| The main objectives of this research were to (a) develop a better understanding of the range of factors considered in the school-choice decision making process; and (b) examine the influence of a selected set of factors viewed as potentially actionable/useful by the personnel involved in recruiting student-athletes in the athletic program. To address the first objective, past research was examined, a pilot study was conducted with a small sample of Division-I football student-athletes, and two Division-I football coaches were interviewed. Based on this analysis, six factors, each at three factor levels, were identified. To address the second research objective, the impact of the six factors on school-choice decision-making was examined through a survey developed using a choice-based conjoint analytic approach (also known as stated preference choice analysis). The survey was administered to a sample of Division-I FBS football student athletes (N=77) at a large, Midwestern university. Analyses of the resulting data yields insight into the school-choice decision making process of the study sample, provides information that could be actionable/useful to both recruiters and prospective student-athletes, and suggests several potentially fruitful directions for future research. |
