The influences on college choice for male athletes at eight selected Division IA universities in Texas.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper reports on a study of college choice and the factors that influence freshmen and other student-athletes. The study was designed to survey male basketball and football players from eight different National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division IA Universities. The eight institutions are located in Texas; four are private and four are public state schools. Of the more than 700 student athletes identified at the eight schools, a total of 242 successfully completed the survey. The overall response rate was 35%. The freshmen response rate was much higher; 141 identified for a rate of 81%. Instrument reliability was 0.8195 for the non-college factors, 0.8338 for the college factors, and 0.8783 for the athletic factors.
The purpose of this study was to determine: (1) What are the major influences on student college choice for male athletes who participate in football and basketball at the Division I level? (2) Are there differences in influences with regards to private and public institutions? (3) Are there differences in influences with regards to the four individual private institutions (Rice University, Southern Methodist University, Texas Christian University, and Baylor University)? (4) Are there differences in influences with regards to the four public institutions (University of Houston, Texas A&M, University of North Texas, and Texas Tech)? (5) Are there differences in these influences for minority and non-minority student-athletes? (6) Are there differences in influences between freshmen and upperclassmen? (7) Are there differences in influences with regards to basketball and football players?.
The study was a replication of a previous study conducted by Bruce Bukowski (1995) for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The original and continued purpose is to assist student athletes in reflecting upon the factors that cause them to choose one particular university setting over another. These reflections may help determine the most influential factors. The need to understand those factors has probably never been greater, because of the pressures involved with today's recruitment process.