Motivational Factors for Student Participation in Collegiate Club Sports at Indiana UniversityBen Smith

Collegiate Club Sports

•Indiana University’s Division of Recreational Sports (2007) define a club sport as a ▫“group of individuals who meet regularly to

pursue an interest in a particular sport activity. The organization of the club may be structured or casual. Each club is developed, governed, and administered by the student membership of that particular club”

Introduction

•Club vs. Other Recreational Sport Programs

•Motivation vs. Benefit Based Outcomes

•Exploratory study to establish reliability of instrument

Research Statement

•Examine motivational factors among participants in collegiate club sports at Indiana University during the 2007-2008 school year.

•Why only club members?

Purpose and Justification of Study

• Build upon limited research on collegiate club sports • Help campus recreational sport professionals better

cater to the needs of club participants

• Shed light on how club sportsare an important component

in students’ college experience

• Aid in future developments of campus club sport operations

Selection of Subjects

•All registered club sport students at Indiana University during the 2007-2008 school year (approximately 1,400 members in 44 club sports)

•Faculty, staff, and community members were also used in this study

Data Collection• Permission from the Director of Club Sports in the

Division of Recreational Sports at Indiana University to contact members via email

• Presented the study briefly to Club Sport Federation

• Set of emails that include a link to an online questionnaire

• Surveymonkey

Measuring Motivations• Leisure Motivation Scale (Beard & Ragheb, 1983)

▫Psychological and sociological reasons for participating in leisure activities.

▫4 sub-areas measured: Intellectual Social Competence-mastery Stimulus-avoidance

• Highest score = primary motivational factor• Lowest score = factors they may avoid when

participating• 5 point Likert Scale

Sub-Areas• Intellectual

▫Learning, using logic, strategizing, creating• Social

▫Meaningful relationships (friendships), esteem of others

• Competence-mastery▫Need to compete, master skills, challenge,

status level• Stimulus-avoidance

▫Seek mental and physical relaxation, escape factors of daily life

Leisure Motivation ScaleClub Sports

• One of my reasons for participating in my club sport is…

__ 1. to expand my interests• __ 2. to seek stimulation• __ 3. to make my college experience more meaningful

for me• __ 4. to learn about things around me• __ 5. to satisfy my curiosity• __ 6. to explore my knowledge

• __ 7. to learn about myself• __ 8. to expand my knowledge• __ 9. to discover new things• __ 10. to be creative• __ 11. to be original• __ 12. to use my imagination

• __ 13. to be with others• __ 14. to build friendships with others• __ 15. to interact with others• __ 16. to develop close friendships• __ 17. to meet new and different people• __ 18. to help others

• __ 19. so others will think well of me for doing it• __ 20. to reveal my thoughts, feelings, or physical skills

to others• __ 21. to influence others• __ 22. to be socially competent and skillful• __ 23. to gain a feeling of belonging• __ 24. to gain other’s respect

 

• __ 25. to obtain feeling of achievement• __ 26. to see what my abilities are• __ 27. to challenge my abilities• __ 28. because I enjoy mastering things• __ 29. to be good at the sport• __ 30. to improve skill and ability in the sport•  • __ 31. to compete against others• __ 32. to be active• __ 33. to develop physical skills and abilities• __ 34. to keep in shape physically• __ 35. to use my physical abilities• __ 36. to develop my physical fitness•  • __ 37. to be in a calm atmosphere• __ 38. to get away from my regular routine• __ 39. to escape and get a change of pace• __ 40. to seek solitude• __ 41. to relax physically• __ 42. to relax mentally • __ 43. to avoid the hustle and bustle of daily activities• __ 44. to refresh, re-create• __ 45. to relieve stress and tension• __ 46. to do something simple and easy• __ 47. to unstructure my time• __ 48. to get away from the responsibilities of my

everyday life

Hypotheses• Subjects participating in club sports have motivational factors

that will not differ depending on various demographics (e.g. gender, class standing, number of years participating, etc.).

• Subjects will not report intellectually motivating factors for participating in club sports.

• Subjects will not report socially motivating factors for participating in club sports.

• Subjects will not report competence-mastery motivating factors for participating in club sports.

• Subjects will not report stimulus-avoidance motivating factors for participating in club sports.

Response

•1,366 club sport participants were contacted▫282 went beyond study information sheet▫229 completed 80.6% of the study▫18.6% of all participants completed survey

enough to analyze motivational factors ▫Not all provided responses to every

statement

Response• 7 of 44 clubs did not have at

least 1 person participate in study

• Highest response rate = Swim Club (N=30)

• Men’s Lacrosse (N=15)• Taekwondo (N=13)• Men’s Ultimate Frisbee

(N=12)• Equestrian (N=12)• Ballroom Dance (N=12)

• 2-3/week 42.6% (N=98) • 4-5/week 32.2% (N = 74)

• 74.8% participate more than twice a week

Class Standing and Gender

Class Standing Frequency Percent• Freshmen 96 22.8• Sophomore 47 21.0• Junior 48 21.4• Senior 28 12.5• Graduate 39 17.4• Faculty/Staff 8 3.6• Community Member 3 1.3

• Total 269 100.0

▫ Males: 57.1% (N=128) Females: 42.9% (N=96)

Data Analysis

•Descriptive statistics – trends

•ANOVA – compared means among demographic items (class standing and gender)

•Tukey’s HSD – pinpointed where the significance lay specifically

Hypothesis Testing

•Each of the 5 hypotheses were rejected as significance was found either among class standing, gender, or both.

Hypothesis Class Standing GenderH1 Yes YesH2 5 1H3 9 7H4 6 0H5 0 7

Number of Statements with Significance Found

Intellectual Motivation and Class Standing •5 significant statements among 7 class

standings▫7 with ANOVA, 5 after more rigorous Tukey’s

HSD▫All significance =Undergraduate v. Graduate

Students S1. To expand my interest S3. To make my college experiences more

meaningful for me S9. To discover new things S10. To be creative S11. To be original

Significance• Graduate students have already been through

the college experience

• Undergraduates focused on getting the most out of their time in college – well rounded

• Graduate students may only participate in the sports they already are familiar with

• Low creativity factor = Graduate students not concerned with creativity. More focus on studies

Social Motivations and Class Standing• 9 significant statements• Undergraduate v. Graduate (17 instances) Faculty/Staff (3 instances)

▫ S13. To be with others▫ S16. To develop close relationships▫ S17. To meet new and different people▫ S18. To help others▫ S20. To reveal my thoughts, feelings, or physical skills to

others▫ S21. To influence others▫ S22. To be socially competent and skillful▫ S23. To gain a feeling of belonging▫ S24. To gain others respects

Significance• Sub-area with most significant statements

• “To be with others” = Graduate low score compared to undergrad but higher than all intellectual statements.

• “Relationships” = priority during first years in college – Graduate students have different focus

• “New and different people” = Small importance for Faculty/Staff – always new poeple

Significance

•“Belonging” and “Influence” (Juniors v. Grad)

= more office positions once a team veteran

What benefits are gained?89.2% (N=199/223) “socializing”

88.8% (N=198/223) “meeting new people”

Competence-Mastery and Class Standing•6 significant statements•Highest overall means of sub-areas

▫To obtain feeling of achievement (M=4.104, SD.945)

▫To Challenge what my abilities are (M=4.484, SD .724)

▫To be good at the sport (M=4.365, SD .886)

▫To compete against others (M=3.659, SD 1.312)

▫To keep in shape physically (M=4.608, SD .764)

▫To use my physical abilities (M=4.52, SD .81)

Competence-Mastery and Class Standing

Between GroupsNumber of Significant

Statements

Freshman v. Graduate Students 5Sophomore v. Graduate Students 4

Junior v. Graduate Students 5Freshman v. Faculty/Staff 1

Sophomore v. Faculty/Staff 1Junior v. Faculty/Staff 1

Sophomore v. Community Members 1Freshman v. Community Members 1

Trends

•“To compete against others” = lowest score for all class standings. ▫Drop from Freshman – Community Member▫As classes mature, less motivated to prove

their abilities (“obtaining achievement”, “good at sport”)

•“Develop physical abilities” = no significance▫All classes above 4.0 (often true)

Stimulus-Avoidanceand Class Standing

•No statements with significance

•Lowest overall mean score of sub-area (M=2.52)

•Trends• “To seek solitude” = lowest

score in all classes but CM

• “Calm atmosphere”, “relax physically”, “simple and easy” all reported as “seldom true”

• “Relieve stress and tension” highest overall mean in this sub-area

Intellectual Motivationand Gender• 1 significant statement

▫S10. To be Creative (F=4.275, p<.05)

• Higher overall scores reported by females for all statements = More motivated by intellectual components

• Both gender reported above 4.29▫S2. To seek Stimulation▫S3. To make my college experience more

meaningful for me

Social Motivationand Gender

▫Females tend to be more social. Connect with others Males participate for

reasons related to self Females participate for

wider variety of reasons•Open ended question -

Liked most? Social motivations

• 7 of 12 statements with significance• “be with others”, “build friendships”, “interact with others”

Competence-Masteryand Gender• No Significance• Males reported higher overall mean than Females• “Skill Development” = 3rd response behind social

motivations

• Only chance to play at higher competition level• Sports not offered at varsity level at IU:

▫Men’s Lacrosse▫Men’s Waterpolo▫ Ice Hockey▫Men’s Volleyball

Stimulus-Avoidanceand Gender•7 of 12 significant statements•Relation to Intellectual Motivations for

Females▫Relax and escape academic pressures

•Similar trends for both▫Not alone ▫Challenging and organized▫Stress reduction

Findings•Competence-Mastery: Highest motivation

for participation (M = 4.40)▫Not necessarily competition (only statement

below 4.0) Important but not main focus

▫Improving person skill, training opportunities▫Being active in sport

•Stimulus-Avoidance: Not a motivator (M = 3.19)▫Opposite - higher social responses (M = 3.60)

Considerations

•Skill training sessions•Regular active practices•Challenging drills/sets (pushing limits)•Social environments among club time and

beyond•Women more motivated by intellect

challenges and gaining knowledge through sport

•Beard, J. G., & Ragheb, M. G. (1983). The leisure motivation scale. Journal of Leisure Research, 15 (3), 219-228.