Mason (2019) made similar suggestions for decentering colonial perspectives and employing settler colonialism in research. Critical realist approaches to policy and management have also been brought forth as ways to incorporate broader perspectives in sport research more generally, and therefore offering a way to advance social justice objectives ( Downward, 2005 ). These critical paradigms have offered significant advancement in understanding different points of view and have added the value of different research perspectives in the field.

With the addition and increase in the use of critical, interpretive, and constructivist paradigms, qualitative research methodologies have also increased in use. However, there remains work to be done in advancing these methods ( Singer et al., 2019 ). Methodological approaches such as autoethnography ( Hoeber and Kerwin, 2013 ; Cooper et al., 2017 ) and participatory action research ( Frisby et al., 2005 ; Shaw and Hoeber, 2016 ; Hoeber and Shaw, 2017 ) are particularly valuable for critical social science. Most recently, Sveinson et al. (2021) have advocated for increased use of critical discourse analysis as a theory, methodology, and analysis in sport management scholarship. These methods engage diverse perspectives with a particular focus on advancing equity within sport, an important component of critical social science and associated research approaches. Further, upon investigating additional ontological and epistemological approaches, Quatman and Chelladurai (2008) advanced social network analysis as an avenue through which to address Frisby's (2005) call for advancing critical social science and associated research approaches. Alongside the increase in qualitative methodologies, mixed methods have begun to gain traction in recent years, as researchers have acknowledged the benefits of drawing upon diverse research methods in individual projects ( van der Roest et al., 2015 ). Theoretically, scholars have sought to expand existing sport management research practices by introducing new theory and integrating theory from other fields into the management space (e.g., Sotiriadou and Shilbury, 2010 ; Kitchin and Howe, 2013 ). Each of these trends have advanced understanding of sport studies and sport management and have offered enriched perspectives regarding how to improve diversity, inclusion, and equity in sport management practice through challenging dominant power relations ( Cunningham and Fink, 2006 ), in part addressing concerns raised by various scholars and Zeigler award winners (e.g., DeSensi, 1994 ; Frisby, 2005 ; Chalip, 2006 ; Fink, 2016 ; McGarry, 2020 ). However, despite shifts in recent years to accept more diverse research perspectives and methodologies, the uptake of the recent calls for the use of critical social science and associated research approaches to sport management research, the use of innovative research methodologies, and to further center these approaches in the sport management literature has yet to be further understood ( Cunningham and Fink, 2006 ; Knoppers, 2015 ; Singer et al., 2019 ).

There is little systematic work investigating the scope and patterns in methodology and theory used in relation to critical social science. As such, the purpose of this scoping review is to examine the trends, gaps in research approaches, and the state of use of critical social science in sport management scholarship. To widen the scope of this investigation, we go beyond the sport management journals specifically, and investigate sport management work regardless of the journal domain within which it is published. In doing so, we offer significant contributions to the sport management field by highlighting ways in which critical social science and research approaches have been used and ways that future research may employ such approaches. Investigating the use of critical approaches in sport management is necessary to understand the growth and applicability of such approaches over time and their contribution to the sport management body of literature to inform future critical directions in sport management research. The use of critical approaches in sport management work will help push the management field to expand our understanding of sport's role in society, how it may be an exclusionary space and to provide a strong theoretical basis for practical improvements by challenging power relations, such as drawing attention to equity and inclusion, and mitigating social injustice in the sport field ( McGarry, 2020 ). As evidenced by recent sociopolitical events (e.g., rise of the Black Lives Matter movement) and the visible response in the sport-space (e.g., Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the United States national anthem; the WNBA and NBA integrating racial justice messaging in their leagues), it is clear that while sport can be an exclusionary space, it can also be a societal vehicle for change. Therefore, by understanding how critical approaches have been used in sport management, we can inform how these approaches can continue to be used to advance a social justice agenda within sport management, with the potential and intent to have implications more broadly. We acknowledge that this work may be done elsewhere in fields such as sport sociology, with which sport management scholarship shares many approaches, theories, and research contexts ( Knoppers, 2015 ). However, for the purposes of this scoping review and based on calls for more critical research approaches in sport management specifically, we have focused our attention on the field of sport management as defined in the key terms section below. After defining the key terms central to this scoping review, we then present an overview of the scoping review methods employed. Subsequently we present the results and discussion, highlighting the state of the field and offer suggestions for future research.

Critical Social Science

Critical social science is “a way of empowering individuals by confronting injustices in order to promote social change” ( Frisby, 2005 , p. 2). This definition encompasses a wide variety of research approaches, including various critical theories (e.g., critical race theory, critical disability theory, etc.), various methods (e.g., participatory methods), and investigations of power structures ( Kincheloe and McLaren, 2011 ). Therefore, we consider critical social science as including critical research approaches and the use of critical theory, as noted above. Critical theory is understood as a philosophical approach which considers historical and social context, accepts subjectivity, and addresses power ( Guba and Lincoln, 1994 ). For this scoping review, we narrowed the scope of the study to include research that specifically stated employing a critical theoretical lens or taking a critical approach. While other studies have sought to code articles based on paradigmatic assumptions and underpinnings as opposed to explicitly stated philosophical paradigms (see van der Roest et al., 2015 ), this was not possible due to the number of articles collected for this review. Further, given that paradigms are described as belief systems ( Guba and Lincoln, 1994 ), and therefore can be personal, we did not feel it was appropriate to assume or ascribe a critical approach to a paper where one was not stated by the author(s).

Sport Management

Sport, and therefore sport management, can have a variety of meanings depending on the context of the discussion. For example, Coakley (2003) defined sport as “institutionalized competitive activities that involve vigorous physical exertion or the use of relatively complex physical skills by participants motivated by intrinsic and extrinsic rewards” (p. 21). Meanwhile, others have described sport much more broadly, encompassing all forms of physical activity and both casual and organized forms of participation ( Council of Europe, 2001 ). Sport management itself has been broadly described as any combination of skills pertaining to planning, organizing, leading, and evaluating in the context of sport and physical activity ( DeSensi et al., 1990 ). Given the wide array of accepted definitions for sport and sport management, for the purposes of this study, we adopted a definition of sport management adapted from the NASSM website and the Journal of Sport Management. Therefore, we define sport management as the coordination of the production and marketing of sport services and sport organizations, including sport management education (North American Society for Sport Management, n.d.).

Scoping Review

A scoping review assesses the nature and extent of research evidence in a replicable and rigorous way ( Grant and Booth, 2009 ; Whittemore et al., 2014 ). Scoping reviews provide an overview of a particular line of inquiry, including the size of available literature, scope of studies, and highlights gaps in study designs and approaches ( Grant and Booth, 2009 ). A scoping review is the most pertinent type of review to address this study's purpose because contrary to other types of reviews such as systematic reviews and meta-analyses, a scoping review does not appraise or synthesize the findings of the articles ( Arksey and O'Malley, 2005 ; Grant and Booth, 2009 ). As such, due to the nature of scoping reviews and the scope of this paper, an appraisal of the quality of critical research outlined in the included papers will not be provided herein. Indeed, synthesizing findings would not be meaningful in the present investigation as the focus is on revealing the approaches and theories used, rather than the outcomes from a particular research topic.

This scoping review was conducted following Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) five-step framework, including Teare and Taks' (2020) extension of the process. In addition to Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) five-steps (i.e., Identifying the research question; Identifying relevant studies; Study selection; Charting the data; Collating, summarizing, and reporting results), Teare and Taks (2020) suggested that the process of identifying articles to be included in scoping reviews should be comprised of a minimum of two systematic approaches to article identification (expanding Arksey and O'Malley's step two: identifying relevant studies). This suggestion is based on previous findings that two different systematic approaches to article identification (i.e., database search and systematic manual search) led to different pools of articles, and thus a more comprehensive final pool of articles ( Teare and Taks, 2020 ). As such, the approach taken here also includes the executions of both a traditional database and systematic manual search.

As per step one of the scoping review framework the selection process was established based on the following research question: “what are the trends, gaps, and state of the use of critical social science in sport management scholarship?”

Article Selection Process

Preliminary readings of related articles (e.g., Alvesson and Deetz, 2000 ; Amis and Silk, 2005 ; Frisby, 2005 ) served to identify search terms and inclusion criteria (step two). For this scoping review, inclusion criteria consisted of: (1) scholarly, peer-reviewed articles, available online, and written in English; (2) authors must have specifically stated employing a critical approach; (3) the research must fit within the definition of sport management previously provided. The database search took place in January 2020, with year limits in place from 1985 (when NASSM was founded) to 2019. The systematic manual search included all issues appearing in journals between 1985 and 2019.

Database Search

Databases were chosen based on the research question and their likelihood to contain relevant articles. Based on preliminary readings and in consultation with a research librarian, the following five databases were used to search for articles published between 1985 and 2019: ProQuest Social Sciences, ABI Inform, Business Source Complete, SPORTDiscus, Sport Medicine and Physical Education Index. The following key search words were used [critic * NEAR/3 (theor * OR approach * OR scien * )] OR [critic * NEAR/3 soci * NEAR/3 (theor * OR scien * )] AND (sport * ) OR [sport * NEAR/3 (coordination OR product * OR market * OR manag * OR admin * )]. The asterisks mean that any combination of letters can appear after the specified word or part of the word appearing before the asterisks. The brackets mean that words must appear in the order that they are written. The “NEAR/3” is a search function that allows for the search to include instances where zero, one, two, or three words separate the two words between which the function appears.

This initial search revealed 1,521 total articles. Duplicates were then removed, leaving 665 articles to be searched in the first round of screening. Two rounds of screening took place to determine the articles to be included in the final pool of sources among two researchers independently from one another (step 3). First, using Covidence (a review management program; www.covidence.org ), titles and abstracts were screened against the inclusion criteria (i.e., scholarly, peer-reviewed articles, available online, written in English; authors have specifically stated employing a critical approach; the research fits within the definition of sport management) and exclusion criteria (i.e., no explicit statement of a critical approach; not within the area of sport management). Articles that were deemed to fit with the inclusion criteria by both researchers were moved directly to the second round of full-text screening. Articles that were excluded by both researchers were immediately eliminated from the pool of articles. When the researchers disagreed, the articles were flagged, and both researchers met to discuss the titles and abstracts against the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Articles that were mutually agreed to be potentially relevant were moved to the second round of screening. After this first round of title and abstract screening, and discussing discrepancies, 152 articles were moved onto the second round of screening. The second round of screening involved the researchers independently reading the articles in full. Articles that were agreed upon to meet the inclusion criteria were immediately included in the final pool of articles, and discrepancies were again discussed. After the round of full text screening, the database search yielded 112 articles.

Systematic Manual Search

As per Teare and Taks (2020) , there are three steps involved in conducting a systematic manual search: (1) selecting the top field-specific journals (as determined by impact factors), (2) screening all issues for relevant articles (similar two-round process as the data base search: abstract screening, followed by full text screening); and (3) examining the reference lists of the identified articles for additional relevant journals. The same process is then completed for the journals of the newly identified articles; that is, a full journal search of these new journals was performed until no new journals arose ( Teare and Taks, 2020 ). Top field-specific journals are a good starting-point for the systematic manual search as relevant articles are likely to appear in these journals. However, the systematic manual search is certainly not limited to only the identified field as it allows for journals from a variety of additional domains to be uncovered ( Teare and Taks, 2020 ). Due to the varying terminology in interdisciplinary topics such as those in sport management, the key words used in the database search are likely limited to those words that researchers are familiar with, potentially excluding additionally relevant articles ( Teare and Taks, 2020 ). As such, the additional journals identified in the systematic manual search are useful in bridging this gap ( Teare and Taks, 2020 ).

As the context of this study is sport management scholarship, the most relevant field is sport management. Thus, the top three journals in sport management as per impact factors as of 2019 include: Sport Management Review (SMR), Journal of Sport Management (JSM), and the European Sport Management Quarterly (ESMQ). Thus, these three journals were selected as entry point for the manual search. While the period for article selection was set between 1985 and 2019, it should be noted that the first issues of these journals were published in 1987 for JSM, 1998 for SMR, and 2001 for ESMQ 1 . All articles in all issues were examined using the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Titles, abstracts, and keywords comprised the first round of screening, followed by full text screening. Articles selected from these three base journals, led to six rounds of additional journal searches. In total, 419 journals were examined to reveal 166 articles in the systematic manual search.

Combining the Search Methods

The database search yielded 112 relevant articles, while the systematic manual search yielded 166 relevant articles, for a total of 278 identified articles. When combining the results of the two search methods, only 62 articles were identified through both searches. Thus, this scoping review included 216 total unique articles (50 articles unique to the database search; 104 articles unique to the systematic manual search; 62 articles identified through both search methods; Supplementary Material ). The distinctive outcome between the database search and the manual search is important as it provides further support for the extension to the scoping review framework by adding a comprehensive manual journal search ( Teare and Taks, 2020 ).

Data Analysis

Based on preliminary readings of scoping reviews (e.g., Inoue et al., 2015 ; Dowling et al., 2018 ; Hansell et al., 2021 ), categories of information to extract from the articles were developed prior to extracting the data (i.e., step 4 in the scoping review framework; Arksey and O'Malley, 2005 ). An overview of the data extraction criteria is provided in Table 1 . Following data extraction, analyses were run to determine the relationships between data categories. As per step five from Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) framework (i.e., reporting results), the following sections report on descriptive analysis and trends that were evident from the extracted data. Specifically, comments on publication evolution, theories used, sport management focus, methodological approaches, and theoretical outputs will be offered.

Table 1 . Data extraction categories.

Results and Discussion

Results from the analyses indicate specific trends and gaps associated with the use of critical social science in the sport management field. Findings are outlined below.

Evolution of Publications Using Critical Social Science

As stated above, a total of 216 articles were identified for this scoping review. At face-value, this might seem like a large number, putting into question if there is even an issue with the amount of critical social theory used in sport management research. When considering the number of publications per year, this is in fact a concerningly small number. For example, our search produced 15 articles published in 2019. When considering the top three sport management journals specifically, there were 134 articles published in total in 2019 (JSM = 47, ESMQ = 33, SMR = 54). Of those 134 articles, only 4 (<1%; i.e., Chen and Mason, 2019 ; Shaw, 2019 ; Warner, 2019 ; Zipp et al., 2019 ) took a critical approach as per our inclusion requirements for this study.

As seen in Figure 1 , there had been an increase in the number of publications in 2005, followed by an increasing trend in publications per year. Perhaps Frisby's (2005) Zeigler lecture acted as a milestone for igniting the use of critical social theory in sport management studies, alongside other work published around the same time (e.g., Amis and Silk, 2005 ). Another possible explanation for the increasing number of publications using a critical social science approach is that an increasing number of total publications, regardless of paradigmatic approach, across social science and humanities domains has been documented in general ( Engels et al., 2012 ), perhaps due in part to the increased use of technology, making article publication faster and less expensive for publishers, as well as more accessible to readers. With increasing publication numbers overall, there may be more opportunity for scholars who complete innovative methodological, theoretical, or paradigmatic work to get their research published.

Figure 1 . Critical social science publications in sport management per year ( N = 216).

Journal Domain

Not surprisingly, the largest proportion of studies published that used critical social science to address issues in sport management appear in journals that fall under the sport management and sport policy domains ( n = 66; 31%; see Table 2 ). This finding is likely due to the framing of the scoping review itself, however what is noteworthy is the journal domains aside from sport management within which identified articles have been published. Sport sociology journals ( n = 42; 19%) account for the next most popular outlets, followed by psychology/sociology ( n = 21; 10%), physical activity and leisure ( n = 20; 9%), education ( n = 18; 8%), communication ( n = 12; 6%), administration and business ( n = 9; 4%), geography and public health ( n = 8; 4%), and other ( n = 20; 9%). These findings indicate that critical work is being conducted, however may end up being published outside of a sport management domain when considering the variation in journal outlets. The choice to publish in the non-sport-specific journals might stem from a desire (or requirement, e.g., tenure and promotion criteria) for scholars to publish in journals outside of sport for higher impact factors. The results regarding journals appearing in the general sociology/psychology category (e.g., American Behavioral Scientist, Disability and Society, Gender in Society, Journal of Sociology) might reflect this metrics-driven publishing phenomenon in academia. Although outside the scope of this study, it may be a fruitful avenue for future research to explore this idea further and to examine authors' decision-making processes regarding publishing outlets alongside editors' and associate editors' perceptions of their journals and fields.

Table 2 . Number of annual critical social science publications in sport management by research domain and publication period (percentages between brackets).

When further examining Table 2 for the yearly number of publications per journal domain, some interesting trends appear. The domains of Administration/business, Communication, Physical activity/leisure, and Geography have consistent contributions throughout the 35-year period examined. Though a consistently low number of publications appear in these domains, it indicates that there seems to be a niche for sport management topics with a critical lens in these domains. For example, corporate social responsibility is a dominant topic among the articles that appear in the administration and business domain (e.g., Giulianotti, 2015 ; Levermore and Moore, 2015 ). In the communication domain, many investigations highlight how sport media reinforced social inequity through subtle discourse (e.g., Buffington and Fraley, 2008 ; Lavelle, 2010 ; Ličen and Billings, 2013 ; Masucci and Butryn, 2013 ; Gill et al., 2017 ; Toffoletti, 2017 ). The geography domain contains many articles on the geographies of sport events (e.g., Levermore, 2011 ; Samatas, 2011 ; McGillivray et al., 2018 ). Interestingly, there are no common themes present in topics within the leisure domain, possibly because leisure studies are often rooted in critical perspectives.

In the education domain, there had been a consistent number of publications up until the 2015-2019 time-period, where the average number of publications more than doubled. This could be due to the two special issues in Sport, Education, and Society (i.e., Gender, physical education, and active lifestyles: contemporary challenges and new directions in 2018; Researching Education within Sport for Development in 2016) and Quest (i.e., Social Justice and Sport: Religious, Sociological, and Capability Perspectives in 2019) on critical themes in a sport context. Regardless, the publication of special issues on certain topics indicates a need for, and interest in, particular themes in research and therefore reflect trends in the field more broadly.

There is a consistently increasing trend in the number of publications in the psychology and sociology domains. When looking at the number of journals in the sport management domain, there is a clear spike in the number of publications from the “before 2005” timeframe to the 2005–2009 timeframe. This may be due in part to Frisby's (2005) call for the use of critical social theory in sport management research. This call could have inspired: (1) researchers to employ more critical social science and associated research approaches, and (2) journal editors and reviewers to accept more critical research for publication in sport management journals. Though the increasing trend continues into the following two timeframes, the increase is not as large, and seems to start to level–off. It is interesting to compare the sport management domain trends with that of the sport sociology domain. Sport management and sport sociology publications are quite similar in the “before 2005” timeframe. In the 2005–2009 timeframe, however, there is a decrease in publications in the sport sociology domain, further providing support for the openness of sport management journals to critical research. In the 2010–2014 and 2015–2019 timeframes, there was a large jump in the number of publications in the sport sociology domain, closing in on the number of publications in the sport management domain. This trend could indicate that the increase in the number of publications in the sport management journals could have been a “fad” in response to Frisby's (2005) Zeigler lecture, and there is less of an openness long-term for sport management journals to accept work using critical social science and associated approaches, and thus critical scholars in sport management are yet again choosing sport sociology journals as outlets for their work. As mentioned in the introduction, sport sociology and general sociology journals publish critical work extensively, and therefore authors may find their critical sport management research is more welcomed in those outlets compared to sport management or business/administration outlets. Additionally, scholars have pointed to the tendency of sport management journals to privilege post-positivist work over more critical or qualitative approaches (e.g., Knoppers, 2015 ; Sveinson et al., 2021 ). Analyzing future trends can provide insight into the accuracy of the assumption that sport management journals are overall less open to publishing critical research.

A large proportion of studies ( n = 54; 25%) included in this scoping review stated taking a “critical approach” but did not explicitly state they were using a critical theory or a critical paradigmatic position. A feminist approach ( n = 45; 21%) accounts for the next largest proportion theories used in critical sport management research. Race-based theories ( n = 36; 16%) are not far behind, followed by discourse analyses ( n = 22; 10%), critical theory ( n = 17; 8%), neoliberalism ( n = 7; 3%), Settler and post-colonial theories ( n = 6; 3%), (dis)ability theories ( n = 4; 2%), Bourdieu's social theories ( n = 4; 2%), and Other ( n = 21; 10%). It is important to note that some studies used multiple theories. The most popular theory combination was a gender-based theory and a race-based theory (e.g., Travers, 2011 ; Prouse, 2015 ; Rankin-Wright et al., 2016 ), highlighting the importance of investigating sport through an intersectional lens ( Shaw and Frisby, 2006 ; Anderson and McCormack, 2010 ).

Theory use is quite dispersed across the journal domains, with the following noteworthy observations. The largest proportion of race-based theory appears in the sport sociology domain ( n = 10 of the 36 studies that use race-based theories), which is interesting because the largest proportion of overall studies are in the sport management domain. The same trend appears with critical theory ( n = 8 of the 17 studies that use critical theory). Well over half of the settler/post-colonial studies appear in the sport management domain ( n = 4 of the 6 studies that use a settler/post-colonial theory). Gender-based theories are the most frequently used in the sport management domain ( n = 14 of the 45 studies that use a gender-based theory).

As discussed in the introduction and methods sections, it was necessary to clearly define inclusion criteria for the term “critical social science.” In limiting our scoping review to articles that explicitly stated the use of a critical theory or critical approach, the study at hand may have excluded articles that were underpinned by critical ways of thinking, addressed power relations, or could otherwise be considered “critical” work without having explicitly stated the approach. While this is indeed a limitation of the study, it was a necessary demarcation to ensure the scoping review was feasible and that assumptions regarding paradigmatic positioning of authors were avoided. Further, since we engaged in both a database and a manual search, we feel as though the articles included in the scoping review provide a thorough overview of the state of the field. Nonetheless, we realize that our search terms may have excluded some relevant work. Along these lines, our findings regarding the use and statement of theory suggest that there may at times be a lapse in communicating philosophical paradigms and theoretical underpinnings of scholarly work. While this may likely be due to space limitations associated with journal articles, clearly outlining philosophical foundations of research provide the reader with a frame through which to better understand the findings and implications of the research ( Creswell, 2013 ). Clearly situating research in relation to theory is important for explaining and understanding an area of inquiry ( Doherty, 2013 ). Moving forward, scholars should ensure their philosophical underpinnings and assumptions are clearly stated to better situate their work and demonstrate a clearer line of critical inquiry in the field.

Sport Management Focus

The studies included in this scoping review covered a wide range of contexts including: community sport ( n = 39; 18%), sport events ( n = 37; 17%), intercollegiate sport ( n = 28; 13%), sport governance ( n = 27; 13%), professional sport ( n = 21; 10%), sport management academia ( n = 21; 10%), sport for development ( n = 20; 9%), sport media ( n = 10; 5%), sport fans ( n = 5; 2%), and other ( n = 8; 4%). These results are not surprising given the varied accepted definitions for sport, and therefore sport management, depending on the personal beliefs and values of the authors, editors, and reviewers, and the mandates of specific journals. Further, the definition of sport varies depending upon which part of the world one is studying or referring to, as discussed in the introduction above (see DeSensi et al., 1990 ; Council of Europe, 2001 ; Coakley, 2003 ).

Stemming from the definition of sport management applied in this study, the following four areas of sport management were identified: Education, Governance, Management, and Marketing. Based on these areas of sport management, additional analyses were run to further explore the use of critical research approaches in the field in a more nuanced manner. When limiting the categorization of the study context to the facets of the definition of sport management (i.e., education, governance, management, marketing), there is a clear emphasis on management ( n = 89; 41%), followed by governance ( n = 51; 24%), then marketing ( n = 43; 20%), and education ( n = 33; 15%) not far behind.

Of the 33 education articles, the majority ( n = 18; 55%) appear in the sport management journals as opposed to journals of other domains. This is not surprising, as many of the education-centered articles are commenting on sport management as a field and education in sport management. Of the 51 governance articles, there are a similar number of articles in both the sport management ( n = 19; 37%) and sport sociology ( n = 15; 29%) domains. There is a fairly even distribution of articles in the other domains for the remainder of the governance articles. A similar trend is evident in the management ( n = 89) area as well, as these articles were similarly published in sport management ( n = 21; 24%) and sport sociology ( n = 16; 18%) journals. For the management articles ( n = 89), there are also several articles in the education ( n = 10; 11%) and physical activity/leisure ( n = 10; 11%) domains.

Interestingly, for the marketing domain ( n = 43), there are more articles published in the sport sociology ( n = 10; 23%) and communication ( n = 9; 21%) domains than the sport management ( n = 8; 19%) domain, and an equal number of articles in the psychology/sociology domain ( n = 8; 19%). Marketing-driven articles in sociological oriented journals often rely on critical sociological theories such as Bourdieu's (1979) Theory of “La Distinction.” This indicates that perhaps marketing-driven articles published in the sport management domain tend to not take on a critical perspective. This may be because critical marketing scholars prefer to publish in non-sport management journals, or perhaps sport management journals prefer to publish non-critical marketing studies. Regardless, this finding suggests that there is room for growth and acceptance of critical marketing work in the sport management field, particularly targeting underserviced groups (i.e., target markets) in society.

Methodological Approaches

In alignment with the critical paradigm, the largest proportion of studies included in the sample use a qualitative approach ( n = 124; 57%). The next largest proportion of studies are conceptual pieces ( n = 69; 32%), followed by mixed methods ( n = 12; 6%), and then quantitative approaches ( n = 7; 3%), and other ( n = 4; 2%).

Study Design

The most popular study design among the studies included in the sample are conceptual papers ( n = 69; 32%), indicating further potential for such conceptual pieces to be expanded upon empirically. Testing such conceptual pieces empirically could be a fruitful area of research to ensure the expansion of critical social science use in sport management moving forward. Of the empirical studies, the most frequently employed study designs are cross-sectional ( n = 60; 28%), followed by case studies ( n = 59; 27%), longitudinal ( n = 14; 6%), ethnographic ( n = 12; 6%), and finally, reviews (n=2; 1%).

Type of Data

There is a relative balance between conceptual pieces ( n = 69; 32%), studies that use primary data ( n = 64; 30%), secondary data ( n = 62; 29%), and both ( n = 21; 10%). This finding indicates the potential of employing critical social science for expanding how research is conducted in the field. This potential has been discussed previously ( Frisby, 2005 ), and sport management scholars specifically have suggested that variety in research methods and approaches could further strengthen the field ( Olafson, 1995 ; Sotiriadou and Shilbury, 2010 ; van der Roest et al., 2015 ; Sveinson et al., 2021 ). Therefore, this finding provides further reasoning for employing a critical approach in sport management work and the value of such approaches for the field.

Study Population

To accurately depict the distribution of populations within the collected articles, the percentages reported here reflect the total number of populations studied ( n = 235) and not the total number of articles ( n = 216) because some studies examined more than one population. The largest proportion are the non-empirical studies, without reference to specific populations ( n = 69; 29%). In the empirical investigations, the largest proportion of studies considered administrators/organizations ( n = 58; 25%), followed by media outlets and media documents ( n = 38; 16%) that, combined, accounted for about two thirds of the empirical studies. Other populations consisted of amateur sport participants (adults and youth; n = 16; 8%), other types of documents ( n = 18; 7%), elite athletes ( n = 9; 4%), communities ( n = 9; 4%), spectators ( n = 6; 2%), and other ( n = 12; 5%). This finding demonstrates that most critical research in the sport management field investigates the organizational level of sport. This clearly outlines a gap, and further suggests the need for future critical sport management research to involve diverse stakeholder groups (such as athletes, community members, BIPOC, etc.) to add to our holistic understanding of sport. For example, sport marketing and consumer behavior research could benefit from critical research approaches, particularly to better understand the power relations that prevent non-sport-participants from engaging in sport to inform how organizations could begin to remove barriers to participation.

Type of Analysis

Considering the empirical investigations included in this scoping review ( n = 147), and the types of analyses conducted ( n = 160; some investigations conducted more than one type of analysis) the most frequently used types of analysis were thematic ( n = 50; 31%) followed by discourse/critical discourse ( n = 35; 22%), and not stated ( n = 34; 21%). Statistical ( n = 11; 7%), content ( n = 9; 6%), critical ( n = 7; 4%), policy ( n = 6; 4%), framing ( n = 5; 3%), and other ( n = 3; 2%) analyses were also used. Of note here is the finding that 21% of empirical articles collected for this scoping review did not state a type of analysis. This is noteworthy given the importance of demonstrating cohesiveness within projects to ensure quality of the research ( Tracy, 2010 ). This finding indicates that researchers may need to be more explicit in terms of their critical research process and analysis to ensure the cohesiveness and quality of their work is demonstrated in manuscripts. By ensuring that quality criteria, particularly for qualitative research ( Hoeber and Shaw, 2017 ; Hoeber et al., 2021 ), are met and explicitly outlined in research outputs may help to further demonstrate the value of diverse research approaches in the field.

Theoretical Implications

Most studies included in this scoping review ( n = 180; 83%) did not specifically extend or develop the theory that was employed in the investigation. At best, only one third of the studies published in the administration/business domain developed theory ( n = 3; 33%). Of the studies in the sport management domain, only 27% ( n = 18) contributed to theory, followed by sport sociology ( n = 6; 15%), geography/public health ( n = 1; 13%), education ( n = 2; 11%), psychology/sociology ( n = 2; 10%), and communication ( n = 1; 8%). None of the studies in physical activity/leisure contributed to theory development. While critical social science may have grown in popularity and acceptance within the sport management field since 1985, this finding suggests that there is further work to do in advancing such theories, extending their applicability to sport-specific contexts, and drawing upon the context of sport to extend theories for use in broader domains as well ( Chalip, 2006 ). Theory improvement and extension, as well as theory development, are ways that sport management may contribute to broader literature in parent disciplines such as sociology, psychology, marketing, and administration ( Gammelsæter, 2020 ).

Over the past two decades, there have been calls from researchers in sport management to increase the use of critical social science and associated research approaches in the field. Frisby (2005) stated that using critical social science in sport management research would help to uncover the “ugly” side of sport, and from there, lasting change could be sought. Alongside such calls, scholars have begun to adopt more qualitative research methodologies, innovative theoretical approaches, and generally broaden research approaches in the field (e.g., Byers, 2013 ; Kitchin and Howe, 2013 ; Hoeber and Shaw, 2017 ; Chen and Mason, 2019 ). Despite these shifts, there had not yet been any systematic work investigating the state of the use of critical social science and associated research approaches in sport management scholarship. Employing critical social science in sport management research is important for unpacking the less-desirable aspects of sport as a social system and can therefore provide a strong base upon which positive change in sport can be made. As such, the purpose of our scoping review was to examine the trends, gaps, and the state of the use of critical social science and associated research approaches in sport management scholarship. By employing Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) scoping review methodology, and Teare and Taks (2020) systematic approach to scoping reviews, we collected and examined 216 unique articles.

Our findings suggest that while there has been an increase in critical social science in sport management since 1985 and particularly since 2005, there remains a relatively low number of critical social science published in sport management journals specifically per year. As such, there remains potential for scholars to adopt critical social science and associated methodologies in sport management scholarship, and for sport management journals to accept and publish such work, as discussed elsewhere (see Sveinson et al., 2021 ). Further, our findings suggest that while there is some critical work published, there is room for expanding the use of these approaches to include additional perspectives and sport contexts. Interestingly, our results demonstrate that there remains a need for scholars to intentionally state their paradigmatic and theoretical positions within research outputs. There currently seems to be a lack of outright communication regarding how critical social science is being used in sport management research. By ensuring research approaches are communicated clearly, readers will be better equipped to implement findings and to use existing work to push their own critical research forward. In doing so, more critical work will be readily available in sport management specific journals for sport management scholars, students, and practitioners to help inform future work and practice. Such critical academic work can support equity, diversity, and inclusion policy, the creation of safe sporting spaces, and ultimately support the provision of appropriate programming to as many diverse groups as possible.

Future Research

This scoping review is a first step in better understanding trends, gaps, and the state of the use of critical research approaches in sport management scholarship. We acknowledge that given the nature of a scoping review there may be some articles that were not included as they did not explicitly state using a critical approach. Therefore, future work could employ a more targeted review approach by perhaps comparing publication trends in specific journals using full-text screening earlier in the search process. Specifically regarding the findings of this study, further research should uncover underlying reasons regarding author decisions to submit work to specific journals compared to others, as well as editor decisions to accept certain articles. Such work may uncover why critical sport management research is published more often in other journal domains as well as any constraints that may exist in publishing critical work in field-specific journals. Having a better understanding of the landscape of publication can help to create opportunities for increased critical scholarship in the field.

Author Contributions

KB and GT were responsible for the conceptualization of the manuscript, data collection and analysis, and writing the manuscript. MT provided guidance on the conceptualization, data collection and analysis, writing, and also involved in adding to, editing and revising the final draft. All authors have made a substantial, direct, and intellectual contribution to the work and approved the submitted manuscript.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2022.812200/full#supplementary-material

1. ^ Note that ESMQ was preceded by the European Journal for Sport Management , which published it first issue in 1994. The European Journal for Sport Management is not available online and thus was not included in this scoping review.

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Keywords: philosophical paradigms, research approach, state of the field, theoretical contribution, systematic reviewing

Citation: Bodin K, Teare G and Taks M (2022) Critical Social Science in Sport Management Research: A Scoping Review. Front. Sports Act. Living 4:812200. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2022.812200

Received: 09 November 2021; Accepted: 05 January 2022; Published: 28 January 2022.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2022 Bodin, Teare and Taks. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Kerri Bodin, kbodi036@uottawa.ca

This article is part of the Research Topic

Highlights in Sports Management, Marketing and Business: 2021/22

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Sport psychology and performance meta-analyses: A systematic review of the literature

Marc Lochbaum

1 Department of Kinesiology and Sport Management, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, United States of America

2 Education Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania

Elisabeth Stoner

3 Department of Psychological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, United States of America

Tristen Hefner

Sydney cooper.

4 Department of Kinesiology and Sport Management, Honors College, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, United States of America

Andrew M. Lane

5 Faculty of Education, Health and Well-Being, University of Wolverhampton, Walsall, West Midlands, United Kingdom

Peter C. Terry

6 Division of Research & Innovation, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia

Associated Data

All relevant data are within the paper.

Sport psychology as an academic pursuit is nearly two centuries old. An enduring goal since inception has been to understand how psychological techniques can improve athletic performance. Although much evidence exists in the form of meta-analytic reviews related to sport psychology and performance, a systematic review of these meta-analyses is absent from the literature. We aimed to synthesize the extant literature to gain insights into the overall impact of sport psychology on athletic performance. Guided by the PRISMA statement for systematic reviews, we reviewed relevant articles identified via the EBSCOhost interface. Thirty meta-analyses published between 1983 and 2021 met the inclusion criteria, covering 16 distinct sport psychology constructs. Overall, sport psychology interventions/variables hypothesized to enhance performance (e.g., cohesion, confidence, mindfulness) were shown to have a moderate beneficial effect ( d = 0.51), whereas variables hypothesized to be detrimental to performance (e.g., cognitive anxiety, depression, ego climate) had a small negative effect ( d = -0.21). The quality rating of meta-analyses did not significantly moderate the magnitude of observed effects, nor did the research design (i.e., intervention vs. correlation) of the primary studies included in the meta-analyses. Our review strengthens the evidence base for sport psychology techniques and may be of great practical value to practitioners. We provide recommendations for future research in the area.

Introduction

Sport performance matters. Verifying its global importance requires no more than opening a newspaper to the sports section, browsing the internet, looking at social media outlets, or scanning abundant sources of sport information. Sport psychology is an important avenue through which to better understand and improve sport performance. To date, a systematic review of published sport psychology and performance meta-analyses is absent from the literature. Given the undeniable importance of sport, the history of sport psychology in academics since 1830, and the global rise of sport psychology journals and organizations, a comprehensive systematic review of the meta-analytic literature seems overdue. Thus, we aimed to consolidate the existing literature and provide recommendations for future research.

The development of sport psychology

The history of sport psychology dates back nearly 200 years. Terry [ 1 ] cites Carl Friedrich Koch’s (1830) publication titled [in translation] Calisthenics from the Viewpoint of Dietetics and Psychology [ 2 ] as perhaps the earliest publication in the field, and multiple commentators have noted that sport psychology experiments occurred in the world’s first psychology laboratory, established by Wilhelm Wundt at the University of Leipzig in 1879 [ 1 , 3 ]. Konrad Rieger’s research on hypnosis and muscular endurance, published in 1884 [ 4 ] and Angelo Mosso’s investigations of the effects of mental fatigue on physical performance, published in 1891 [ 5 ] were other early landmarks in the development of applied sport psychology research. Following the efforts of Koch, Wundt, Rieger, and Mosso, sport psychology works appeared with increasing regularity, including Philippe Tissié’s publications in 1894 [ 6 , 7 ] on psychology and physical training, and Pierre de Coubertin’s first use of the term sport psychology in his La Psychologie du Sport paper in 1900 [ 8 ]. In short, the history of sport psychology and performance research began as early as 1830 and picked up pace in the latter part of the 19 th century. Early pioneers, who helped shape sport psychology include Wundt, recognized as the “father of experimental psychology”, Tissié, the founder of French physical education and Legion of Honor awardee in 1932, and de Coubertin who became the father of the modern Olympic movement and founder of the International Olympic Committee.

Sport psychology flourished in the early 20 th century [see 1, 3 for extensive historic details]. For instance, independent laboratories emerged in Berlin, Germany, established by Carl Diem in 1920; in St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia, established respectively by Avksenty Puni and Piotr Roudik in 1925; and in Champaign, Illinois USA, established by Coleman Griffith, also in 1925. The period from 1950–1980 saw rapid strides in sport psychology, with Franklin Henry establishing this field of study as independent of physical education in the landscape of American and eventually global sport science and kinesiology graduate programs [ 1 ]. In addition, of great importance in the 1960s, three international sport psychology organizations were established: namely, the International Society for Sport Psychology (1965), the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (1966), and the European Federation of Sport Psychology (1969). Since that time, the Association of Applied Sport Psychology (1986), the South American Society for Sport Psychology (1986), and the Asian-South Pacific Association of Sport Psychology (1989) have also been established.

The global growth in academic sport psychology has seen a large number of specialist publications launched, including the following journals: International Journal of Sport Psychology (1970), Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology (1979), The Sport Psychologist (1987), Journal of Applied Sport Psychology (1989), Psychology of Sport and Exercise (2000), International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology (2003), Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology (2007), International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology (2008), Journal of Sport Psychology in Action (2010), Sport , Exercise , and Performance Psychology (2014), and the Asian Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology (2021).

In turn, the growth in journal outlets has seen sport psychology publications burgeon. Indicative of the scale of the contemporary literature on sport psychology, searches completed in May 2021 within the Web of Science Core Collection, identified 1,415 publications on goal setting and sport since 1985; 5,303 publications on confidence and sport since 1961; and 3,421 publications on anxiety and sport since 1980. In addition to academic journals, several comprehensive edited textbooks have been produced detailing sport psychology developments across the world, such as Hanrahan and Andersen’s (2010) Handbook of Applied Sport Psychology [ 9 ], Schinke, McGannon, and Smith’s (2016) International Handbook of Sport Psychology [ 10 ], and Bertollo, Filho, and Terry’s (2021) Advancements in Mental Skills Training [ 11 ] to name just a few. In short, sport psychology is global in both academic study and professional practice.

Meta-analysis in sport psychology

Several meta-analysis guides, computer programs, and sport psychology domain-specific primers have been popularized in the social sciences [ 12 , 13 ]. Sport psychology academics have conducted quantitative reviews on much studied constructs since the 1980s, with the first two appearing in 1983 in the form of Feltz and Landers’ meta-analysis on mental practice [ 14 ], which included 98 articles dating from 1934, and Bond and Titus’ cross-disciplinary meta-analysis on social facilitation [ 15 ], which summarized 241 studies including Triplett’s (1898) often-cited study of social facilitation in cycling [ 16 ]. Although much meta-analytic evidence exists for various constructs in sport and exercise psychology [ 12 ] including several related to performance [ 17 ], the evidence is inconsistent. For example, two meta-analyses, both ostensibly summarizing evidence of the benefits to performance of task cohesion [ 18 , 19 ], produced very different mean effects ( d = .24 vs d = 1.00) indicating that the true benefit lies somewhere in a wide range from small to large. Thus, the lack of a reliable evidence base for the use of sport psychology techniques represents a significant gap in the knowledge base for practitioners and researchers alike. A comprehensive systematic review of all published meta-analyses in the field of sport psychology has yet to be published.

Purpose and aim

We consider this review to be both necessary and long overdue for the following reasons: (a) the extensive history of sport psychology and performance research; (b) the prior publication of many meta-analyses summarizing various aspects of sport psychology research in a piecemeal fashion [ 12 , 17 ] but not its totality; and (c) the importance of better understanding and hopefully improving sport performance via the use of interventions based on solid evidence of their efficacy. Hence, we aimed to collate and evaluate this literature in a systematic way to gain improved understanding of the impact of sport psychology variables on sport performance by construct, research design, and meta-analysis quality, to enhance practical knowledge of sport psychology techniques and identify future lines of research inquiry. By systematically reviewing all identifiable meta-analytic reviews linking sport psychology techniques with sport performance, we aimed to evaluate the strength of the evidence base underpinning sport psychology interventions.

Materials and methods

This systematic review of meta-analyses followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines [ 20 ]. We did not register our systematic review protocol in a database. However, we specified our search strategy, inclusion criteria, data extraction, and data analyses in advance of writing our manuscript. All details of our work are available from the lead author. Concerning ethics, this systematic review received a waiver from Texas Tech University Human Subject Review Board as it concerned archival data (i.e., published meta-analyses).

Eligibility criteria

Published meta-analyses were retained for extensive examination if they met the following inclusion criteria: (a) included meta-analytic data such as mean group, between or within-group differences or correlates; (b) published prior to January 31, 2021; (c) published in a peer-reviewed journal; (d) investigated a recognized sport psychology construct; and (e) meta-analyzed data concerned with sport performance. There was no language of publication restriction. To align with our systematic review objectives, we gave much consideration to study participants and performance outcomes. Across multiple checks, all authors confirmed study eligibility. Three authors (ML, AL, and PT) completed the final inclusion assessments.

Information sources

Authors searched electronic databases, personal meta-analysis history, and checked with personal research contacts. Electronic database searches occurred in EBSCOhost with the following individual databases selected: APA PsycINFO, ERIC, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, and SPORTDiscus. An initial search concluded October 1, 2020. ML, AL, and PT rechecked the identified studies during the February–March, 2021 period, which resulted in the identification of two additional meta-analyses [ 21 , 22 ].

Search protocol

ML and ES initially conducted independent database searches. For the first search, ML used the following search terms: sport psychology with meta-analysis or quantitative review and sport and performance or sport* performance. For the second search, ES utilized a sport psychology textbook and used the chapter title terms (e.g., goal setting). In EBSCOhost, both searches used the advanced search option that provided three separate boxes for search terms such as box 1 (sport psychology), box 2 (meta-analysis), and box 3 (performance). Specific details of our search strategy were:

Search by ML:

sport psychology, meta-analysis, sport and performance
sport psychology, meta-analysis or quantitative review, sport* performance
sport psychology, quantitative review, sport and performance
sport psychology, quantitative review, sport* performance

Search by ES:

mental practice or mental imagery or mental rehearsal and sports performance and meta-analysis
goal setting and sports performance and meta-analysis
anxiety and stress and sports performance and meta-analysis
competition and sports performance and meta-analysis
diversity and sports performance and meta-analysis
cohesion and sports performance and meta-analysis
imagery and sports performance and meta-analysis
self-confidence and sports performance and meta-analysis
concentration and sports performance and meta-analysis
athletic injuries and sports performance and meta-analysis
overtraining and sports performance and meta-analysis
children and sports performance and meta-analysis

The following specific search of the EBSCOhost with SPORTDiscus, APA PsycINFO, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, and ERIC databases, returned six results from 2002–2020, of which three were included [ 18 , 19 , 23 ] and three were excluded because they were not meta-analyses.

Box 1 cohesion
Box 2 sports performance
Box 3 meta-analysis

Study selection

As detailed in the PRISMA flow chart ( Fig 1 ) and the specified inclusion criteria, a thorough study selection process was used. As mentioned in the search protocol, two authors (ML and ES) engaged independently with two separate searches and then worked together to verify the selected studies. Next, AL and PT examined the selected study list for accuracy. ML, AL, and PT, whilst rating the quality of included meta-analyses, also re-examined all selected studies to verify that each met the predetermined study inclusion criteria. Throughout the study selection process, disagreements were resolved through discussion until consensus was reached.

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Data extraction process

Initially, ML, TH, and ES extracted data items 1, 2, 3 and 8 (see Data items). Subsequently, ML, AL, and PT extracted the remaining data (items 4–7, 9, 10). Checks occurred during the extraction process for potential discrepancies (e.g., checking the number of primary studies in a meta-analysis). It was unnecessary to contact any meta-analysis authors for missing information or clarification during the data extraction process because all studies reported the required information. Across the search for meta-analyses, all identified studies were reported in English. Thus, no translation software or searching out a native speaker occurred. All data extraction forms (e.g., data items and individual meta-analysis quality) are available from the first author.

To help address our main aim, we extracted the following information from each meta-analysis: (1) author(s); (2) publication year; (3) construct(s); (4) intervention based meta-analysis (yes, no, mix); (5) performance outcome(s) description; (6) number of studies for the performance outcomes; (7) participant description; (8) main findings; (9) bias correction method/results; and (10) author(s) stated conclusions. For all information sought, we coded missing information as not reported.

Individual meta-analysis quality

ML, AL, and PT independently rated the quality of individual meta-analysis on the following 25 points found in the PRISMA checklist [ 20 ]: title; abstract structured summary; introduction rationale, objectives, and protocol and registration; methods eligibility criteria, information sources, search, study selection, data collection process, data items, risk of bias of individual studies, summary measures, synthesis of results, and risk of bias across studies; results study selection, study characteristics, risk of bias within studies, results of individual studies, synthesis of results, and risk of bias across studies; discussion summary of evidence, limitations, and conclusions; and funding. All meta-analyses were rated for quality by two coders to facilitate inter-coder reliability checks, and the mean quality ratings were used in subsequent analyses. One author (PT), having completed his own ratings, received the incoming ratings from ML and AL and ran the inter-coder analysis. Two rounds of ratings occurred due to discrepancies for seven meta-analyses, mainly between ML and AL. As no objective quality categorizations (i.e., a point system for grouping meta-analyses as poor, medium, good) currently exist, each meta-analysis was allocated a quality score of up to a maximum of 25 points. All coding records are available upon request.

Planned methods of analysis

Several preplanned methods of analysis occurred. We first assessed the mean quality rating of each meta-analysis based on our 25-point PRISMA-based rating system. Next, we used a median split of quality ratings to determine whether standardized mean effects (SMDs) differed by the two formed categories, higher and lower quality meta-analyses. Meta-analysis authors reported either of two different effect size metrics (i.e., r and SMD); hence we converted all correlational effects to SMD (i.e., Cohen’s d ) values using an online effect size calculator ( www.polyu.edu.hk/mm/effectsizefaqs/calculator/calculator.html ). We interpreted the meaningfulness of effects based on Cohen’s interpretation [ 24 ] with 0.20 as small, 0.50 as medium, 0.80 as large, and 1.30 as very large. As some psychological variables associate negatively with performance (e.g., confusion [ 25 ], cognitive anxiety [ 26 ]) whereas others associate positively (e.g., cohesion [ 23 ], mental practice [ 14 ]), we grouped meta-analyses according to whether the hypothesized effect with performance was positive or negative, and summarized the overall effects separately. By doing so, we avoided a scenario whereby the demonstrated positive and negative effects canceled one another out when combined. The effect of somatic anxiety on performance, which is hypothesized to follow an inverted-U relationship, was categorized as neutral [ 35 ]. Last, we grouped the included meta-analyses according to whether the primary studies were correlational in nature or involved an intervention and summarized these two groups of meta-analyses separately.

Study characteristics

Table 1 contains extracted data from 30 meta-analyses meeting the inclusion criteria, dating from 1983 [ 14 ] to 2021 [ 21 ]. The number of primary studies within the meta-analyses ranged from three [ 27 ] to 109 [ 28 ]. In terms of the description of participants included in the meta-analyses, 13 included participants described simply as athletes, whereas other meta-analyses identified a mix of elite athletes (e.g., professional, Olympic), recreational athletes, college-aged volunteers (many from sport science departments), younger children to adolescents, and adult exercisers. Of the 30 included meta-analyses, the majority ( n = 18) were published since 2010. The decadal breakdown of meta-analyses was 1980–1989 ( n = 1 [ 14 ]), 1990–1999 ( n = 6 [ 29 – 34 ]), 2000–2009 ( n = 5 [ 23 , 25 , 26 , 35 , 36 ]), 2010–2019 ( n = 12 [ 18 , 19 , 22 , 27 , 37 – 43 , 48 ]), and 2020–2021 ( n = 6 [ 21 , 28 , 44 – 47 ]).

As for the constructs covered, we categorized the 30 meta-analyses into the following areas: mental practice/imagery [ 14 , 29 , 30 , 42 , 46 , 47 ], anxiety [ 26 , 31 , 32 , 35 ], confidence [ 26 , 35 , 36 ], cohesion [ 18 , 19 , 23 ], goal orientation [ 22 , 44 , 48 ], mood [ 21 , 25 , 34 ], emotional intelligence [ 40 ], goal setting [ 33 ], interventions [ 37 ], mindfulness [ 27 ], music [ 28 ], neurofeedback training [ 43 ], perfectionism [ 39 ], pressure training [ 45 ], quiet eye training [ 41 ], and self-talk [ 38 ]. Multiple effects were generated from meta-analyses that included more than one construct (e.g., tension, depression, etc. [ 21 ]; anxiety and confidence [ 26 ]). In relation to whether the meta-analyses included in our review assessed the effects of a sport psychology intervention on performance or relationships between psychological constructs and performance, 13 were intervention-based, 14 were correlational, two included a mix of study types, and one included a large majority of cross-sectional studies ( Table 1 ).

A wide variety of performance outcomes across many sports was evident, such as golf putting, dart throwing, maximal strength, and juggling; or categorical outcomes such as win/loss and Olympic team selection. Given the extensive list of performance outcomes and the incomplete descriptions provided in some meta-analyses, a clear categorization or count of performance types was not possible. Sufficient to conclude, researchers utilized many performance outcomes across a wide range of team and individual sports, motor skills, and strength and aerobic tasks.

Effect size data and bias correction

To best summarize the effects, we transformed all correlations to SMD values (i.e., Cohen’s d ). Across all included meta-analyses shown in Table 2 and depicted in Fig 2 , we identified 61 effects. Having corrected for bias, effect size values were assessed for meaningfulness [ 24 ], which resulted in 15 categorized as negligible (< ±0.20), 29 as small (±0.20 to < 0.50), 13 as moderate (±0.50 to < 0.80), 2 as large (±0.80 to < 1.30), and 1 as very large (≥ 1.30).

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Study quality rating results and summary analyses

Following our PRISMA quality ratings, intercoder reliability coefficients were initially .83 (ML, AL), .95 (ML, PT), and .90 (AL, PT), with a mean intercoder reliability coefficient of .89. To achieve improved reliability (i.e., r mean > .90), ML and AL re-examined their ratings. As a result, intercoder reliability increased to .98 (ML, AL), .96 (ML, PT), and .92 (AL, PT); a mean intercoder reliability coefficient of .95. Final quality ratings (i.e., the mean of two coders) ranged from 13 to 25 ( M = 19.03 ± 4.15). Our median split into higher ( M = 22.83 ± 1.08, range 21.5–25, n = 15) and lower ( M = 15.47 ± 2.42, range 13–20.5, n = 15) quality groups produced significant between-group differences in quality ( F 1,28 = 115.62, p < .001); hence, the median split met our intended purpose. The higher quality group of meta-analyses were published from 2015–2021 (median 2018) and the lower quality group from 1983–2014 (median 2000). It appears that meta-analysis standards have risen over the years since the PRISMA criteria were first introduced in 2009. All data for our analyses are shown in Table 2 .

Table 3 contains summary statistics with bias-corrected values used in the analyses. The overall mean effect for sport psychology constructs hypothesized to have a positive impact on performance was of moderate magnitude ( d = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.42, 0.58, n = 36). The overall mean effect for sport psychology constructs hypothesized to have a negative impact on performance was small in magnitude ( d = -0.21, 95% CI -0.31, -0.11, n = 24). In both instances, effects were larger, although not significantly so, among meta-analyses of higher quality compared to those of lower quality. Similarly, mean effects were larger but not significantly so, where reported effects in the original studies were based on interventional rather than correlational designs. This trend only applied to hypothesized positive effects because none of the original studies in the meta-analyses related to hypothesized negative effects used interventional designs.

Note. k = number of effects, N.S. = non-significant, n/a = not applicable.

In this systematic review of meta-analyses, we synthesized the available evidence regarding effects of sport psychology interventions/constructs on sport performance. We aimed to consolidate the literature, evaluate the potential for meta-analysis quality to influence the results, and suggest recommendations for future research at both the single study and quantitative review stages. During the systematic review process, several meta-analysis characteristics came to light, such as the number of meta-analyses of sport psychology interventions (experimental designs) compared to those summarizing the effects of psychological constructs (correlation designs) on performance, the number of meta-analyses with exclusively athletes as participants, and constructs featuring in multiple meta-analyses, some of which (e.g., cohesion) produced very different effect size values. Thus, although our overall aim was to evaluate the strength of the evidence base for use of psychological interventions in sport, we also discuss the impact of these meta-analysis characteristics on the reliability of the evidence.

When seen collectively, results of our review are supportive of using sport psychology techniques to help improve performance and confirm that variations in psychological constructs relate to variations in performance. For constructs hypothesized to have a positive effect on performance, the mean effect strength was moderate ( d = 0.51) although there was substantial variation between constructs. For example, the beneficial effects on performance of task cohesion ( d = 1.00) and self-efficacy ( d = 0.82) are large, and the available evidence base for use of mindfulness interventions suggests a very large beneficial effect on performance ( d = 1.35). Conversely, some hypothetically beneficial effects (2 of 36; 5.6%) were in the negligible-to-small range (0.15–0.20) and most beneficial effects (19 of 36; 52.8%) were in the small-to-moderate range (0.22–0.49). It should be noted that in the world of sport, especially at the elite level, even a small beneficial effect on performance derived from a psychological intervention may prove the difference between success and failure and hence small effects may be of great practical value. To put the scale of the benefits into perspective, an authoritative and extensively cited review of healthy eating and physical activity interventions [ 49 ] produced an overall pooled effect size of 0.31 (compared to 0.51 for our study), suggesting sport psychology interventions designed to improve performance are generally more effective than interventions designed to promote healthy living.

Among hypothetically negative effects (e.g., ego climate, cognitive anxiety, depression), the mean detrimental effect was small ( d = -0.21) although again substantial variation among constructs was evident. Some hypothetically negative constructs (5 of 24; 20.8%) were found to actually provide benefits to performance, albeit in the negligible range (0.02–0.12) and only two constructs (8.3%), both from Lochbaum and colleagues’ POMS meta-analysis [ 21 ], were shown to negatively affect performance above a moderate level (depression: d = -0.64; total mood disturbance, which incorporates the depression subscale: d = -0.84). Readers should note that the POMS and its derivatives assess six specific mood dimensions rather than the mood construct more broadly, and therefore results should not be extrapolated to other dimensions of mood [ 50 ].

Mean effects were larger among higher quality than lower quality meta-analyses for both hypothetically positive ( d = 0.54 vs d = 0.45) and negative effects ( d = -0.25 vs d = 0.17), but in neither case were the differences significant. It is reasonable to assume that the true effects were derived from the higher quality meta-analyses, although our conclusions remain the same regardless of study quality. Overall, our findings provide a more rigorous evidence base for the use of sport psychology techniques by practitioners than was previously available, representing a significant contribution to knowledge. Moreover, our systematic scrutiny of 30 meta-analyses published between 1983 and 2021 has facilitated a series of recommendations to improve the quality of future investigations in the sport psychology area.

Recommendations

The development of sport psychology as an academic discipline and area of professional practice relies on using evidence and theory to guide practice. Hence, a strong evidence base for the applied work of sport psychologists is of paramount importance. Although the beneficial effects of some sport psychology techniques are small, it is important to note the larger performance benefits for other techniques, which may be extremely meaningful for applied practice. Overall, however, especially given the heterogeneity of the observed effects, it would be wise for applied practitioners to avoid overpromising the benefits of sport psychology services to clients and perhaps underdelivering as a result [ 1 ].

The results of our systematic review can be used to generate recommendations for how the profession might conduct improved research to better inform applied practice. Much of the early research in sport psychology was exploratory and potential moderating variables were not always sufficiently controlled. Terry [ 51 ] outlined this in relation to the study of mood-performance relationships, identifying that physical and skills factors will very likely exert a greater influence on performance than psychological factors. Further, type of sport (e.g., individual vs. team), duration of activity (e.g., short vs. long duration), level of competition (e.g., elite vs. recreational), and performance measure (e.g., norm-referenced vs. self-referenced) have all been implicated as potential moderators of the relationship between psychological variables and sport performance [ 51 ]. To detect the relatively subtle effects of psychological effects on performance, research designs need to be sufficiently sensitive to such potential confounds. Several specific methodological issues are worth discussing.

The first issue relates to measurement. Investigating the strength of a relationship requires the measured variables to be valid, accurate and reliable. Psychological variables in the meta-analyses we reviewed relied primarily on self-report outcome measures. The accuracy of self-report data requires detailed inner knowledge of thoughts, emotions, and behavior. Research shows that the accuracy of self-report information is subject to substantial individual differences [ 52 , 53 ]. Therefore, self-report data, at best, are an estimate of the measure. Measurement issues are especially relevant to the assessment of performance, and considerable measurement variation was evident between meta-analyses. Some performance measures were more sensitive, especially those assessing physical performance relative to what is normal for the individual performer (i.e., self-referenced performance). Hence, having multiple baseline indicators of performance increases the probability of identifying genuine performance enhancement derived from a psychological intervention [ 54 ].

A second issue relates to clarifying the rationale for how and why specific psychological variables might influence performance. A comprehensive review of prerequisites and precursors of athletic talent [ 55 ] concluded that the superiority of Olympic champions over other elite athletes is determined in part by a range of psychological variables, including high intrinsic motivation, determination, dedication, persistence, and creativity, thereby identifying performance-related variables that might benefit from a psychological intervention. Identifying variables that influence the effectiveness of interventions is a challenging but essential issue for researchers seeking to control and assess factors that might influence results [ 49 ]. A key part of this process is to use theory to propose the mechanism(s) by which an intervention might affect performance and to hypothesize how large the effect might be.

A third issue relates to the characteristics of the research participants involved. Out of convenience, it is not uncommon for researchers to use undergraduate student participants for research projects, which may bias results and restrict the generalization of findings to the population of primary interest, often elite athletes. The level of training and physical conditioning of participants will clearly influence their performance. Highly trained athletes will typically make smaller gains in performance over time than novice athletes, due to a ceiling effect (i.e., they have less room for improvement). For example, consider runner A, who takes 20 minutes to run 5km one week but 19 minutes the next week, and Runner B who takes 30 minutes one week and 25 minutes the next. If we compare the two, Runner A runs faster than Runner B on both occasions, but Runner B improved more, so whose performance was better? If we also consider Runner C, a highly trained athlete with a personal best of 14 minutes, to run 1 minute quicker the following week would almost require a world record time, which is clearly unlikely. For this runner, an improvement of a few seconds would represent an excellent performance. Evidence shows that trained, highly motivated athletes may reach performance plateaus and as such are good candidates for psychological skills training. They are less likely to make performance gains due to increased training volume and therefore the impact of psychological skills interventions may emerge more clearly. Therefore, both test-retest and cross-sectional research designs should account for individual difference variables. Further, the range of individual difference factors will be context specific; for example, individual differences in strength will be more important in a study that uses weightlifting as the performance measure than one that uses darts as the performance measure, where individual differences in skill would be more important.

A fourth factor that has not been investigated extensively relates to the variables involved in learning sport psychology techniques. Techniques such as imagery, self-talk and goal setting all require cognitive processing and as such some people will learn them faster than others [ 56 ]. Further, some people are intuitive self-taught users of, for example, mood regulation strategies such as abdominal breathing or listening to music who, if recruited to participate in a study investigating the effects of learning such techniques on performance, would respond differently to novice users. Hence, a major challenge when testing the effects of a psychological intervention is to establish suitable controls. A traditional non-treatment group offers one option, but such an approach does not consider the influence of belief effects (i.e., placebo/nocebo), which can either add or detract from the effectiveness of performance interventions [ 57 ]. If an individual believes that, an intervention will be effective, this provides a motivating effect for engagement and so performance may improve via increased effort rather than the effect of the intervention per se.

When there are positive beliefs that an intervention will work, it becomes important to distinguish belief effects from the proposed mechanism through which the intervention should be successful. Research has shown that field studies often report larger effects than laboratory studies, a finding attributed to higher motivation among participants in field studies [ 58 ]. If participants are motivated to improve, being part of an active training condition should be associated with improved performance regardless of any intervention. In a large online study of over 44,000 participants, active training in sport psychology interventions was associated with improved performance, but only marginally more than for an active control condition [ 59 ]. The study involved 4-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson narrating both the intervention and active control using motivational encouragement in both conditions. Researchers should establish not only the expected size of an effect but also to specify and assess why the intervention worked. Where researchers report performance improvement, it is fundamental to explain the proposed mechanism by which performance was enhanced and to test the extent to which the improvement can be explained by the proposed mechanism(s).

Limitations

Systematic reviews are inherently limited by the quality of the primary studies included. Our review was also limited by the quality of the meta-analyses that had summarized the primary studies. We identified the following specific limitations; (1) only 12 meta-analyses summarized primary studies that were exclusively intervention-based, (2) the lack of detail regarding control groups in the intervention meta-analyses, (3) cross-sectional and correlation-based meta-analyses by definition do not test causation, and therefore provide limited direct evidence of the efficacy of interventions, (4) the extensive array of performance measures even within a single meta-analysis, (5) the absence of mechanistic explanations for the observed effects, and (6) an absence of detail across intervention-based meta-analyses regarding number of sessions, participants’ motivation to participate, level of expertise, and how the intervention was delivered. To ameliorate these concerns, we included a quality rating for all included meta-analyses. Having created higher and lower quality groups using a median split of quality ratings, we showed that effects were larger, although not significantly so, in the higher quality group of meta-analyses, all of which were published since 2015.

Conclusions

Journals are full of studies that investigate relationships between psychological variables and sport performance. Since 1983, researchers have utilized meta-analytic methods to summarize these single studies, and the pace is accelerating, with six relevant meta-analyses published since 2020. Unquestionably, sport psychology and performance research is fraught with limitations related to unsophisticated experimental designs. In our aggregation of the effect size values, most were small-to-moderate in meaningfulness with a handful of large values. Whether these moderate and large values could be replicated using more sophisticated research designs is unknown. We encourage use of improved research designs, at the minimum the use of control conditions. Likewise, we encourage researchers to adhere to meta-analytic guidelines such as PRISMA and for journals to insist on such adherence as a prerequisite for the acceptance of reviews. Although such guidelines can appear as a ‘painting by numbers’ approach, while reviewing the meta-analyses, we encountered difficulty in assessing and finding pertinent information for our study characteristics and quality ratings. In conclusion, much research exists in the form of quantitative reviews of studies published since 1934, almost 100 years after the very first publication about sport psychology and performance [ 2 ]. Sport psychology is now truly global in terms of academic pursuits and professional practice and the need for best practice information plus a strong evidence base for the efficacy of interventions is paramount. We should strive as a profession to research and provide best practices to athletes and the general community of those seeking performance improvements.

Supporting information

S1 checklist, acknowledgments.

We acknowledge the work of all academics since Koch in 1830 [ 2 ] for their efforts to research and promote the practice of applied sport psychology.

Funding Statement

The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.

Data Availability

PLoS One. 2022; 17(2): e0263408.

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PONE-D-21-31186Sport psychology and performance meta-analyses: A systematic review of the literaturePLOS ONE

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Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: The paper entitled: “Sport psychology and performance meta-analyses: A systematic review of the literature” aimed to synthesize the extant literature to gain insights into the overall impact of sport psychology on athletic performance. The paper is well written and has a great and strong methodology. However, the introduction and discussion are not persuasive enough that the findings make a significant contribution to the literature and could therefore override these limitations. I include some comments below related to this summary for consideration.

1. In relation to the contribution of the study to the literature, I did not get a sense from the article that the findings revealed anything other than what we already know. Please clarified that;

2. The introduction of the paper was very descriptive, it did not situate the current study in literature or highlight what the gap in the literature is that this study is trying to address. At least, the authors should situate better the main purposes of this study;

3. The discussion is very descriptive and any statements about the contribution and conclusions of the study are not new. At least this moment. Please clarified better and justified your choices.

4. Overall, the paper has conditions for be accepted in PLOS ONE, however the authors should clarified the points above.

Reviewer #2: The submitted work presents a very interesting approach to summarize the results of systematic reviews/meta-analysis regarding sport psychology and performance. I must say that it is rare as a reviewer to find a so relevant and well developed study (particularly a review of literature) in which I can add and help so little. The authors are to be commended for the excellent work developed.

Given this, I can make 1 or 2 remarks in some sections, although I do not believe they are needed to ensure a final quality of the developed work. I believe this work can be published as it is, and my comments should only be considered if the authors feel they are noteworthy.

Lines 99 to 102. Given that several examples were presented before (e.g., journals), why the inclusion of only one book? Several examples could be given here, thus maintaining the line of reasoning presented before.

In method, why report PRISMA 2009, 2015 and 2020 guidelines? As stated in the Page et al (2020) reference used: "The PRISMA 2020 statement replaces the 2009 statement and includes new reporting guidance that reflects advances in methods to identify, select, appraise, and synthesis studies". Won't the 2020 reference be enough?

As a last remark, I wonder if a discussion (or a comment in the discussion/limitations) regarding mood, and particularly POMS, is needed. In this work and in some of the cited works (e.g., Lochbaum et al., 2021, EJIHPE) no discussion regarding the issues of POMS as an assessing tool for mood is presented. As mentioned by several researchers (e.g., Ekkekakis, 2013), POMS do not assess mood, at least not in a global domain. This do not impact directly this work, as generally only each of the six distinct states are explored. However, when interpreting figure 2 and extracting mood results, perhaps some clarification would frame the readers on this issues and respective interpretation of results.

Ekkekakis, P. (2013). The measurement of affect, mood and emotion. Cambridge University Press.

I am sorry I can not help any further with my comments. Thank you for your work.

Best regards

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Reviewer #2: Yes: Diogo S. Teixeira

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Author response to Decision Letter 0

13 Dec 2021

Response to Reviewers

Thank you to both reviewers for taking time to review and comment on our manuscript. We addressed all comments.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

Author response: Thank you to the reviewers for their positive comments.

________________________________________

Reviewer #1: No

Author response: All pertinent data are found in Table 1 – 2 and in Figure 1.

Author response: Reviewer 1’s concerns have been addressed below.

Reviewer #1

The paper entitled: “Sport psychology and performance meta-analyses: A systematic review of the literature” aimed to synthesize the extant literature to gain insights into the overall impact of sport psychology on athletic performance. The paper is well written and has a great and strong methodology. However, the introduction and discussion are not persuasive enough that the findings make a significant contribution to the literature and could therefore override these limitations. I include some comments below related to this summary for consideration.

• Author response: We have amended the paper to address the three concerns below.

Comment 1. In relation to the contribution of the study to the literature, I did not get a sense from the article that the findings revealed anything other than what we already know. Please clarified that;

• Author response: We have expanded on the gap in the knowledge that we addressed on lines 115-121 on the revised manuscript.

Comment 2. The introduction of the paper was very descriptive, it did not situate the current study in literature or highlight what the gap in the literature is that this study is trying to address. At least, the authors should situate better the main purposes of this study;

• Author response: Currently, sport psychology practitioners wishing to use evidence-based strategies are faced with inconsistent evidence about the efficacy of sport psychology techniques. Our paper addresses this inconsistency by assessing the effectiveness of techniques collectively. This is explained on lines 115-121 and with some small modifications on lines 125-128.

Comment 3. The discussion is very descriptive and any statements about the contribution and conclusions of the study are not new. At least this moment. Please clarified better and justified your choices.

• Author response: As suggested, a stronger summary of the contribution of the paper is provided on lines 371-375. We would also argue that the recommendations section for improvements to future studies also represents a significant contribution to the body of knowledge. If the information provided is already well known, as the reviewer suggests, then we would question why previous investigators have not implemented it in their studies.

Comment 4. Overall, the paper has conditions for be accepted in PLOS ONE, however the authors should clarified the points above.

• Author response: We thank you for your comments, which have served to improve our paper.

Reviewer #2

The submitted work presents a very interesting approach to summarize the results of systematic reviews/meta-analysis regarding sport psychology and performance. I must say that it is rare as a reviewer to find a so relevant and well developed study (particularly a review of literature) in which I can add and help so little. The authors are to be commended for the excellent work developed.

• Author response: Many thanks for your extremely positive comments.

Comment 1. Given this, I can make 1 or 2 remarks in some sections, although I do not believe they are needed to ensure a final quality of the developed work. I believe this work can be published as it is, and my comments should only be considered if the authors feel they are noteworthy.

• Author response: As suggested, we have added some additional references to books on lines 99-104 and added them to the reference list on lines 523-524 and 527-529.

Comment 2. In method, why report PRISMA 2009, 2015 and 2020 guidelines? As stated in the Page et al (2020) reference used: "The PRISMA 2020 statement replaces the 2009 statement and includes new reporting guidance that reflects advances in methods to identify, select, appraise, and synthesis studies". Won't the 2020 reference be enough?

• Author response: As suggested, we have removed reference to the PRISMA guidelines published in 2009 and 2015.

Comment 3. As a last remark, I wonder if a discussion (or a comment in the discussion/limitations) regarding mood, and particularly POMS, is needed. In this work and in some of the cited works (e.g., Lochbaum et al., 2021, EJIHPE) no discussion regarding the issues of POMS as an assessing tool for mood is presented. As mentioned by several researchers (e.g., Ekkekakis, 2013), POMS do not assess mood, at least not in a global domain. This do not impact directly this work, as generally only each of the six distinct states are explored. However, when interpreting figure 2 and extracting mood results, perhaps some clarification would frame the readers on this issues and respective interpretation of results.

• Author response: It was not our intent to critique the construct validity of the measures used in the meta-analyses we reviewed. Nevertheless, as suggested, we have added a note that the POMS and its derivatives do not measure all aspects of the global domain of mood (see lines 364-366).

I am sorry I cannot help any further with my comments. Thank you for your work.

• Author response: We are delighted to know that you thought so highly of our paper.

Submitted filename: Response to Reviewers.docx

Decision Letter 1

19 Jan 2022

PONE-D-21-31186R1

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Acceptance letter

25 Jan 2022

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Environmental Sustainability and Sports Management: A Review of Marketing Contributions and Discussion of Future Research Opportunities

Conference paper
First Online: 05 September 2023
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Ricardo Roseira Cayolla ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4015-7363 7 , 8 &
Marco Escadas ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4661-947X 9 , 10

Part of the book series: Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies ((SIST,volume 344))

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International Conference on Marketing and Technologies

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In this research, we provide an overview of the increasing area of environmental sustainability in the sports management field and discuss future research opportunities. Through a division of topics that we consider most impactful, a selection of the research that has been implemented is presented, as well as their results and possible future directions. We conclude with a final reflection to extend and deepen sustainability studies in sport management.

Environmental sustainability
Sport management

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Cayolla, R.R., Escadas, M. (2024). Environmental Sustainability and Sports Management: A Review of Marketing Contributions and Discussion of Future Research Opportunities. In: Reis, J.L., Del Rio Araujo, M., Reis, L.P., dos Santos, J.P.M. (eds) Marketing and Smart Technologies. ICMarkTech 2022. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol 344. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0333-7_23

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Decision-making on injury prevention and rehabilitation in professional football – A coach, medical staff, and player perspective

Authors: Christiana E. Hilmer 1

1 Department of Economics, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA

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Christiana Hilmer, PhD 5500 Campanile Drive San Diego, CA 92182-4485 [email protected] 619-301-9388

Christiana E. Hilmer, PhD, is a Professor of Economics at San Diego State University in San Diego, CA. Her research interests include the economics of sports, applied econometrics, labor economics, and resource and environmental economics.

An analysis of the factors impacting win percentage and change in win percentage in women’s Division 1 college lacrosse

What factors in women’s NCAA Division 1 college lacrosse led to an increase in win percentage in a single season and a change in win percentage across two consecutive seasons? Do these factors differ between teams at the top and the bottom ends of the win distributions? Using data from the 2023 and 2022 lacrosse seasons, we find that goals, assists, unassisted goals, and participation in the NCAA Championship tournament have a positive impact on win percentage, while opponent’s goals and if the team was new in 2023 have a negative impact on win percentage. The most crucial factor that explains the change in win percentage between the 2022 and 2023 lacrosse seasons is an improvement in the change in total shots ratio, while changes in attacking efficiency and defending efficiency are also important, all together explaining 58% of the variation. Teams at the bottom of the distributions have similar characteristics for both win percentage and change in win percentage as those teams in the middle and the top of the distributions, although there are some slight differences in the magnitudes of the statistically significant variables. These results suggest that lacrosse players and coaches should focus on obtaining additional goals and assists while concurrently minimizing the opponent’s goals to increase win percentage and changes in win percentage.

Keywords : distributional impacts, quantile regression, women’s college lacrosse

INTRODUCTION

Since the advent of sabermetrics pioneered by Bill James and the popularity of Lewis’s (5) Moneyball, the use of statistics to analyze sports has exploded in popularity. Reep and Benjamin (7) applied statistical analysis to team-wide factors in soccer where they investigated how the passing skill and position of a player on the field impacts goals. When analyzing a team’s performance, it is essential to determine which factors lead to a team’s success. Most research in this field has focused on professional sports. Busca et al. (1) examine eleven high-stakes international soccer tournaments to determine where a penalty kick is most likely to be struck. Pelechrinis and Winston (6) develop a framework that is comprised of publicly available data to determine the expected contribution of an individual professional soccer player to the probability of his team winning the game. Alberti et. al. (1) examine goal-scoring patterns in four different professional soccer leagues and find that the majority of goals are scored in the second half of the game with the most goals being scored in the last fifteen minutes of play. Castellano et. al. (3) analyze professional soccer match statistics to determine which factors impact winning, drawing, and losing a game and find that shots, shots on goal, and ball possession are important on the offensive end of the field, while total shots received and shots on target received are important on the defensive end of the field. A notable departure from research that focuses on professional soccer is Joslyn et al. (4), who examines the factors that improve the change in win percentage in men’s Division 1 (D1) college soccer. They find that improving shots, attacking, and defending positively impact the change in win percentage between two consecutive seasons.

This research utilizes the tools found in the team-focused literature from soccer and extends it to lacrosse. Soccer and lacrosse have many similarities, especially regarding possession, assists, goals, and defense. There are also marked differences between the two sports in addition to the obvious one: in soccer the ball is kicked while in lacrosse the ball is played with a net attached to a stick. Lacrosse is a higher-scoring game due to the presence of a 90-second shot clock and defending a women’s lacrosse player is more difficult in lacrosse than it is in soccer. One reason for this is that in lacrosse it is a foul to “move into the path of an opponent without giving the opponent a chance to stop or change direction, and causing contact” (page 51, 2022 and 2023 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Rules Book (6)), while there is no such rule in soccer. Another reason is due to a rule in women’s lacrosse called shooting space (page 54, NCAA 2022 and 2023 Women’s Lacrosse Rules Book (6)), which states that “with any part of one’s body, guarding the goal outside or inside the goal circle so as to obstruct the free space to goal, between the ball and the goal circle, which denies the attack the opportunity to shoot safely and encourages shooting at a player” while soccer does not have a comparable rule. According to NCAA Statistics (7), the average number of goals per game scored in D1 women’s college lacrosse in 2023 was 12, while the average number of goals per game scored in D1 women’s college soccer in 2023 was 1.39. Another notable difference between lacrosse and soccer is that the offside rules are very different. The offsides rule in lacrosse states that there must be at least five defenders behind their defensive restraining line and at least four offensive players behind their offensive restraining line (page 61, NCAA 2022 and 2023 Women’s Lacrosse Rules Book (6)). The offsides rule in soccer is much less stringent and it states that when in the opponent’s half of the field “the player is not closer to the opponent’s end line than at least two opponents” (page 52, NCAA 2022 and 2023 Soccer Rules Book (7)). These disparities between lacrosse and soccer may result in differences in which factors impact win percentages and changes in win percentages.

This research examines which factors lead to an increase in win percentage and change in win percentage for women’s Division 1 college lacrosse teams. We also seek to determine if these factors differ among teams in the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles for win percentage and the change in win percentage. Using data from the 2023 women’s D1 college lacrosse season, we explain 86% of the variation in win percentage. Goals, unassisted goals, and participation in the NCAA Championship tournament have a statistically significant positive impact on win percentage, while opponent’s goals and if the team was new in 2023 have a statistically significant negative impact on win percentage. The most crucial factor explaining the change in win percentage between the 2022 and 2023 lacrosse seasons is an improvement in the change in total shots ratio, while changes in attacking efficiency and defending efficiency are also statistically significant, all together explaining 58% of the variation. The variables that explain both win percentage in a single season and the change in win percentage between seasons are similar between the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles. This suggests that teams at the bottom of the distributions should focus on the same factors as those at the top when they seek to improve during a season and between seasons.

Data Source Win percentage was collected from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) archives for the 2023 and 2022 seasons. A win was awarded one point while a loss was awarded zero points. Offensive and defensive statistics for the 2023 and 2022 seasons were collected from each University’s women’s lacrosse website housed in the season’s cumulative statistics. It is important to note that these data are provided by individual institutions and therefore the statistical findings of this research is dependent on the accuracy of the information provided by each school. In addition to winning percentage, data was collected on goals, assists, shots, opponent’s goals, opponent’s shots, unassisted goals, ground balls, turnovers, caused turnovers, draw controls, whether the team was new to NCAA D1 lacrosse in the 2023 season, and if the team made the NCAA Championship tournament in 2023. Of the 126 D1 women’s lacrosse teams, 123 had information on every variable listed above.

Variables and Distributions

This analysis aims to determine what factors impact a single season winning percentage and which factors impact the change in win percentage across two consecutive seasons. Figure 1 is a histogram of win percentage for the 2023 women’s lacrosse season. The average win percentage was close to 50% at 48.27%; the minimum win percentage was 0 for the two teams that lost every game during the season, while the maximum win percentage was from a team that won 95.65% of their games. The team with the second-highest win percentage won the 2023 NCAA National Championship tournament.

Summary statistics for the 2023 D1 women’s lacrosse 2023 season are found in table 1. The average number of goals and opponent’s goals nearly offset each other at 211 and 210, respectively. There was an average of 495 shots with a large standard deviation of 105. Below half the goals were aided by an average of 92 assists, while over half of the goals resulted from an average of 119 unassisted goals. There were nearly twice as many turnovers as there were caused turnovers, 7% or a total of 8 teams were new D1 lacrosse teams in 2023, and 24% of the D1 lacrosse teams made the NCAA end-of-season tournament.

Figure 2 contains a histogram of win percentage change, which is constructed by taking the win percentage in the 2023 lacrosse season and subtracting the win percentage in the 2022 lacrosse season. There are fewer observations in the change in win percentage because the seven teams who were new in the 2023 season did not have any statistics for the 2022 season. On average, most teams had a similar win percentage in 2023 as they did in 2022, with an average change in the win percentage of .16. The team with the lowest change in win percentage between the two seasons of -51.47 had a win percentage of 75% in 2022, dropping to 24% in 2023. At the other end of the spectrum, the team with the highest change in win percentage won 12% of their games in 2022 and improved to winning 50% of their games in 2023.

Following Joyce et al. (4), we construct three measures of team success to explain the change in winning percentage: total shots ratio, attaching scoring efficiency, and defending scoring efficiency. The first measure, total shots ratio, is constructed as

The total shots ratio in both 2022 and 2023 is .5, which means, on average, teams are matching their opponent’s shots with their own shots with a range in values from .23 to .7 in 2023 and .3 to .63 in 2022. This finding for lacrosse compares favorably to what Joyce et al. (4) found for D1 college soccer, where the total shots ratio ranged from .24 to .69 in D1 men’s soccer.

The second measure of team success is attacking scoring efficiently or goals to shots ratio.

The average attaching scoring efficiency for 2023 and 2022 was .42. This measure had a relatively smaller variability than the total shots ratio, with a minimum of around .3 for both years and a maximum of .5 in 2023 to .58 in 2023. This maximum means that the teams with the highest attacking scoring efficiency earn an average of one goal for every two shots. Being able to convert shots into goals is an essential aspect of winning games. Lacrosse teams are much more likely to convert shots into goals, as Joyce et al. (4) found an average attacking scoring efficiency of .1 or 1 goal for every ten shots in D1 men’s soccer.

The third measure of team success is the defending scoring efficiency, which is contracted as

This final measure determines if teams can prevent opponents from turning shots into goals. The average values for defending scoring efficiency are slightly higher than attaching scoring efficiency, with an average of .43 in 2023 and .44 in 2022. The variability is higher for defending scoring efficiency than attacking scoring efficiency, with a minimum of .31 in 2023 and .34 in 2022 and a maximum of .66 in 2023 and .77 in 2022. Teams that are better at preventing shots from being converted into goals typically have a higher win percentage.

Regression Model The first step in our regression analysis is to empirically estimate the degree to which offensive and defensive statistics impact the win percentage for the 2023 lacrosse season. The win percentage regression model takes the form:

The second part of the analysis follows Joyce et. al. (4) to determine what factors impact the change in win percentage between the 2023 and 2022 lacrosse seasons. The regression model is as follows

where ε_i is the error term and i is the individual women’s lacrosse team. As with the individual season analysis, this model is estimated using ordinary linear regression and quantile regression at the 50th, 25th, and 75th percentiles.

Table 3 contains the results for the estimation of equation (4) from the 2023 lacrosse season with robust standard errors in parentheses. Looking first at the results from the ordinary least squares model, 86% of the variation in win percentage is explained by the 11 independent variables. Turning to the variables that are statistically significant, each additional goal results in an increase of .18 in win percentage, while each opponent’s goal results in a decrease of .2 in win percentage, with goals and opponent’s goals nearly offsetting each other. On average, one additional unassisted goal results in an increase of .13 in win percentage. Being a new D1 women’s lacrosse team in 2023 results in a 9 point marginally statistically significant decrease in win percentage relative to teams that have been in the league in previous years. This result suggests that new D1 teams have a difficult time navigating their first year likely due to players and coaches lacking experience and chemistry, making obtaining wins more difficult. Women’s lacrosse teams who participated in the 2023 NCAA Championship Tournament have a statistically significant almost 5 point higher win percentage than those who did not participate in the tournament. This finding is not surprising given that the two ways to get a team into the tournament are to either receive an automatic bid by winning their conference tournament or earn an at-large bid by having a compelling enough record during the regular season and conference playoffs.

The last three columns of table 3 contain quantile regression results at the 50th, 25th, and 75th percentiles of the win percentage distribution. Opponent’s goals are the only statistically significant factor to explain wins across all three percentiles. The magnitude of opponent’s goals is largest at the 25th percentile at -.24 and is -.20 for both the 50th and 75th percentile. Teams at the 25th and 50th percentiles of the win percentage distribution that participates in the NCAA end-of-season tournament has a statistically significant 7 point and 6 point higher win percentage, respectively, relative to those who did not participate, while this variable is not statistically significant at the 75th percentile. This may be because most, 73%, of the tournament participants come from the teams at the top 25% of the win percentage distribution, while most teams at the middle and bottom of the distribution did not participate in the tournament. Aside from this difference, the results are similar between the models at the three points in the win percentage distribution.

Table 4 contains the second part of the regression analysis which estimates equation (5) that attempts to determine what factors impact the change in win percentage between the 2023 and 2022 seasons. The variables contained in this analysis mimic those in Joyce et. al. (4) for men’s D1 college soccer. Looking at the OLS results, teams that had a one unit increase in the change in total shots ratio between the two seasons had a 2.4 increase in the change in win percentage. Teams with a 1 unit increase in the change in attacking efficiency had a 1 unit increase in the change in win percentage, and teams with a one unit increase in the change in defending efficiency decreased the change in win percentage by 1.2 points. The statistical significance between these lacrosse results and those found for soccer by Joslyn et al. (4) are identical, suggesting that even though there are many differences between the two sports, the same factors are important in explaining the change in win percentage between consecutive years. Comparing magnitudes between the two applications is not possible because the estimation methods differed. The statistical significance of the variables included in the quantile regression evaluated at the 50th, 25th, and 75th percentiles were the same as in the OLS regression. The quantile regression performed at the 25th percentile of the change in win percentage had the highest impact for the change in total shots ratio and the change in attacking efficiency, while the change in defending efficiency had the smallest impact. The change in total shots ratio and the change in attacking efficiency had the smallest impact for those teams at the 75th percentile, while the change in defending efficiency had the largest impact for those teams at the 50th percentile. These results suggest that the factors that impact the change in win percentage are similar across teams at the bottom and the top of the change in win percentage distribution, although the marginal impacts differed slightly between the percentiles.

It is not surprising that additional goals led to an increase in win percentage and an increase in opponent’s goals led to a decrease in win percentage. However, it was unanticipated that many of the other offensive and defensive statistics included in the regression were not statistically significant. It is likely that these other factors either lead to the team’s ability to score goals, such as shots, ground balls, and caused turnovers, or lead to the opponent’s goals, such as turnovers. One drawback of this research is that it does not investigate how these other factors impact goals and opponent’s goals. One adage in lacrosse is “win the draw, win the game.” Even though draw controls are not statistically significant in explaining win percentage, there was no information contained in the box scores on how many goals were obtained when the team won the draw control or how many goals were conceded when the team lost the draw control. More detailed information would be needed to investigate this relationship further. Other factors that likely explain win percentage and changes in win percentage such as team chemistry, the presence of a star player, the experience of the players and the coaches, and how different game management strategies, such as the usage of substitutes and quickness of play, are not included because they are difficult to measure, not included in the box scores, or both.

For a lacrosse coach or lacrosse player who is looking to improve win percentage between seasons, it is comforting to note that focusing on improving the changes in total shots ratio, attacking scoring efficiency, and becoming better at defending by decreasing the opponent’s goal-to-shot ratio will lead to an increase in the change in win percentage. One major drawback of this research is that it does not point to the factors that cause improvements in these variables and how they feed into additional goals or fewer conceded goals.

CONCLUSIONS

This study is the first to analyze which factors impact win percentage and changes in win percentage for NCAA D1 women’s lacrosse. The regression results suggest that goals, unassisted goals, and those who competed in the NCAA tournament had a positive impact on win percentage, while opponent’s goals and teams that were new in 2023 had a negative impact on win percentage. These factors were similar across the distribution of win percentage at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles. Changes in win percentage between the 2023 and 2022 seasons are positively impacted by the change in the total shots ratio and attacking scoring efficiency and negatively impacted by the change in defending scoring efficiency. Even though there are many differences between lacrosse and soccer, the findings of this research and those of Joyce et. al. (4) that focus on college soccer suggest that the factors that explain changes in win percentage are similar between the two sports. These results also suggest that the statistics that explain win percentage and change in win percentage are similar between teams at the bottom, at the middle, and at the top of the distributions.

Applications In Sport

Women’s lacrosse programs at the collegiate level as well as at the national level can use these results to determine which factors to focus on when attempting to improve their win percentage within a specific year or over the course of several years. This research suggests that teams should emphasize their efforts in practice and in games on factors that increase goals as well as those factors that prevent goals. The lack of empirical analysis at the collegiate level, especially for women’s sports, can be rectified using available data. Additional publicly available information would make individual game analysis more informative such as how winning a draw control impacts goals as well as how focusing on specific factors such as caused turnovers or increasing assists increases goals and therefore positively impacts a team’s chances of winning.

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The Real Cause of Losing Sports Officials

Authors: Matthew J Williams D.S.M., M.B.A. M.S.

Department of Education, The University of Virginia’s College at Wise, Wise, VA, USA

Dr. Matthew Williams The University of Virginia’s College at Wise 2001 Greenbriar Drive Bristol, VA 24202

Matthew J. Williams D.S.M., M.B.A., M.S., is an Associate Professor of Sport Management at The University of Virginia’s College at Wise. His areas of research interest include NASCAR, COVID-19, college athletics, professional sports, and sport management issues..

Recreational Sports, Junior Highschool Sports, and Highschool Sports are witnessing across all types of sports a decline in sports officials. Athletic directors in all three levels have seen a steadily declined in sports officials in the last twenty years. But since the COVID-19 Pandemic, the lack of sports officials has increased so rapidly that it could eventually become a nationwide crisis. The pandemic may have caused the decline of sports officials but it was not the only cause. The age of the sports officials has played a role in the decline of the sport’s officials. But the true main cause of losing sports officials has been the lack of respect for the sport’s officials through the behavior of players, coaches, family members, and sports fans.

Keywords Sports Officials, Players, Coaches, Fans, COVID-19 Pandemic, Respect.

Introduction

Recreational Sports, Junior High School Sports, and High School Sports are all witnessing a lack of sports officials all across the United States. There are so many theories out there on why we are losing sports officials so rapidly. If you have attended a sporting event lately and looked at the sports officials, a constant trend you will witness is the sports officials’ increasing ages and the lack of sports officials that are able to cover the sporting events. The repercussions of the lack of sports officials are already being felt. What is the true reason we are losing sports officials? Did COVID-19 Pandemic play a role in the loss of sports officials, the current age of sports officials, or the constant verbal abuse or threats to sports officials?

Even before the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic Virus, it was apparent to recreational athletic directors, and athletic directors at both junior high and high school that they were already seeing a steady decline in sports officials across the United States over the past decade. The scarcity of officials is a long-running problem in high school sports. (6) From the 2018-19 school year to 2021-22, 32 of 38 states reporting statistics have seen registration numbers of officials drop, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations data. (1) Over the last decade, there has been a steady decline in the amount of referees available. In 2018, the Michigan High School Athletic Association reported that amount of referees available dropped from 12,400 to around 10,000 over the previous decade. (11)

The start of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the spring of 2020 forced a majority of recreational sports, junior high and high school sports across the United States to cease operations and shut down all games until further notice. This action of shutting down all games caused some officials to walk away from officiating. Simply because there were no games for the sports officials to work. As a result of the shutdown, officials had a chance to evaluate if they wanted to return to officiating. So many sports officials did not return to officiate games because of numerous reasons in the fall of 2020 or the spring of 2021. The Alabama High School Athletic Association is working hard to recruit and retain officials in all sports after losing more than 1,000 after the COVID-19 shutdown in the spring of 2020. (2) Washington said the association lost more than 1,100 officials after the COVID-19 shutdown. (2)

In the fall of 2020 and spring of 2021, some of the COVID-19 Pandemic restrictions were lifted and sports returned to somewhat normalcy. However, some officials decided not to return to officiating simply because of their age. There is a concern by some the impact of COVID-19 might hasten the retirement of older officials. (8)

The average age of the sports official was between 45 and 60 and it played a major role in the sports officials’ decision either to continue to be sports officials or not to be a sports official. Officials tend to be near or beyond retirement age the median age for a football referee is 56, according to the National Association of Sports Officials survey. (6) 77% of current officials are over the age of 45, with slightly more than half over the age of 55. (12)

The average age of the sports officials was at least 45 or older during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The COVID-19 Pandemic forced some older sports officials to choose not to return to officiating because simply of the underlying healthcare issues from the COVID-19 Pandemic. Some officials chose not to work during the pandemic because of health/safety concerns, and some of them chose not to return at all. (17) “In talking to some of the state directors, many of these losses are people who were probably on the brink of retirement, and then COVID kind of forced the issue,” explains Dana Pappas, NFHS director of officiating services. (15) The pandemic has also pushed a growing number of referees out, with officials leaving out of fear of getting sick. (16)

During the fall of 2021, some governors across the United States mandated that state employees must be fully vaccinated to prevent and/or limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus. This mandate forced many officials to choose whether to get the COVID-19 vaccination or not get the COVID-19 vaccination. If the sport’s official chose not to take the COVID-19 vaccination due to fears of the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccination or for religious beliefs, they would be banned from officiating junior high school and/or high school games. This mandate forced many officials to stop officiating resulting in a smaller pool of available officials to officiate games. “We already have a shortage of officials, not just in football but other sports,” Weber said”. “That (vaccine requirement) will reduce our numbers, based on what we’re hearing from our officials.” (3) The COVID-19 Pandemic resulted in some officials deciding not to return to officiating, creating an already smaller pool of available officials to officiate games. COVID-19 accelerated the problem, without question. (9)

Today’s parents are more invested financially than ever in their children’s sports careers. Parents are financially supporting their children’s sports careers through travel teams, summer leagues, specialized camps, personal training, and individual lessons. In the hopes that their child will either be drafted into professional sports or earn a college scholarship. Parents being so financially invested has caused an explosion of verbal abuse or threats toward officials from parents. Parents want the best outcomes for their children and are not afraid to voice their opinion to officials either by verbal abuse or threatening officials. Barrett theorized that the rise of travel teams in baseball —not to mention AAU teams in basketball and specialized camps for young football players — has caused parents to feel much more invested in their kids’ athletic careers, both financially and emotionally. (9) The parents feel more emboldened now than ever and are not afraid to voice their opinion verbally toward officials due to the fact they are so financially invested in their children’s sports careers. The parents feel strongly that they deserve the best officials to call the games because they have invested so much financially. “Parents have this sense of entitlement,” Barrett said. “They’re paying so much money, they think they should have better umpires.” (9) “These parents have this mentality of. ‘We pay all this money and travel all this way we expect the best, and referees can’t make mistakes.’ It’s based on society saying it’s okay to yell at people in public if they’re not giving you what they want. It’s asinine.” (13) “The problem is that, as parents spend more time and money on children’s sports, families are “coming to these sporting events with professional-level expectations,” said Jerry Reynolds, a professor of social work at Ball State University who studies the dynamics of youth sports and parent behavior. (7)

Aggressive behavior of abuse toward officials from coaches, players, parents, and fans started well before the COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020. “Before COVID, I felt like this behavior was reaching its peak,” Barlow said. (13) The aggressive behavior toward officials did not stop after the COVID-19 Pandemic was over. But some feel that the abuse of officials has increased resulting in the loss of more officials. Society of today has now become a custom of unruly behavior toward officials, players, and fans. The old saying, I paid my general admission ticket, gives me the right to berate an official, an opposing player, or a coach. This mentality has allowed more aggressiveness toward officials. Parents, coaches, and fans are increasingly aggressive toward officials. (4) People have had seemingly free license to scream, taunt and hurl insults at sporting events — acting out in ways they never would at work, the grocery store, or the dentists office. (14)

Officials have had enough of this type of abusive behavior, which is a major reason why we are losing officials so quickly. No official wants to be verbally abused, harassed, or threatened. Such unruly behavior is the driving force, referees say, behind a nationwide shortage of youth sports officials. (7) We have had the problem of losing officials because of the lack of respect toward officials from parents, family members, and fans well before the COVID-19 Pandemic. The shortfall has persisted for years, as rowdy parents, coaches, and players have created a toxic environment that has driven referees away and hampered the recruitment of new ones, referees say. (7)

The coaches, athletes, parents, family members, and fans of today no longer value or demand sportsmanlike behavior. We now accept unsportsmanlike behavior. Which consists of disrespect or lack of respect for officials through verbal abuse, threats, or harassment. Because we are accepting and allowing this type of behavior from coaches, athletes, parents family members, and fans. This is one of the main reasons why we are losing so many sports officials. “The un-sportsman like conduct of coaches, as well as some parents put people off and they don’t want to come back, they don’t want to return. They get yelled at during their days at work,” added Gittelson. (5) The shortage of officials in high school – and middle school – sports has been a growing concern for several years – in large part due to unsportsmanlike behavior by parents and other adult fans. (10)

Conclusions

The lack of sports officials is becoming a critical situation that recreational athletic directors, junior high school, and high school athletic directors will be facing in the coming years. Some sports officials are deciding to retire because of their age or knowing that their bodies can no longer keep pace with the speed of the game that they are officiating. This is creating a smaller pool of officials from the standpoint that the average age of the sport’s official is at least 45.

The COVID-19 pandemic did play somewhat of a role in reducing of sports officials that we are in right now. The pandemic brought health scares and mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations to some sports officials resulting in these officials making the decision to not return to officiating. But the real cause of the shortage of sports officials is simply the respect that is not given to the sports official by coaches, parents, family members, and fans. The behavior from coaches, parents, family members, and fans of yelling at sports officials, questioning sports officials’ calls, threats of violence towards sports officials, cursing at sports events, and even battery towards sports officials is out of control. No sports official wants to deal with this type of behavior at all nor should this type of behavior be allowed. This is the main reason why we are seeing the pool of sports officials becoming smaller. State legislation, superintendents of schools, principals of schools, and county commissioners need to address this issue of out-of-control behavior toward sports officials. If they do not, we will witness games being canceled, cancellation of seasons, and drastic pay increases that will be demanded by sports officials for the abuse.

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BOOK REVIEW: Organizational Behavior in Sport Management: An Applied Approach to Understanding People and Groups

Authors: Chenghao Ma

School of Humanities and Social Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China

Chenghao Ma 2001 Longxiang Blvd., Shenzhen, China 518172 [email protected]

Chenghao Ma is now at the School of Humanities and Social Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen.

Barnhill, C. R., Smith N. L., & Oja, B. D. (2021). Organizational behavior in sport management: An applied approach to understanding people and groups. Palgrave Macmillan.

Analysis of Factors Influencing the College Choice Decisions of NCAA Division I International Student-Athletes

Authors: Bryan Romsa 1 , Katelyn Romsa 2 , Jon Lim 3 , and Agatha Ampaire 4

1 Associate Professor of Sport Management, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD. USA 2 Associate Professor of Counseling and Human Development, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD. USA 3 Associate Professor of Sport Management, Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN. USA 4 Career Education Coordinator, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD. USA.

Jon Lim, EdD Associate Professor, Sports Management Minnesota State University, Mankato 1400 Highland Center Mankato, MN 56001 Phone:507-389-5231 [email protected]

Bryan Romsa, EdD is an Associate Professor of Sport Management at South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD. His research interests include recruitment and retention of NCAA student-athletes and sport exit planning of NCAA student-athletes.

Katelyn Romsa, EdD is an Associate Professor of Counseling and Human Development with an emphasis on the Administration of Student Affairs at South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD. Her research interests include recruitment and retention of college students and supervision models to maximize student success.

Jon Lim, EdD is an Associate Professor of Sport Management at Minnesota State University in Mankato, MN. His research interests include technology use in education and college choice decisions of NCAA athletes.

Agatha Ampaire, PhD is the Career Education Coordinator at South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD.

To examine the factors influencing the college choice decisions of NCAA Division I International Student-Athletes, one on one in-depth interviews were conducted with eight international student-athletes ( n =8) representing different countries, at a Division 1 university in the Midwest region of the USA. Interview questions were developed using the Student-Athlete College Choice Profile Survey (SACCPS) and were formulated to maximize the depth and breadth of interviewee responses. Results indicated that the head coach, availability of the academic major, and the availability of scholarships were the top reasons for choice of school. Seven of the participants did not visit the school prior to their decision but heavily relied on the coach, other international athletes, and internet searches. Taking time to build relationships with and provide information to international student-athletes maybe paramount to their recruitment.

Key Words: college athletics, coaching, recruiting,

There is a general increase in the number of international student-athletes who participate in intercollegiate sports in the USA (Abbey-Pinegar, 2010; Chepyator-Thomson et al., 2016). This is partly because of the increased competitiveness of college athletics and the rising stakes; winning has become very important for schools (Weston, 2006). Recruiting and training of high caliber international athletes is seen as fundamental to the success of sports teams (Falcous & Maguire, 2005). Recruiting internationally is particularly important for smaller mid-major NCAA schools because they are more likely to be out competed for domestic talent by top tier institutions. International student-athletes are recruited using a variety of methods, prominent among the methods being professional contacts within the country of origin, and recruitment at international events, which leads to competition for the elite international students. Most of international student-athletes come from specific countries, hence the terminology ‘talent pipeline’ has been used to describe the sourcing of the athletes (Pierce et al., 2010). Additionally, recently there has been a recent reduction (Zong & Batalova, 2018) in the general number of international students who are choosing to come to the USA which could impact the available pool of international student-athletes. Therefore, understanding factors that influence international student-athletes’ school choice is important, and athletics can be a tool in attracting and retaining international students.

To gain a holistic understanding of international students’ college choice, we examined the literature on reasons why international student-athletes chose to come to the USA, and their experiences and adjustment to their new environment. The reasons why the athletes are interested in coming to the USA may influence the school options and opportunities available to them, while experiences of other international athletes could be an influential factor in choice of school.

Reasons International Student-Athletes Come to the USA

Researchers have classified the reasons that international students give for leaving their home countries into Push and Pull factors. Push factors are undesirable conditions in their country which force the students to seek greener pastures elsewhere, while Pull factors are the attributes of another country which the students find attractive (Chepyator-Thomson et al., 2016; Lee, 2010; Li & Bray, 2007). Many international student-athletes are willing to leave their home country for better opportunities and better economic prospects offered by the USA, to experience a different culture, to obtain an education while also improving their athleticism (Love & Kim, 2011). However, before the Push and Pull factors come into play, the recruiters have to be aware of the student-athlete’s abilities or the student has to be aware of the opportunities available, thus familiarity with the USA system and other social ties such as recommendation from friends or former international athletes plays an important role (Mazzarol & Soutar, 2002).

Adjustment to College and Experiences of International Student-Athletes

Chepyator-Thomson et al. (2016) found that most basketball players were recruited from English speaking countries. Pierce et al. (2011) posited that student-athletes from culturally similar countries to the USA were less likely to experience cultural shock and to adjust readily than other international student-athletes. International student-athletes may also struggle to commit to their teams if they are worried about their academic performance so as not to lose their athletic standing and scholarships (Sato et al., 2011). Additionally, international student- athletes may experience discrimination from teammates and often find it difficult to fit in because of cultural differences (Sato et al., 2018). They may also experience stress as a result of a combination of factors (Arturo, 2014). However, in a study of international student-athlete satisfaction, the athletes expressed overall satisfaction with the dimensions measuring satisfaction, including academic support services, personal treatment, team social contribution and medical support (Trendafilova et al., 2010).

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study was to examine the factors influencing the college choice decisions of NCAA Division I International Student-Athletes. Some researchers such as Judson et al. (2005) and Kankey and Quarterman (2007) have studied the college choices of international student-athletes, however, in a comprehensive review of extant literature, Pauline (2010) noted that most of the studies on school choice by student-athletes utilized questionnaires. The present study seeks to expand the understanding of International student-athletes’ university choice by utilizing in-depth interviews to elicit more detailed information and provide explanation that cannot be captured using questionnaires.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The conceptual framework for this investigation was guided by a decision-making model developed by Hossler and Gallagher (1987). Hossler and Gallagher’s model is composed of three stages that individuals progress through during the college selection process (predisposition, search, and choice). During the predisposition stage, the athlete decides what path they want to pursue, in this case, they decide if they would like to play within or outside their home country. The search stage is when students weigh their options, they may contact universities of interest, or they evaluate offers they may have received from recruiters. In the choice stage the student has decided to pursue specific options, the student may submit applications to select universities and start working on the immigration process. Interviewers utilized this framework to explain the factors influencing the college choice decisions of international student-athletes.

Participants

The participants of this study included eight international student-athletes (6 women and 2 men) who were 18 years or older and participated in golf ( n =3) and swimming ( n =5) from a FCS Mid-Major Division I, land-grant institution in the Upper Midwest. Participants included 2 freshman, 1 sophomore, 4 juniors, and 1 senior. Purposive sampling was used to select the international student-athletes from the sports with the highest representation of international student-athletes on the roster, which were swimming and golf, respectively. A brief description of these participants is listed in Table 1.

Research Design

This research study utilized a qualitative, phenomenological design to allow for a deeper understanding of the real-life experiences of international student-athletes to explore the factors influencing their college choice when coming to the USA. A phenomenological study was chosen to describe the meaning of the lived experiences for the several individuals who shared a similar concept or phenomenon (Creswell, 2018; Patton, 2015).

Interview Questions

Twenty interview questions were developed using the Student-Athlete College Choice Profile Survey (SACCPS). The interview questions were formulated to maximize the depth and breadth of interviewee responses (Patton, 2015). Student-athletes were purposively chosen to represent the proportion of international student-athletes at the school (i.e. students were chosen from the sports with the highest representation of international student-athletes, which were swimming and golf respectively).

The interviews were conducted using a semi-structed format (Gall et al. 2007). Core questions were the same across participants, but the interviewer varied additional questions depending on responses. Reflective listening and minimal encouragers were used to maximize participant responses and increase the depth of interview content. Allowing slight variations to accommodate the appropriate context and flow of the interview, the interview questions included. Student’s major, country of origin, if the student had athletic opportunities at other institutions what were the reasons that the student selected to attend at this particular institution, and if the student had transferred, what were reasons for transferring to the institution were examined. Also explored were the impacts on the student’s decision of several factors; the head coach and coaching staff, location of the school, the student’s family, the athletic facilities, the degree programs available, the campus visit, the size and location of the university and community, campus life outside of athletics, the academic support services for athletes, the opportunity to compete, knowledge of other international student-athletes, and availability of scholarships. We sought to address three main research questions: (a) Which factor that had the biggest influence on your college choice decision? (b) What advice would you give an international student-athlete trying to decide which institution to compete for in the USA? (c) What do you wish you would have considered before making your college choice decision.

Data Collection

Data was collected from International student-athletes at a mid-major, NCAA Division I university in the Upper Midwest. Collaboration with the athletic department was used to recruit participants. The principal investigator of this study has developed an ongoing relationship with the athletic department (e.g., coaches, athletic director, administration). From this relationship, the principal investigator has become more knowledgeable and passionate about the choice of student-athlete populations, leading to this research project. Establishing trust and building a strong connection with athletics was instrumental in receiving permission and support from the coaching staff who assisted with recruiting participants. Participants were informed that the study was voluntary and that their withdrawal from the study at any time was allowed as there were no known risks or direct benefits for participating in this study.

The interview participants were briefed about the objective and procedures of the study and assured of anonymity as well as their right to withdraw from the study at any time without penalty. The interviews which lasted 30-45 minutes were conducted in person in a one-on-one setting in a private room and were digitally recorded using audio only. Field notes were also taken during the interviews. Participants were recruited through purposive convenience sampling by the researchers via telephone call, email, text, or in-person. Additionally, the researchers collaborated with the Athletics department at the institution (administrators, coaches, student-athletes) to recruit participants.

Data Analysis

In order to avoid research bias in this study and to ascertain the quality and rigor of the data analysis, the researchers of this study conducted an inductive analysis to understand and identify general patterns, or categories (Patton, 2015). All audio files were transcribed verbatim thematic analysis was used by the researchers to analyze the data. Open coding (Maxwell, 2013) was first achieved by segmenting the data into meaningful expressions or themes based on participant responses. They identified key phrases used by participants in their responses to the open-ended questions. Once themes were identified, analytic triangulation took place where the principal investigator, worked with two peer debriefers to enhance the accuracy of the findings (Creswell, 2018). Each peer debriefer individually identified key phrases and themes that emerged from data. Then each peer debriefer shared their findings with the principle investigator whereby they collectively discussed and identified the themes and their meaning. This process added trustworthiness to the findings and prevented researcher bias by allowing the researchers the opportunity to critically evaluate their themes and make minor modifications to them as they jointly determined was appropriate (Ritchie et al., 2013). Member checking was used to validate interviews by sharing a brief summary of the interview with the research participants (Singer, 2008).

Responses were examined, interpreted, and analyzed from eight male and female, international student-athletes ( n =8) representing different countries, at a mid-size Division 1 university in the Midwest region of the USA to examine the factors influencing their college choice decision. Two major themes were found (a) the role of the institution and (b) the role of athletics. Each theme is categorized into extrinsic and intrinsic factors. Extrinsic factors meaning external, coming or operating from the institution or athletics. Intrinsic factors meaning internal, belonging or lying from within the student-athlete.

Role of Institution

Extrinsic factors

Prioritizing academics was paramount from all eight the participants in the study. All students interviewed knew the academic major they wanted to pursue in college, which made this institution attractive given that it offered their major of their interest. One participant did not take an offer from a different university because their desired major was not available. The academic majors represented by the participants in the study included Biotechnology, Business Economics, Exercise Science (Pre-athletic training), Hospitality management with minors in Management leadership and French, Sport and Recreation Management.

Scholarship offerings was important in the college choice decision to seven of the participants in the study, with some stating that it influenced them the most. One participant stated that without the scholarship they would not be able to afford to come to the USA for school and athletics. They said, “that was the biggest factor I think because from where I’m from at least our exchange rate is very bad. So, for me it was actually just all about the money basically….. it was one of my highest offers so that was a big thing and also that the tuition in general was a little lower than most other schools.” Another participant stated, “Other schools offered me a scholarship, but this institution offered me the biggest…….So for me, the scholarship was something I really needed.” Similarly stated, “Other schools were all quite similar in degree and the swimming program. So, when the end of May came around the scholarship made a big difference. If I could get more money I would go to that school.”

Touring the institution and athletic program through internet searches mattered to seven of the participants, who did not visit the school prior to their decision. Only one participant had a campus visit. Having the coach verbalize what they saw on the internet mattered to one of the participants. They mentioned, “I didn’t come to visit. The coach showed me everything by internet, but I didn’t come to visit at all. I just came straight from my first semester. I got here like 5 days before start school and then like a small window before that. I trusted him [the coach].” The location of the school was not a major factor in the student’s college choice. Some of the students did not know much about the location and size while others looked it up.

Intrinsic factors

Academic support mattered to seven of the eight participants. Access to academic support services was an important factor in their choice consideration. One participant stated, “It was important for me to like be able to get help in math which the academic advisor told me right away that they had math tutors and everything.” Another participant similarly stated, “I really liked the fact that like my academics would be supported a lot on top of athletics.”

All eight participants knew other international student-athletes from their home country who came or were going to college in the USA. This knowledge influenced the students’ decision to play in the USA but not necessarily to come to this institution. One participant stated, “A lot of my friends are here…..they have talked and said a lot of good things about stadiums.” Another participant said, “There are a lot of Dutch swimmers that go to the U.S. I knew a few of the people on the Dutch team and that they made like really big progress.” This participant also emphasize how social media has helped spread the world. “Just looking at their social media pages like all the fun things they do. It’s just so different from college at home.”

The influence of campus life was not a top factor but was considered from a residential life perspective. Two of the participants mentioned how their living situation mattered. One participant said, “I looked at the dorms.” Another student said, “I liked that the housing required two years of on campus housing and that it’s easy to get around and everything.” Two participants admitted that even after coming to the campus, they did not look up activities outside of athletics but acknowledged that it would be important later on during their academic and athletic career at the institution.

Role of Athletics

All eight participants mentioned that the coach influenced their college choice decision. One participant stated, “I thought like my connection with the coach here was stronger than the others.” Another participant stated, I had a good feeling with coach…. He just made me more confident about coming here.”

Most of the students did not get to tour the campus, they based their opinion of the athletic facilities on what they were told by the coaches or what they were able to see online. The athletic facility did not influence the Swimmer’s decision, but the presence of an indoor facility positively influenced the three Golfers in the study. One participant said, “Because you got indoor facility like the one here where you have 24-hour access to it and you’ve got a top class pitching green up there and you got all the technology you’ve got other got all the hitting bays. It was as a no brainer basically you know.”

The opportunity to compete mattered to five of the participants. Most of the students had the understanding that they were going to be able to compete and this knowledge factored into their college choice decision. The majority students seemed to have the attitude that competing is what their coming to the USA was about. One stated, “It was very important. I enjoy practice but competing is the main thing that keeps me going.” Another said, “I was told that I would be able to compete a lot….. I didn’t really want to come all this way and have to be left behind when I train every day so that played quite a big part.” Another participant said, “I’ve always wanted to play at the top level. And you know when you play against those schools playing, you are playing as the best players in the world, so you want to see how you compare to them.” “Knowing that you can come to a D-one school compete with the best schools in the country especially at tournaments we play which the top 50 countries. Top 50 programs in the country. That’s how you get better compete with the best one and we’re competing with you guys are playing the next few years. So that made me for sure choose this institution.”

Feeling a sense of belongingness with the team was important to seven the participants. This included aligning with the team’s coaching philosophy and values and/or having a strong connection with the coach and team. Fitting in with the team was important. “Felt like it would be a good fit because the swimming program had what I wanted and with my teammates having the same times [schedule] as me.” Another participant said, “I thought like my connection with the head coach here was stronger than the others. I had a good feeling with the coach…. He just made me more confident about coming here.” Another participant appreciated the friendliness from the coaches, “I found some of the other colleges I spoke to the coaches were a bit harsh. The coaches here were friendly and they more open to hearing what I wanted to contribute to the team and do for the team compared to the other universities. They kind of had their idea of what they wanted me to do and some of that was like.” Another participant similarly said, “The coaches were a lot more open to hearing my side of what I want to do and what I’m looking for.

Speaking highly of the program mattered, too. “They [the coaches] also spoke very well about the program. They gave me a good idea. And they kind of made it sound like everything that I wanted.” Having a similar vision was important. One participant shared, “I’ve talked to. 10 plus coaches and he’s so driven so desired like. There’s one thing that he wants. He’ll go get it even if it’s a team or no team he’ll get the best out of the players.” Caring for the whole student was also mentioned. “Obviously you want to be on a team where you can count on your coach you want to coach I want to help you to grow within your golf game. But I also like in your professional career too.”

Their dream of becoming a successful college athlete mattered to five participants. One participant mentioned the importance of being stretched as an athlete. They said, “At other schools I probably would’ve been the fastest in every event, but I want to be pushed. I want to be left behind.” Another participant stated, “This school offered me the opportunity to keep studying and playing golf.” Thus, the importance of adding athletics to academics was highly important.

The study included international student-athletes from different parts of the world; developed and developing countries. None of the students articulated push factors as reasons for coming to the USA, but they did have pull factors, the main one being opportunity to pursue both athletics and academics in college. Only the USA offers opportunity for collegiate athletics opportunities (Love & Kim, 2011). Availability of a scholarship was important, several students mentioned that without it they would not have been able to come to the USA. Some students talked about the differences in currency strengths between their country and the USA as contributing to not being able to afford a USA education, but money (economic opportunity) was not cited as a main reason that athletes came to the USA.

-All the student-athletes were influenced by the coach in making the college choice decision. Because most of them did not get a recruiting visit, their school choice depended on how much they felt that they could relate to and trust the coach as well as the clarity of information received from the coach. Unlike the findings by Mazzarol and Soutar, (2002) recommendations from other international athletes did not play a big role in college choice decision. The information obtained from other international student-athletes helped the students to solidify their interest and as a cautionary tale on what to pay attention to in evaluating schools.

Many of the student-athletes in the study were from countries that were not culturally or geographically similar to the USA. In agreement with Pierce et al. (2011), those students struggled to understand the USA academic grading and athletic system, found the weather to be worse than imagined and struggled with the language. This study did not ascertain whether these students from countries dissimilar to the USA had received advanced warning from other international student-athletes from their countries about these issues. One student voiced the need for international student-athletes to integrate with their American counterparts which is difficult because of feeling that they are different.

LIMITATIONS

The data collection method had the advantage of examining different potential reasons for international student-athletes’ college choice, however, having preset questions even though the interviewer could go off the script to gain further insight narrowed the conversation. It is possible that some reasons were not explored because the interview was directed, and the athlete may have felt that they needed to only speak about what was being asked. When asked if there was anything they wanted to add, most students were hesitant, but some came up with different topics which could be additional reasons for school choice by international student-athletes. A study where the interviewer only asks the athlete to tell their story without directing them could uncover more reasons and shed more light on international student-athlete’s college choice.

The overarching theme identified in this study is that international student-athletes’ choice of school is motivated by a desire to have a great experience: feel a sense of belongingness with the team, connecting with the head coach and coaches, as well as succeeding academically and athletically.

APPLICATIONS IN SPORT

Results indicated that the head coach, availability of the academic major, and the availability of scholarships were the top reasons for choice of school. Seven of the participants did not visit the school prior to their decision but heavily relied on the coach, other international athletes, and internet searches. Coaches will need to take time to build relationships with international student-athletes they are recruiting and provide information to them from a distance may be paramount to their recruitment.

1.Abbey-Pinegar, E. (2010). The need for a global amateurism standard: International student-athlete issues and controversies. Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, 17(2), 341-365. Indiana University Press. https://doi.org/10.2979/gls.2010.17.2.341 2.Arturo R. (2014). International Student-Athletes and Stress: Implications for American Universities’ Administrators. Journal of Academic Administration in Higher Education 10(2), 39-47 3.Chepyator-Thomson R., Turcott R., Smith M.L. (2016). Exploring migration patterns and university destination choices of international student-athletes in NCAA division I men’s basketball (2004-2014). International Journal of Sport Management, 17, 576-592. 4.Creswell, J.W. (2018). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. 5.Falcous, M., & Maguire, J. (2005). Globetrotters and local heroes? Labor migration, basketball, and local identities. Sociology of Sport Journal, 22(2), 137-157. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.22.2.137 6.Gall, M., Gall, J., & Borg, R. (2007). Educational research: An introduction (8th ed.). Pearson Education. 7.Hossler, D., & Gallagher, K. (1987). Studying student college choice: A three phase model and the implications for policymakers. College and University, 62(3), 207-222. 8.Judson, K.M., James, J.D., & Aurand, T.W. (2005). Building a successful American collegiate athletic program: Recruiting student-athletes from lower-profile sports. International Journal of Sport Management, 6(2), 122-140. 9.Kankey, K. & Quarterman, J. (2007). Factors influencing the university choice of NCAA Division I softball players. The Smart Journal, 3, 35-49. 10.Lee S. (2010). Global outsourcing a different approach to an understanding of sport labour migration. Global Business Review, 11(2), 153-165. https://doi.org/10.1177/097215091001100203 11.Li, M., & Bray, M. (2007). Cross-border flows of students for higher education: Pull-push factors and motivations of mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong and Macau. Higher Education, 53, 791-818. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-005-5423-3 12.Love, A., & Kim, S. (2011). Sport labor migration and collegiate sport in the United States: A typology of migrant athletes. Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics, 4, 90-104. 13.Mazzarol T., & Soutar N. G. (2002). “Push-Pull” factors influencing international student destination choice. International Journal of Educational Management, 16(2), 82-90. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513540210418403 14.Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice (4th ed.). Sage Publications. 15.Pauline J. (2010). Factors influencing college selection by NCAA Division I, II, and III Lacrosse players. ICHPER-SD Journal of Research in Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport & Dance. 5(2), 62-69. 16.Pierce D., Kaburakis A., & Fielding L. (2010). The new amateurs: The National Collegiate Athletic Association’s application of amateurism in a global sports arena. International Journal of Sport Management, 11(2), 304-327. https://ssrn.com/abstract=1496644 17.Pierce D., Popp N., & Meadows B., (2011). Qualitative analysis of international student-athlete perspectives on recruitment and transitioning into American college sport. The Sport Journal, 14(1). 18.Weston M.A. (2006). Internationalization in college sports: Issues in recruiting, amateurism, and scope. Willamette Law Review, 42(4), 830-860. 19.Sato, T., Hodge, S. R., & Burge-Hall, V. (2011). International student–athletes’ academic, athletic, and social experiences at a historically Black university in America. Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes in Education, 5(1), 45–72. https://doi.org/10.1179/ssa.2011.5.1.45 20.Sato, T., Hodge, S. R., & Eckert, K. (2018). Experiences of International Student-Athletes at a Historically Black University. Journal of International Students, 8(2), 696-723. 21.Trendafilova T., Hardin R., Kim S. (2010). Satisfaction among international student-athletes who participate in the national collegiate athletic association. Journal of Intercollegiate Sport. 3(2), 348-365.

Strikes, Pins, Gutter Balls, and…Maps: A Review of the Spatial Geography of NCAA Women’s Bowling

Authors: David F. Zinn

College of Business, Lander University, Greenwood, South Carolina, USA

David F. Zinn Assistant Professor of Sport Management Lander University College of Business Carnell Learning Center, M54 320 Stanley Ave. Greenwood, SC 29649 (864) 388-8220 [email protected]

David F. Zinn, EdD, currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Sport Management and the NCAA Faculty Athletic Representative at Lander University. A former NCAA Women’s Basketball Coach and Athletic Director, Zinn’s major research interests include global sport, sport geography, sport leadership, and intercollegiate sport.

Spatial geography is important to the understanding of any human activity as this field helps to determine where and why specific activities occur and flourish. As proximity to campus and access to sport opportunity are important determinants in college choice, the spatial relationship between campuses and hometowns are important components in the marketing of programs to potential recruits. The intent of this study is to examine the geography of Women’s Bowling, a relatively unstudied and newer NCAA championship sport, in terms of the locations of institutions sponsoring the sport and the relationship with hometowns of student-athletes on current rosters.

Rosters for women’s bowlers participating in the 2023 season were downloaded from team athletic websites and distances from reported hometowns and campuses were calculated via Google Maps to provide an approximate distance from a student-athlete’s home to the institution for whom they compete. Distances to hometowns were averaged per team and by NCAA division to determine relative distance to campus and states where bowling recruits tended to originate.

Data from the 2023 season indicated that the sport of Women’s Bowling is highly geographical in nature. While bowlers were willing to attend an institution further away from their hometown at the Division I level as compared to Division II and III institutions, most bowlers tend to commit to programs relatively close to their hometowns. Additionally, data suggests that large percentages of these athletes are from areas located in a relatively small section of the USA.

Spatial geography plays an impactful role in both the sponsoring of women’s bowling and in the recruitment of student-athletes into these programs. Data suggests that, with a few exceptions, the further a school is located from the Great Lakes area, the fewer collegiate programs and the fewer potential student-athletes exist. Additionally, participants in the lower levels of NCAA competition tend to commit to schools much closer to their listed hometown than those who play on an NCAA I team.

Applications in Sport

The findings of this study may prove beneficial to administrators considering adding Women’s Bowling to their offerings and to coaches who are looking for prime recruiting areas to develop their teams. Also, as most of these teams are located at smaller colleges and universities, this data may prove beneficial in considering how limited resources might be best allocated.

Keywords: Bowling, Distance, Geography, Location, Spatial

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Home / Healthy Aging / AI in healthcare: The future of patient care and health management

AI in healthcare: The future of patient care and health management

Curious about artificial intelligence? Whether you're cautious or can't wait, there is a lot to consider when AI is used in a healthcare setting.

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With the widespread media coverage in recent months, it’s likely that you’ve heard about artificial intelligence (AI) — technology that enables computers to do things that would otherwise require a human’s brain. In other words, machines can be given access to large amounts of information, and trained to solve problems, spot patterns and make recommendations. Common examples of AI in everyday life are virtual assistants like Alexa and Siri.

What you might not know is that AI has been and is being used for a variety of healthcare applications. Here’s a look at how AI can be helpful in healthcare, and what to watch for as it evolves.

What can AI technology in healthcare do for me?

A report from the National Academy of Medicine identified three potential benefits of AI in healthcare: improving outcomes for both patients and clinical teams, lowering healthcare costs, and benefitting population health.

From preventive screenings to diagnosis and treatment, AI is being used throughout the continuum of care today. Here are two examples:

Preventive care

Cancer screenings that use radiology , like a mammogram or lung cancer screening, can leverage AI to help produce results faster.

For example, in polycystic kidney disease (PKD), researchers discovered that the size of the kidneys — specifically, an attribute known as total kidney volume — correlated with how rapidly kidney function was going to decline in the future.

But assessing total kidney volume, though incredibly informative, involves analyzing dozens of kidney images, one slide after another — a laborious process that can take about 45 minutes per patient. With the innovations developed at the PKD Center at Mayo Clinic, researchers now use artificial intelligence (AI) to automate the process, generating results in a matter of seconds.

Bradley J. Erickson, M.D., Ph.D., director of Mayo Clinic’s Radiology Informatics Lab, says that AI can complete time-consuming or mundane work for radiology professionals , like tracing tumors and structures, or measuring amounts of fat and muscle. “If a computer can do that first pass, that can help us a lot,” says Dr. Erickson.

Risk assessment

In a Mayo Clinic cardiolog y study , AI successfully identified people at risk of left ventricular dysfunction, which is the medical name for a weak heart pump , even though the individuals had no noticeable symptoms. And that’s far from the only intersection of cardiology and AI.

“We have an AI model now that can incidentally say , ‘Hey, you’ve got a lot of coronary artery calcium, and you’re at high risk for a heart attack or a stroke in five or 10 years,’ ” says Bhavik Patel, M.D., M.B.A., the chief artificial intelligence officer at Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

How can AI technology advance medicine and public health?

When it comes to supporting the overall health of a population, AI can help people manage chronic illnesses themselves — think asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure — by connecting certain people with relevant screening and therapy, and reminding them to take steps in their care, such as take medication.

AI also can help promote information on disease prevention online, reaching large numbers of people quickly, and even analyze text on social media to predict outbreaks. Considering the example of a widespread public health crisis, think of how these examples might have supported people during the early stages of COVID-19. For example, a study found that internet searches for terms related to COVID-19 were correlated with actual COVID-19 cases. Here, AI could have been used to predict where an outbreak would happen, and then help officials know how to best communicate and make decisions to help stop the spread.

How can AI solutions assist in providing superior patient care?

You might think that healthcare from a computer isn’t equal to what a human can provide. That’s true in many situations, but it isn’t always the case.

Studies have shown that in some situations, AI can do a more accurate job than humans. For example, AI has done a more accurate job than current pathology methods in predicting who will survive malignant mesothelioma , which is a type of cancer that impacts the internal organs. AI is used to identify colon polyps and has been shown to improve colonoscopy accuracy and diagnose colorectal cancer as accurately as skilled endoscopists can.

In a study of a social media forum, most people asking healthcare questions preferred responses from an AI-powered chatbot over those from physicians, ranking the chatbot’s answers higher in quality and empathy. However, the researchers conducting this study emphasize that their results only suggest the value of such chatbots in answering patients’ questions, and recommend it be followed up with a more convincing study.

How can physicians use AI and machine learning in healthcare?

One of the key things that AI may be able to do to help healthcare professionals is save them time . For example:

Keeping up with current advances. When physicians are actively participating in caring for people and other clinical duties, it can be challenging for them to keep pace with evolving technological advances that support care. AI can work with huge volumes of information — from medical journals to healthcare records — and highlight the most relevant pieces.
Taking care of tedious work. When a healthcare professional must complete tasks like writing clinical notes or filling out forms , AI could potentially complete the task faster than traditional methods, even if revision was needed to refine the first pass AI makes.

Despite the potential for AI to save time for healthcare professionals, AI isn’t intended to replace humans . The American Medical Association commonly refers to “augmented intelligence,” which stresses the importance of AI assisting, rather than replacing, healthcare professionals. In the case of current AI applications and technology, healthcare professionals are still needed to provide:

Clinical context for the algorithms that train AI.
Accurate and relevant information for AI to analyze.
Translation of AI findings to be meaningful for patients.

A helpful comparison to reiterate the collaborative nature needed between AI and humans for healthcare is that in most cases, a human pilot is still needed to fly a plane. Although technology has enabled quite a bit of automation in flying today, people are needed to make adjustments, interpret the equipment’s data, and take over in cases of emergency.

What are the drawbacks of AI in healthcare?

Despite the many exciting possibilities for AI in healthcare, there are some risks to weigh:

If not properly trained, AI can lead to bias and discrimination. For example, if AI is trained on electronic health records, it is building only on people that can access healthcare and is perpetuating any human bias captured within the records.
AI chatbots can generate medical advice that is misleading or false, which is why there’s a need for effectively regulating their use.

Where can AI solutions take the healthcare industry next?

As AI continues to evolve and play a more prominent role in healthcare, the need for effective regulation and use becomes more critical. That’s why Mayo Clinic is a member of Health AI Partnership, which is focused on helping healthcare organizations evaluate and implement AI effectively, equitably and safely.

In terms of the possibilities for healthcare professionals to further integrate AI, Mark D. Stegall, M.D., a transplant surgeon and researcher at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota says, “I predict AI also will become an important decision-making tool for physicians.”

Mayo Clinic hopes that AI could help create new ways to diagnose, treat, predict, prevent and cure disease. This might be achieved by:

Selecting and matching patients with the most promising clinical trials.
Developing and setting up remote health-monitoring devices.
Detecting currently imperceptible conditions.
Anticipating disease-risk years in advance.

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5 facts about americans and sports.

Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes shoots over Penn State's defense at the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on March 8, 2024, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)

Many Americans participate in sports in some way, whether they play, cheer on their favorite teams or gamble on outcomes.

Ahead of March Madness – the annual men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments – here are five facts about Americans’ experiences with and interest in sports, drawn from Pew Research Center surveys.

Ahead of this year’s NCAA Division I basketball tournaments, Pew Research Center explored Americans’ experiences with and interest in sports.

This analysis is based on recent Center surveys. Links to these surveys, including information about the field dates, sample sizes and other methodological details, are available in the text.

About half of Americans (48%) say they took part in organized, competitive sports in high school or college, according to a February 2022 Center survey . This includes 39% who participated in high school, 2% who participated in college and 7% who participated at both levels.

Men are more likely than women to say they played high school or college sports (56% vs. 41%).

There are also notable age differences among women: Adults under 50 are more likely than their older counterparts to have played high school or college sports (48% vs. 33%). These age differences among women may be partly due to Title IX , which became law in 1972. The law prohibits schools that receive federal funding from discriminating based on sex – including in the athletic opportunities they provide.

A pie chart showing that about half of U.S. adults say they played high school and/or college sports.

Most Americans who played sports in high school or college say their athletic experiences improved their physical health and confidence, according to the same survey. Some 82% of adults who played sports say doing so had a very or somewhat positive impact on their physical health, including 46% who say it had a very positive impact. And 79% say playing sports had a positive impact on their confidence or self-esteem, with 38% saying it had a very positive impact.

A smaller share of these Americans say playing sports had a positive impact on their job or career opportunities. Still, the share who say this far outpaces the share who say it had a negative impact (44% vs. 3%).

In all three areas – physical health, confidence and job opportunities – former college athletes are more likely than former high school athletes to say that playing sports had a very positive impact.

A horizontal stacked bar chart showing that most who participated in high school or college sports say it had a positive impact on their health, confidence.

Nearly four-in-ten Americans (38%) follow professional or college sports at least somewhat closely, according to a 2023 Center survey . This includes 16% who follow sports extremely or very closely. And 7% of U.S. adults are what might be called “superfans”: They follow sports extremely or very closely and talk about sports with other people at least daily.

About seven-in-ten Americans who follow sports at least somewhat closely say a major reason they do so is to cheer for a specific team or teams (71%) or to be entertained (69%). Much smaller shares say a major reason is to cheer for a specific player or players (32%), because someone in their family follows sports (23%), or for one of the other reasons included in the survey.

Still, a majority of Americans (62%) say they follow sports not too or not at all closely. Among this group, 69% say a major reason they don’t follow sports is that they’re just not interested.

A horizontal stacked bar chart showing that majorities of Americans who closely follow sports do so to cheer for specific teams or to be entertained.

When asked to choose one sport as “America’s sport,” more than half of U.S. adults (53%) choose football, according to the same survey . Another 27% say it’s baseball, while 8% pick basketball, 3% pick soccer, 3% choose auto racing and 1% choose hockey.

Football is the most common choice in every major demographic group, but there are some differences by race and ethnicity. For example, White Americans are more likely than those in other racial and ethnic groups to say baseball is America’s sport. Hispanic Americans are more likely than others to pick soccer, and Black and Asian Americans are more likely to choose basketball.

A bar chart showing that far more U.S. adults say football than anything else is America's sport.

In a July 2022 Center survey , 19% of Americans said they had bet money on sports in the past year. This includes betting with friends and family, in person at a casino or other gambling venue, or online with a betting app. Men, adults under 50, and Black and Hispanic adults were particularly likely to say they’d bet on sports in the previous year.

The survey was conducted more than four years after the Supreme Court effectively legalized commercial sports betting in the United States . Most adults (57%) said the legalization of sports betting in much of the country was neither a good nor bad thing for society, while 34% said it was a bad thing. Only 8% said it was a good thing.

Despite the widespread availability of commercial sports gambling today, betting rarely motivates people to follow sports , according to our 2023 survey. Among those who follow sports at least somewhat closely, 83% say betting is not a reason for doing so. Another 12% say betting is a minor reason they follow sports, and just 4% say it’s a major reason.

A bar chart showing that, in 2022, Black and Hispanic Americans were among the groups most likely to report betting on sports.

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By a wide margin, americans say football – not baseball – is ‘america’s sport’, among black adults, those with higher incomes are most likely to say they are happy, about 1 in 10 restaurants in the u.s. serve mexican food, most popular.

About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts .

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Sport Management - Science topic. Explore the latest full-text research PDFs, articles, conference papers, preprints and more on SPORT MANAGEMENT. Find methods information, sources, references or ...
Tracing the state of sport management research: a ...
This article presents a state-of-the-art overview of the sport management research discipline through a bibliometric analysis of publication data from the top five sport management journals in the decade 2011-2020. The analysis includes citation and productivity analysis of journals, institutions, countries, and articles, author citation and output analysis, and title and abstract (co-)word ...
Journal of Sport Management
The Journal of Sport Management publishes research and scholarly review articles; short reports on replications, test ... Thus, manuscripts should be written as simply and concisely as possible. Papers should be no longer than 40 double-spaced pages (using one-inch margins and Times New Roman 12-point font), inclusive of references, tables ...
Sport management: mission and meaning for a new era
The papers included in this special issue provide but a small sample of the 'generative' type of research that we feel the sport management scholarly community needs. As the articles illustrate, there are many complex and interesting avenues of inquiry that warrant further investigation.
Sport Management Review
Contemporary Qualitative Research Methods in Sport Management. Edited by Larena Hoeber, Sally Shaw. February 2017. Doping in Sport: Current Issues and Challenges for Sport Management. ... Resources for authors Track your accepted paper Journal Finder Researcher Academy Rights and permissions Journal Article Publishing Support Center.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Sport Research: An
In the last two decades, artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed the way in which we consume and analyse sports. The role of AI in improving decision-making and forecasting in sports, amongst many other advantages, is rapidly expanding and gaining more attention in both the academic sector and the industry. Nonetheless, for many sports audiences, professionals and policy makers, who are ...
Contemporary qualitative research methods in sport management
1. Introduction. Although qualitative research methods are more common in sport management compared to 20-30 years ago (see Inglis, 1992, Olafson, 1990, Paton, 1987), and despite calls for more inventive and critical approaches to research in the field (Amis and Silk, 2005, Frisby, 2005, Skinner and Edwards, 2005), we argue that there is still a lack of variety in the types of qualitative ...
Theorizing Community for Sport Management Research and Practice
Community is a context for much research in sport, sport management, and sport policy, yet relatively few authors explicitly articulate the theoretical frameworks with which they interrogate the concept. In this paper, we draw from communitarian theory and politics in order to contribute to a robust discussion and conceptualization of community in and for sport management research and practice.
Frontiers
Sport management scholars have called for the application of broader research approaches, including critical social science. Such approaches help uncover the less-desirable aspects of sport and, therefore, offer a basis for positive change. While there have been advancements in the use of innovative research approaches over time, there remains little understanding of how these calls have been ...
Sport is not industry: bringing sport back to sport management
Research methods: The paper briefly reviews the recent debate of the sport management research field in its three leading journals, but despite being empirical in part, it is foremost a position and conceptual paper. To bring sport back to the centre of the research field, it suggests that sport is conceptualised as a unique institution in an ...
Diversity and inclusion management in sport organizations: an
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5500 Campanile Drive. San Diego, CA 92182-4485. [email protected]. 619-301-9388. Christiana E. Hilmer, PhD, is a Professor of Economics at San Diego State University in San Diego, CA. Her research interests include the economics of sports, applied econometrics, labor economics, and resource and environmental economics.
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Journal of Sport Management

Volume 38 (2024): Issue 2 (Mar 2024)

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Introduction

Critical Social Science

Sport Management

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Environmental Sustainability and Sports Management: A Review of Marketing Contributions and Discussion of Future Research Opportunities

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