Impact of Campus Recreational Sports on African American College Students Dr. Robert Lindsey and Georgia Willis, Health and Human Performance Department Johnson C Smith University Eugene Sessoms, M.S., College of Charleston AAHPERD Presentation April, 2009 Tampa, Florida

Statement of Problem  Campus recreational sports is a service provided to offer students an opportunity to participate in sport and fitness activities. Most campuses provide a wide variety of programs and activities through such things as intramural sports, informal sports, club sports, and fitness programs (Young, Ross, & Barcelona, 2003).  Lindsey et al. (2006) and Banta, Bradley, & Bryant (1991) reported that recreational sport facilities and programs serve as recruiting enhancements, increase overall satisfaction with the collegiate experience, and make positive contributions to an institution’s retention efforts.  Few studies have examined the impact of campus recreational sports facilities and programs on African American college students.

Purpose of Study  The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of campus recreational sports facilities and programs on student recruitment and retention among male and female African American students.

Research Hypothesis 1)There is no significant difference between the gender and the importance of the availability of recreational sports facilities or programs in a student’s decision to attend the university. 2)There is no significant difference between gender and the importance of the availability of recreational sports facilities or programs in deciding to continue attending the university. 3)There is no significant difference between gender and the importance of how will sports and fitness activities be to the students after graduation.

Methodology & Data Analysis  Subjects were from a convenience sample of 161 students from Johnson C Smith in Spring and Summer Semesters of  Modified version of the Quality & Importance Recreation Survey (Bryant, Banta, & Bradley, 1995).  4 sections with 50 questions related to the importance and quality of recreational sports facilities and programs.  Reliability and Validity has already been established  Independent t-test was used to evaluate differences between gender and recreation questions. Significance was set at p<0.05.

Demographics Class(N)% of total Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior Other53.11 Gender(N)% of total Male Female Ethnicity(N)% of total White Asian/Pacific Islander Black Other44.21 Hispanic1.0062

Section 1 Results cont. (N = 161) QuestionNot Important Somewhat Important ImportantVery Important 1) In deciding to attend JCSU, how important was availability 16.77%35.41%25.47%22.36% 2) In deciding to continue JCSU, how important was availability 14.29%34.78%27.95%22.98% 3) How important will sports and fitness activities be to you after graduation 16.77%29.81% 22.98%

Section 1 Results cont. (N = 161) QuestionNone1 to 34 to 67 to 910 or more 4) Approximately how many total times per week do you participate in recreational sports 23.60%32.92%23.61%8.08%11.81% 5) How many times would you like to participate in recreational sports? 21.74%27.95% 10.56%11.80%

Gender and the importance of the availability of recreational sports facilities or programs in the decision to attend the college?  Ques #1In deciding to attend the college, how important was the availability of recreational sports facilities or programs?  NMeans.d.tp  Male *  Female  _________________________________________  * p <.05  ** p <.01

Gender and the importance of the availability of recreational sports facilities or programs in the decision to continue attending the college?  Ques #2In deciding to continue attending the college, how important was the availability of recreational sports facilities or programs?  NMeans.d.tp  Male **  Female  ________________________________________  * p <.05  ** p <.01

Gender and the importance of how will sports and fitness activities be to you after graduation?  Ques #3How important will sports and fitness activities be to you after graduation?  NMeans.d.tp  Male **  Female  _________________________________________  * p <.05  ** p <.01

Gender and number of times per week participate in active rec sports pursuits?  Ques #5How many times per week do you participate in active rec sports pursuits?  NMeans.d.tp  Male **  Female  _________________________________________  * p <.05  ** p <.01

Conclusion  Eighty-three percent of the respondents indicated they participate in some form of recreational sports each week  94% stated they would like to participate in recreational sports each week.  60% of the male students reported the availability of recreational sports was important/very important in deciding to attend the college  68% reported the availability of recreational sports was important/very important in deciding to continue attending the college.

Conclusion cont.  There was a significant difference between gender and the following questions:  1) In deciding how important was the availability of recreational sports facilities or programs to attend the college  2) In deciding to continue attending the college, how important was the availability of recreational sports facilities or programs?  3) How important will sports and fitness activities be to you after graduation?  4) How many times per week do you participate in active rec sports pursuits?

Recommendations  Strengthen this study with random sampling techniques.  Compare the results of this study to other institutions such as historically black colleges/universities and predominantly white institutions  Increase sample size