Scheduled for Sport Management, Psychology, and Leisure & Recreation Posters, Thursday, April 1, 2004, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM, Convention Center: Exhibit Hall Poster Session


Human Resource Practices in NCAA Division III Institutions: An Industry Analysis

Marlene A. Dixon, Rice University, Houston, TX and Jeremy S. Jordan, University Of Miami, Coral Gables, FL

Industry analysis examines organizations within a given market to determine the practices being utilized and those that seem most beneficial for achieving established objectives. An important sub-area in industry analysis is human resource management (HRM). Despite the utility of industry studies, very few have been conducted within sport, especially at the Division III level. Division III institutions constitute the greatest number of NCAA member schools (411), and provide competition for 40% of NCAA student-athletes. Insight into the HRM practices in this sector could provide valuable comparisons between organizations and industries. Furthermore, information obtained could benefit administrators of high school athletic programs and other non-profit sport organizations. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the HRM practices being utilized within Division III athletic departments. One-hundred NCAA Division III athletic directors were asked to respond to a mailed questionnaire regarding their use of twenty-two specified high performance HRM practices (Becker & Huselid, 1998). Forty-seven usable responses were returned, giving a response rate of 47%. Results showed a wide variance in use of practices compared to other industries (Huselid et al., 2000). Specifically, Division III schools can be characterized by their use of HRM practices in the following eight areas. 1) They utilize a standardize selection procedure for 60% of their job applicants. 2) 74% of their jobs are subjected to formal job analysis. 3) 57% of coaches are promoted on the basis of merit verses 24% on seniority. 4) Nearly 100% of departments prefer meetings over email to disseminate information. 5) 100% of schools have a formal grievance procedure in place. 6) New employees receive only 15 hours of training in their first year, and experienced employees receive about 8 hours per year. 7) 85% of compensation is in the form of cash, not other perquisites. 8) Only 16% of coaches have their evaluations based on an objective measure such as win/loss record. Thus, Division III schools seem to have a distinct profile in the HRM area. Practices such as standardized selection tools, information sharing, and grievance procedures are widely utilized. On the contrary, most schools do not utilize high performance practices in the areas of training, evaluation, and compensation. Since theory suggests that the use of these practices will lead to higher performance (Delery & Doty, 1996; Huselid, 1995; Pfeffer, 1994), athletic directors may want to investigate the implementation of a broader range of these high performance practices.
Keyword(s): administration/mgmt, research, sport management

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