| Statement of Problem. The problem was to determine for NCAA Division III Institutions (1) the preparation of current athletic directors and (2) the perceptions of athletic directors and coordinators of sports administration programs as to the ideal preparation for athletic directors.;Conclusions. The research showed that Division III athletic directors and coordinators of sports administration programs were consistent in their perceptions of essential background experiences and graduate course work for Division III athletic directors. The study also showed that if an athletic director had the experience or graduate course in his/her background he/she rated the experience or course higher.;Recommendations. Graduate sports administration programs preparing future Division III athletic directors should provide an internship component in athletic administration and offer the following courses: (1) Administration of athletics; (2) Legal rights and responsibilities; (3) Communication skills in speaking; (4) Communication skills in writing; (5) Business (e.g. budgeting, marketing); (6) Human relations/personnel psychology; (7) Public relations; (8) Issues or problems in athletics; (9) Leadership or organizational theory; (10) Game/events management; (11) Computer application/data management; (12) Fundraising; (13) Philosophical basis of athletics in education; (14) Psychology - sociology of sports; (15) Women in sport; (16) Facilities and equipment management.;An aspiring Division III athletic director should have the following preferred background experiences: a master's degree in athletic administration, inservice/internship training in athletic administration, at least one year of experience as an administrator, a current membership in one or more professional organizations, and regular attendance at one or more national meetings dealing with athletics.;Procedures. All 285 Division III college and university athletic directors listed in the 1984-85 National Directory of College Athletics (Men's Edition) were sent cover letters and questionnaires. Also, the thirty-five coordinators, identified by the researcher and NACDA of graduate sports administration programs which prepare intercollegiate athletic directors, were mailed cover letters and questionnaires. One hundred eighty-five (65%) were completed and returned by the Division III athletic directors, and 28 (80%) were completed and returned by the sports administration coordinators. Analysis of the data included both descriptive and inferential statistics, and independent t tests were used to measure significant differences with an alpha level of p = .01. |
