Career Experiences and Intentions of Women in Senior Level Intercollegiate Athletic Administration

Women are underrepresented in the most senior level administrative positions in intercollegiate athletics. This qualitative study is an analysis of the professional lives of nine women who hold Senior Associate AD positions in Division I intercollegiate athletics. They were interviewed about their career experiences and their intentions to pursue the athletic director position. Their experiences were examined for the persistence of previously identified structural barriers to advancement and predictions were made about their intentions to pursue the athletic director position using the theory of planned behavior (TPB). The findings suggest structural barriers do persist which prevent them from obtaining the position of athletic director, however, they are very aware of the structural barriers and are actively breaking down those barriers to get the experiences they need to obtain an athletic director position. When applying TPB, predictions were made that five of the nine will likely not pursue the role of athletic director. These conclusions indicate women are partially contributing to their own underrepresentation. However, implementing strategies that cultivate and value women's experiences would go a long way to equalizing the hegemonic male environment of intercollegiate athletics and decrease underrepresentation of women in the most senior level position in athletic administration.