•  
  •  
 

Abstract

Collegiate athletic department personnel must be aware of student-athletes’ college- choice factors so they can recruit and retain athletes that enhance the brands of their sport programs, athletic department, and institution (Mixon, Trevino, & Minto, 2004). The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the college-choice factors of current NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football players at a southeastern university (n = 73) while focusing on segmentation by median annual household income. Using a modified version of the Student-Athlete College-Choice Profile (Gabert, Hale, & Montalvo, 1999), the research utilized theories of brand equity, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and human capital to guide the discussion of attracting student-athletes who are a perceived fit for their program (Bolman & Deal, 2008; Dumond, Lynch, & Platania, 2008; Kotler, 2004). An analysis of the results illustrated that the list of the most influential college-choice factors varied depending on respondents’ median annual household income; however, a combination of academically-related and athletically-related college-choice factors were rated in the top ten regardless of median annual household income. Therefore, it is vital that collegiate athletic personnel use these results to enhance efficiency in the recruiting process and engage in CSR to holistically develop college athletes.

Download

Share

COinS