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A sociological case study of the top twenty-five N.C.A.A. Division I basketball coaches
Abstract
The purpose for conducting this study was to investigate sociological characteristics of highly successful basketball coaches in order to develop a profile of a successful basketball coach. The sample contained 25 male basketball coaches at N.C.A.A. Division I institutions who had the highest career lifetime winning percentage entering the 1987-1988 season. The sociological variables being analyzed included the coaches' occupational moves, their collateral relationships with the institution that employed them at the time of the study, their athletic and academic background, demographic variables, environmental factors, stress reduction remedies, social class origin, degree of familial support, role models and perception of the upper echelon coaches on the collegiate level. Preliminary data were collected from background reading materials obtained from the Sports Information Directors from each of the coaches' universities. They included press guides, yearbooks, game programs and autobiographies. An individualized telephone interview was then conducted with each coach in the sample. Findings and conclusions were derived from the analysis of the quantitive data obtained for each of the eleven sociological variables under investigation in the study. The study allowed for the discovery of the following findings: (1) The acquisition of a head coaching position of the N.C.A.A. Division I level involved a considerable amount of position changes. (2) The coaches' records of participation in interscholastic and intercollegiate athletics supported the assertion that earning letters as a player is a prerequisite for obtaining a head college coaching position. (3) An outstanding academic record did not prove to be necessary in order to become a "winning" coach on the major college level. (4) Most of the coaches in the sample employed exercise routines and hobbies in order to cope with stress associated with coaching at the major college level. (5) Despite some variability in social class origin, the majority of coaches in the sample were raised in lower and lower-middle social class environments. (6) Most of the coaches attended high schools in small communities and came from rural backgrounds.
Subject Area
School administration
Recommended Citation
Kropp, Thomas Carl, "A sociological case study of the top twenty-five N.C.A.A. Division I basketball coaches" (1989). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8925248.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8925248