NCAA Athletic Administration Challenges

     My interest in athletic administration at the collegiate level drives me to learn about different problematic issues. It seems that money is at the center of many problems, especially regarding the level of competition. The highest level, Division 1-A, brings about many pressures related to the creation of revenue. From an administrative standpoint, this fact leads me to believe that a staff must have an efficient chain of command when handling these money matters. The pinnacle of the chain is the head athletic director, who receives valuable input from associate and assistant directors underneath him/her. Kerwin & Doherty found that “The 1A environment is typically characterized by complex decisions, short timelines, and scarce resources that can lead to emotionally-charged decision making” (pg. 224).¹ Administrative pressure to perform is vital to the overall success of an NCAA athletic program.

     An athletic administrative staff must carry a competent accountability system in which checks and balances are a priority. The staff must work directly with the institution itself in order to maintain a high level of integrity regarding money management. Suggs noted “But the problem remains of having no way to verify the data that institutions submit, and institutions continue to have differences in their accounting that make comparisons between and among institutions problematic at best” (pg. 18).² Both of these managerial challenges directly reveal the effectiveness of an athletic administration working behind the scenes and should stimulate staff members daily to perform at a high level. The ultimate athletic administrator thrives in challenging situations consistently by creating educated and informed decisions related to money issues such as these.

References

¹Kerwin, S. & Doherty, A. (2012). An investigation of the conflict triggering process in intercollegiate athletic departments. Journal of Sport Management, 26(3), 224-236.

²Suggs, W. (2009). Old challenges and new opportunities for studying the financial aspects of intercollegiate athletics. New Directions for Higher Education, 148, 11-22. DOI: 10.1002/he.364