| As a result of economic, demographic and legislative changes, the State of Nebraska has had over 60 total school consolidations impacting the athletic programs and student/athletes within these schools. In this study, based on a convenience sample of archival records between the years 1996 through 2007, 43 pre-consolidated schools merged to form 21 post-consolidated schools. The pre-consolidated schools were compared to the merged post-consolidated school to determine the impact of consolidation on the dependent variables of sport offerings, participation levels, Nebraska Schools Activities Association (NSAA) classification, and levels of success, as measured by the number of wins in team sports and state placement at NSAA state championships in individual sports. In addition, gender differences were evaluated based on participation numbers, sport offerings, and individual and team success levels. The quantitative, causal-comparative design of the study utilized t-tests and Mann-Whitney U tests to evaluate the effects of consolidation. Significant decreases were noted in number of participants involved in the post-consolidated school t(178) = 6.94, p < .001, d = 1.04. The number of sports offered at the post-consolidated school was significantly higher t(221) = 7.94, p < .001, d = 0.88. Success levels increased in both individual sports, U = 36,176, p = .003, r = .12, and team sports t(580) = 3.38, p = .001, d = 0.28, at the post-consolidated school. Post-consolidated schools often moved to a higher NSAA classification level U = 50,896, p < .001, r = .47, based on enrollment increases. It is recommended that the results of this study be made available by the NSAA for schools entering into consolidation. Based on the continued improvement of archival data, it is recommended that all sports are documented and specifically analyzed for future research. In addition, school administrators need to analyze the results and project which sport offerings should be added in post-consolidation to produce the greatest participation and success levels. |
