Directory UMM :Data Elmu:jurnal:I:International Journal of Educational Management:Vol11.Issue6.1997:
Strategic planning in higher education athletic
departments
Athanasios Kriemadis
Ministry o f Educ atio n, Argo s, Gre e c e
The primary purposes of this
study were: to determine the
extent to which the strategic
planning process was being
used in NCAA Division I-A
athletic departments; to
identify the key factors that
discourage the abovementioned departments from
engaging in strategic planning
activities; to develop and
recommend a generic strategic planning process model,
which could be implemented
by the athletic departments;
and to examine the relationships between the extent of
strategic planning used by the
athletic departments and
these selected variables: type
of the university (private
versus public), university size,
and background of athletic
directors. All 106 NCAA Division I-A athletic departments
were surveyed. The response
rate was 72 per cent. Findings
of this study were as follows:
33 (43.4 per cent) of the
athletic departments were
classifi ed as strategic planners; insufficient fi nancial
resources and time were the
factors that highly discouraged the athletic departments
from engaging in strategic
planning; a strategic planning
process model was developed
and an analysis of its several
components was presented;
the extent of strategic planning used by the athletic
departments was not related
to the type of university,
university size, and the background of athletic directors.
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 6 [ 1997] 2 3 8 –2 4 7
© MCB Unive rsity Pre ss
[ ISSN 0951-354X]
[ 238 ]
Introduction
Th r ou gh ou t h u m a n h istor y, people h ave been
en ga ged in som e sor t of pla n n in g in or der to
a ccom plish design a ted goa ls a n d objectives.
Mu ch of th e pla n n in g liter a tu r e cu r r en tly
bein g pu blish ed a ddr esses th e n ecessity of
pla n n in g in th e pr ofi t a n d n on -pr ofi t sector s.
Accor din g to Bu h ler -Miko (1985), “m a ster
pla n n in g w a s th e vogu e in th e sixties, lon gr a n ge pla n n in g in th e seven ties, a n d str a te gic
pla n n in g for th e deca des of th e eigh ties a n d
n in eties” (p. 1).
Th e bu sin ess sector of society h a s lon g r ecogn ized th a t con tin u ed pr ofita bility r equ ir es
m a in ta in in g a str a tegic fit between th e or ga n iza tion a l goa ls a n d ca pa bilities a n d th e
ch a n gin g societa l a n d econ om ic con dition s.
As th ese envir on m en ta l ch a n ges evolved,
bu sin esses developed pla n n in g system s wh ich
m a de possible co-or din a ted a n d effective
r espon ses to in cr ea sin g u n pr edicta bility,
n ovelty, a n d com plexity (An soff, 1984).
Accor din g to Br yson (1988), str a te gic pla n n in g, wh ich h a s developed in th e pr iva te
sector, ca n h elp pu blic a n d n on -pr ofi t or ga n iza tion s a n ticipa te a n d r espon d effectively to
th eir dr a m a tica lly ch a n gin g en vir on m en ts.
Most of th e fu n da m en ta l a ppr oa ch es a n d
m eth ods of cor por a te m a n a gem en t a r e a pplica ble to th e pu blic a n d n on -pr ofi t m a n a gem en t
a r ea . However, pu blic a n d n on -pr ofi t pla n n er s
m u st be aw a r e th a t cor por a te str a te gic pla n n in g “em br a ces a r a n ge of a ppr oa ch es th a t
va r y in th eir a pplica bility to th e pu blic a n d
n on -pr ofit sector s a n d in th e con dition s th a t
gover n th eir su ccessfu l u se” (p. 43). Str a te gic
th ou gh t a n d a ction h ave becom e in cr ea sin gly
im por ta n t a n d h ave been a dopted by pu blic
a n d n on -pr ofi t pla n n er s to en a ble th em to
su ccessfu lly a da pt to th e fu tu r e (Ba n k , 1992;
Br yson , 1988; Coolba u gh , 1993; Du n ca n , 1990;
E spy, 1988; Laycock , 1990; Medley, 1988; N elson , 1990; Robin son , 1992; Str eib a n d Poister,
1990; Wilson , 1990).
Th e edu ca tion a l sector h a s be gu n to r ecogn ize th a t pla n n in g is n ecessa r y in or der to
m a in ta in its ow n r espon siven ess to a r a pidly
ch a n gin g en vir on m en t (Agw u , 1992; Bu sler,
1992; DeRose, 1986; Ha ll, 1994; Potgieter, 1992;
Sch illin g, 1987; Sch m eltzer, 1983; Sm ith et a l.,
1987; Spen ce, 1982; Wa lk er, 1990; Willia m s,
1992). Ca m er on (1983) sta ted th a t “th e fu tu r e
of colle ges a n d u n iver sities a s or ga n iza tion s
in clu des con dition s of declin e wh ich r equ ir e
a n ew set of a dm in istr a tive a n d or ga n iza tion a l r espon ses” (p. 359). Today’s colle ges
a n d u n iver sities h ave exper ien ced r a pid
ch a n ge. E du ca tion a l a dm in istr a tor s a r e con fr on ted w ith ch a n ges a ssocia ted w ith a gein g
fa cilities, ch a n gin g tech n ology, ch a n gin g
dem ogr a ph ics, in cr ea sin g com petition , r isin g
costs, fu n din g cu ts, etc. E du ca tion a l a dm in istr a tor s a r e ch a llen ged to a n ticipa te ch a n ges
a n d to for m u la te pr oa ctive r espon ses th a t
w ill en h a n ce th e edu ca tion a l pr ocesses u sed
on colle ge a n d u n iver sity ca m pu ses. Som e of
th e m a jor issu es edu ca tion a l a dm in istr a tor s
a r e fa cin g in clu de: th e fin a n cin g of h igh er
edu ca tion ; in cr ea sin g levels of in volvem en t
by pu blic officia ls in th e pr ocesses of h igh er
edu ca tion ; a n d th e br oa den in g of th e ba sis for
k n ow ledge w ith in con tem por a r y society
(Osta r, 1989). Con fr on ted w ith th e u n pr eceden ted m a gn itu de of ch a n ges a n u m ber of
colle ges a n d u n iver sities h ave tu r n ed to
str a te gic pla n n in g wh ich is design ed to h elp
or ga n iza tion s r espon d effectively to th eir
n ew situ a tion s (Ba llou , 1988; Ca m er on , 1983;
Kotler a n d Mu r ph y, 1982; Livesey, 1990; Ma n h eim er, 1989; Ma zu r, 1991; Mor ga n , 1994;
Reich r a th , 1990; Toll, 1982).
Sin ce a th letic pr ogr a m m es a r e so m u ch a
pa r t of h igh er edu cation in stitu tion s, a th letic
depa r tm en ts fa ce th e sa m e pr oblem s a s do
in stitu tion s to wh ich th ey belon g. Ath letic
a dm in istr a tor s m u st n ow dea l w ith per iods of
declin e, gover n m en ta l m a n dates a n d gu idelin es, a n d fin a n cia l difficu lties (Lew is, 1979).
Also, em ph a sis m u st be on pla cin g th e
a th letic depa r tm en t in a com petitive position
in ch a n gin g envir on m en ts beca u se ath letic
pr ogr a m m es h ave evolved to a poin t wh er e
th ey com pete for a segm en t of th e en ter ta in m en t m a r k et. If a th letic depa r tm en ts a r e to
r espon d, th ey m u st a n ticipate ch a n ge a n d
a da pt pr ogr a m m es a n d r esou r ces to m eet
th eir m ission a n d objectives (Bu ch er, 1987).
Str a tegic pla n n in g m ay h elp a th letic depa r tm en ts a n ticipate a n d r espon d effectively to
th eir n ew situ a tion s, a n d develop str a tegies
n ecessa r y to a ch ieve th e a th letic depa r tm en t’s
m ission a n d objectives (Dyson et a l., 1989;
Sm ith , 1985; Su tton a n d Miglior e, 1988).
Athanasio s Krie madis
Strate gic planning in highe r
educ ation athletic
departments
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 6 [1 9 9 7 ] 2 3 8 –2 4 7
Purpose of the study
Th e pr im a r y pu r poses of th is stu dy wer e to
deter m in e th e exten t to wh ich th e str a tegic
pla n n in g pr ocess is bein g u sed in Nation a l
Collegia te Ath letic Association (NCAA) Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts; iden tify th e key
fa ctor s th a t discou r a ge NCAA Division I-A
a th letic depa r tm en ts fr om en ga gin g in str a tegic pla n n in g a ctivities; to develop a n d r ecom m en d a gen er ic str a tegic pla n n in g pr ocess
m odel, wh ich ca n be im plem en ted by NCAA
Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts. Th e developm en t of th is m odel wa s ba sed on th e r eview
of liter a tu r e a n d th e r ecom m en da tion s fr om a
selected n u m ber of a th letic depa r tm en ts
wh ich h a d been iden tified a s str a tegic pla n n er s; a n d to exa m in e th e r ela tion sh ips
between th e exten t of str a tegic pla n n in g u sed
by NCAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts
a n d th ese selected va r ia bles: type of th e u n iver sity (pu blic ver su s pr iva te); u n iver sity
size; a n d ba ck gr ou n d of a th letic dir ector s.
Th e stu dy a ddr essed th e follow in g r esea r ch
qu estion s a n d h ypoth eses.
Research questions
Th e r esea r ch qu estion s to be exa m in ed for th e
descr iptive pa r t of th e stu dy wer e a s follow s:
1 To wh a t exten t is th e str a te gic pla n n in g
pr ocess bein g u sed in N CAA Division I-A
a th letic depa r tm en ts?
2 Wh a t a r e th e k ey fa ctor s th a t discou r a ge
N CAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts
fr om en ga gin g in str a te gic pla n n in g a ctivities?
3 Is it possible to develop a gen er ic str a te gic
pla n n in g pr ocess m odel, wh ich ca n be
im plem en ted by N CAA Division I-A
a th letic depa r tm en ts?
Hypotheses tested
1 Th e exten t of str a te gic pla n n in g u sed by
N CAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts is
in depen den t of th e type of th e u n iver sity
(pu blic ver su s pr iva te).
2 Th e exten t of str a te gic pla n n in g u sed by
N CAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts is
in depen den t of u n iver sity size.
3 Th e exten t of str a te gic pla n n in g u sed by
N CAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts is
in depen den t of th e ba ck gr ou n d of a th letic
dir ector s.
Significance of the study
Lea der s a n d m a n a ger s of n on -pr ofi t
or ga n iza tion s a n d com m u n ities fa ce difficu lt
ch a llen ges in th e yea r s a h ea d. Accor din g to
Br yson (1988), som e exa m ples of th e sever a l
tr en ds a n d even ts a r e th e dem ogr a ph ic
ch a n ges, va lu e sh ifts, th e pr iva tiza tion of th e
pu blic ser vices, sh ifts in feder a l a n d sta te
fu n din g pr ior ities, a vola tile econ om y, a n d th e
in cr ea sed im por ta n ce of th e n on -pr ofit sector.
Th is tu r bu len ce is a ggr ava ted by th e
in cr ea sed in ter con n ectedn ess of th e wor ld, so
th a t ch a n ges a n ywh er e typica lly r esu lt in
ch a n ges elsewh er e (Lu k e, 1988).
Ath letic a dm in istr ator s, ju st a s n on -pr ofit
lea der s a n d a ca dem ic a dm in istr ator s, m u st
dea l w ith th is tu r bu len t envir on m en t. Mor eover, in ter collegiate ath letic pr ogr a m m es h ave
evolved to a poin t wh er e th ey com pete for a
segm en t of th e en ter ta in m en t m a r ket. Th e
fu tu r e of in ter collegiate ath letics will depen d
on th e ability of th e ath letic depa r tm en ts to
r espon d effectively to th eir n ew situ ation s, a n d
to develop str ategies n ecessa r y to a ch ieve th e
ath letic depa r tm en t’s m ission a n d objectives.
A n u m ber of a u th or s (An soff a n d McDon n ell, 1990; Ba r r y, 1986; Br yson et a l., 1986, 1987;
Rowe et a l., 1989; Stein er, 1979) a r gu e th a t
str a te gic pla n n in g ca n h elp or ga n iza tion s in
th is tu r bu len t en vir on m en t to:
• th in k str a te gica lly a n d develop effective
str a te gies;
• cla r ify fu tu r e dir ection ;
• esta blish pr ior ities;
• develop a coh er en t a n d defen sible ba sis for
decision m a k in g;
• im pr ove or ga n iza tion a l per for m a n ce;
• dea l effectively w ith r a pidly ch a n gin g
cir cu m sta n ces;
• a n ticipa te fu tu r e pr oblem s a n d oppor tu n ities;
• bu ild tea m wor k a n d exper tise; a n d
• pr ovide em ployees w ith clea r objectives
a n d dir ection s for th e fu tu r e of th e or ga n iza tion a n d in cr ea se th eir m otiva tion a n d
sa tisfa ction .
New m a n a n d Wa llen der (1987) su ggested th at
ba sic m a n a gem en t con cepts sh ou ld be applied
to both pr ofit a n d n on -pr ofit or ga n ization s.
Th is stu dy is u sefu l in exten din g th e con cept of
str ategic pla n n in g to in ter collegiate ath letics.
Th e stu dy will be u sefu l in h elpin g a th letic
a dm in istr ator s to fu r th er th eir u n der sta n din g
of th e str ategic pla n n in g pr ocess in th eir
r espective ath letic depa r tm en ts. Mor e specifica lly, th e pr esen t stu dy of str ategic pla n n in g
pr ocess in NCAA Division I-A ath letic depa r tm en ts pr ovided in for m ation abou t th e exten t
of th e str ategic pla n n in g pr ocess cu r r en tly
bein g u sed in th ese ath letic depa r tm en ts, a n d
th e r elation sh ips between th e exten t of str ategic pla n n in g u sed by NCAA Division I-A ath letic depa r tm en ts a n d th ese selected va r iables:
type of u n iver sity (pu blic ver su s pr ivate);
[ 239 ]
Athanasio s Krie madis
Strate gic planning in highe r
educ ation athletic
departments
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 6 [1 9 9 7 ] 2 3 8 –2 4 7
u n iver sity size; a n d ba ck gr ou n d of ath letic
dir ector s. Secon d, th e r esea r ch pr ovided
in sigh t in to th ose or ga n ization a l fa ctor s wh ich
discou r a ge th e u se of th e str ategic pla n n in g
pr ocess. A gen er ic str ategic pla n n in g pr ocess
m odel wa s developed th at ca n be im plem en ted
by NCAA Division I-A ath letic depa r tm en ts.
Research methods and procedures
Population
Th e popu la tion of th e stu dy con sisted of a ll
106 N CAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts.
Instrument development
Sin ce a va lida ted in str u m en t h a d n ot yet been
developed to m ea su r e str a te gic pla n n in g
a ctivities in a th letic depa r tm en ts, a qu estion n a ir e w a s developed by th e r esea r ch er ba sed
on th e r eviewed liter a tu r e on str a te gic pla n n in g a s well a s on in pu t a n d su ggestion s fr om
r eview s offer ed by a selected pa n el of exper ts.
Instrument validity and reliability
Instrume nt validity
Th e con ten t va lidity of th e qu estion n a ir e w a s
deter m in ed by a pa n el of exper ts in th e fi elds
of str a te gic pla n n in g, h igh er edu ca tion , m a n a gem en t, m a r k etin g r esea r ch , a n d Division IA Con fer en ce Com m ission er s.
Instrume nt re liability
Th e r elia bility of th e su r vey in str u m en t w a s
a ssessed th r ou gh Cr on ba ch ’s coefficien t
a lph a (a ). All coefficien ts a lph a wer e w ith in
a ccepta ble r a n ges for com pa r a ble in str u m en ta tion s (N u m m a lly, 1967).
Que stio nnaire ite m E
Ta ble II r evea ls th a t on ly 33 (43.4 per cen t) of
th e a th letic depa r tm en ts h ave: for m a lized
Table I
Ac tivitie s inc lude d in the athle tic de partme nt’ s
c urre nt planning pro c e ss
Frequency
Percentage
Vision
Yes
No
71
5
93.4
6.6
M ission
Yes
No
69
7
90.8
9.2
Strengths/ weaknesses
Yes
No
71
5
93.4
6.6
Opportunities/ threats
Yes
No
63
13
82.9
17.1
Goals/ objectives
Yes
No
75
1
98.7
1.3
Long-range plans
Yes
No
70
6
92.1
7.9
Short-range plans
Yes
No
71
5
93.4
6.6
Research question 1
Wh a t is th e exten t to wh ich th e str a te gic
pla n n in g pr ocess is bein g u sed in N CAA
Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts?
Evaluation of planning
process
Yes
No
51
25
67.1
32.9
Que stio nnaire ite m A
Accor din g to th e su r vey r espon ses, 71 (93.4
per cen t) of th e N CAA Division I-A a th letic
Performance evaluation
Yes
No
68
8
89.5
10.5
Presentation and analysis of data
A tota l of 76 (72 per cen t) of th e a th letic
depa r tm en ts r espon ded to th e su r vey.
Th e ch a r a cter istics of th e n on -r espon den ts
did n ot follow a specific pa tter n in ter m s of
geogr a ph ica l loca tion , size of th e u n iver sity,
a n d type of th e u n iver sity. Ba sed on th is fa ct
a n d th e h igh r espon se r a te it a ppea r s th a t th e
r esu lts of th e stu dy cou ld be gen er a lized to
th e ta r get popu la tion (a ll N CAA Division I-A
a th letic depa r tm en ts).
Descr iptive sta tistics wer e u sed to a n swer
th e fir st two r esea r ch qu estion s, wh ile ch isqu a r e w a s u sed to test th e h ypoth eses.
[ 240 ]
depa r tm en ts h ave developed a vision of th e
depa r tm en t’s fu tu r e dir ection a n d a spir a tion s. Sixty-n in e (90.8 per cen t) of th e depa r tm en ts h ave a lso developed a m ission sta tem en t th a t descr ibes th e depa r tm en t’s pu r pose a n d ph ilosoph y. Th e da ta in Ta ble I sh ow
th a t 71 (93.4 per cen t) of th e depa r tm en ts
a ssess th eir str en gth s a n d wea k n esses, wh ile
63 (82.9 per cen t) a ssess th e oppor tu n ities a n d
th r ea ts in th eir exter n a l en vir on m en ts. Seven ty-five (98.7 per cen t) of th e r espon din g
a th letic depa r tm en ts in dica ted th a t th ey
develop goa ls a n d objectives, a n d 70 (92.1 per
cen t) develop lon g-r a n ge pla n s to a ch ieve
th eir sta ted goa ls a n d objectives. Ta ble I a lso
in dica tes th a t 71 (93.4 per cen t) of th e a th letic
depa r tm en ts develop sh or t-r a n ge pla n s to
a ch ieve sh or t-r a n ge objectives. Wh en it
com es to eva lu a tion on ly 51 (67.1 per cen t) of
th e depa r tm en ts per iodica lly eva lu a te th e
per for m a n ce of th eir pla n n in g pr ocess, wh ile
68 (89.5 per cen t) eva lu a te th e per for m a n ce of
th e a th letic depa r tm en t.
Item
Athanasio s Krie madis
Strate gic planning in highe r
educ ation athletic
departments
Table II
Le ve l o f planning in NCAA divisio n I-A athle tic
de partme nts
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 6 [1 9 9 7 ] 2 3 8 –2 4 7
Plans
Structured long-range
Operational
Intuitive
Unstructured
Frequency
Percentage
33
28
13
2
43.4
36.8
17.1
2.6
Table III
Exte nt to whic h e xte rnal fac to rs are c o nside re d in the planning pro c e ss (in
de sc e nding o rde r o f c o nside ratio n)
Factors
Spectators
Trustees
University administration
NCCA trends
Education trends
Economic tax
Community
State/ federal
Demographics
Social trends
Businesses
Competitors
M edia
Suppliers
Parents
Technology
Civic organization
Political trends
Religious groups
Very little
or little
1
1
3
2
1
6
2
9
10
7
9
14
19
22
15
21
27
27
46
(1.3) a
(1.3)
(3.9)
(2.6)
(1.3)
(7.9)
(2.6)
(11.8)
(13.2)
(9.2)
(11.8)
(18.4)
(25.0)
(28.9)
(19.7)
(27.7)
(35.5)
(35.5)
(60.6)
Some
10 (13.2)
10 (13.2)
15 (19.7)
16 (21.1)
18 (23.7)
15 (19.7)
19 (25.0)
16(21.1)
22 (28.9)
29 (38.2)
30 (39.5)
26 (34.2)
22 (28.9)
21 (27.6)
30 (39.5)
25 (32.9)
34 (44.7)
35 (46.1)
17 (22.4)
Very great
or great
M ean
SD
65
65
58
58
57
55
55
51
44
40
37
36
35
33
31
30
15
14
13
4.30
4.30
4.17
4.08
3.99
4.03
4.01
3.89
3.60
3.53
3.41
3.40
3.27
3.17
3.37
3.20
2.80
2.71
2.32
0.75
0.75
0.93
0.86
0.74
0.95
0.82
1.05
1.07
0.94
0.86
1.03
1.14
1.23
1.06
1.10
0.94
1.07
1.20
(85.6)
(85.6)
(76.4)
(76.3)
(75.0)
(72.4)
(72.4)
(67.1)
(57.9)
(52.7)
(48.7)
(47.4)
(46.1)
(43.4)
(40.8)
(39.5)
(19.7)
(18.5)
(17.1)
Notes:
Frequenc y (perc entage)
Sc aling: 1 = very little; 2 = little; 3 = some; 4 = great; 5= very great
a
Table IV
Exte nt to whic h inte rnal fac to rs are c o nside re d in the planning pro c e ss (in
de sc e nding o rde r o f c o nside ratio n)
Factors
Financial preference
Facilities
Coaches’ opinion
Athletic academics
Athletic preference
Coaches’ preference
Staff preference
Administration preference
Athletes’ preference
Athletes’ opinion
Advisory committees
Very little
or little
1
2
1
(1.3) a
(2.6)
(1.3)
1 (1.3)
3 (3.9)
3 (3.9)
5 (6.6)
4 (5.3)
7 (9.2)
9 (11.8)
Some
9 (11.8)
8 (10.5)
11 (14.5)
13 (17.1)
14 (18.4)
12 (15.8)
14 (18.4)
18 (23.7)
26 (34.2)
23 (30.3)
34 (44.7)
Very great
or great
M ean
SD
66
66
64
63
61
61
55
53
46
46
33
4.37
4.08
4.03
4.26
4.08
4.01
3.92
3.90
3.75
3.64
3.42
0.80
0.67
0.63
0.74
0.73
0.76
0.75
0.92
0.83
0.87
0.84
(86.8)
(86.9)
(84.2)
(82.9)
(80.2)
(80.3)
(72.3)
(69.7)
(60.5)
(60.6)
(43.4)
Notes:
a Frequenc y (perc entage)
Sc aling: 1 = very little; 2 = little; 3 = some; 4 = great; 5= very great
w r itten , lon g-r a n ge pla n s; a ssessed th e exter n a l a n d in ter n a l en vir on m en ts; a n d esta blish ed str a te gies ba sed on depa r tm en t’s m ission , objectives. Con sequ en tly, 43.4 per cen t of
th e a th letic depa r tm en ts m ay be iden tified a s
str a te gic pla n n er s. Th e da ta in Ta ble II a lso
r evea l th a t 28 (36.8 per cen t) of th e a th letic
depa r tm en ts u tilize w r itten sh or t-r a n ge oper a tion a l pla n s of a ction a n d bu dgets for th e
cu r r en t fisca l per iod, wh ile 13 (17.1 per cen t)
of th e a th letic depa r tm en ts h ave n o w r itten
pla n s, bu t in stea d h ave developed sh or t-r a n ge
in for m a l, u n w r itten pla n s ba sed on th e in tu ition a n d exper ien ce of th e a dm in istr a tive
tea m . A ver y low per cen ta ge of th e a th letic
depa r tm en ts (2.6 per cen t) in dica ted th a t th ey
h a d n o m ea su r a ble str u ctu r ed pla n n in g.
Que stio nnaire ite m B
Th e da ta fr om th e r espon den ts (see Ta ble III)
in dica te th a t th e exter n a l fa ctor s con sider ed
to a “ver y gr ea t” or “gr ea t” exten t by 70 per
cen t or m or e of th e a th letic depa r tm en ts wh en
for m u la tin g th eir pla n s wer e: specta tor s,
boa r d of tr u stees, NCAA Division I-A tr en ds,
u n iver sity a dm in istr a tor s, edu ca tion a l
tr en ds,a n d econ om ic/ ta x con sider a tion s.
Th er e wer e n o fa ctor s con sider ed to a “ver y
little” or “little” exten t by 70 per cen t or m or e
of th e a th letic depa r tm en ts wh en for m u la tin g
th eir pla n s. Th e fa ctor con sider ed to th e
“lea st” exten t by 60.6 per cen t of th e a th letic
depa r tm en ts w a s r eligiou s gr ou ps.
Que stio nnaire ite m C
As n oted in Ta ble IV, it w a s fou n d th a t th e
in ter n a l fa ctor s con sider ed to a “ver y gr ea t”
or “gr ea t” exten t by 70 per cen t or m or e of th e
a th letic depa r tm en ts wh en for m u la tin g th eir
pla n s wer e: fin a n cia l per for m a n ce, a dequ a cy
of fa cilities, coa ch es’ opin ion , a th letes’ a ca dem ic a ch ievem en t, a th letic per for m a n ce,
coa ch es’ per for m a n ce, a n d a th letic depa r tm en t’s sta ff per for m a n ce.
Th er e wer e n o fa ctor s con sider ed to a “ver y
little” or “little” exten t by 70 per cen t or m or e
of th e a th letic depa r tm en ts wh en for m u la tin g
th eir pla n s.
Que stio nnaire ite m F
Th e da ta displayed in Ta ble V r evea l th a t th e
item s in cor por a ted to a “ver y gr ea t” or
“gr ea t” exten t by 70 per cen t or m or e of th e
a th letic depa r tm en ts wer e: fin a n cia l pla n ,
fa cilities m a ster pla n , a n d m a r k etin g pla n .
Th er e wer e n o item s in cor por a ted to a “ver y
little” or “little” exten t by 70 per cen t or m or e
of th e a th letic depa r tm en ts.
Que stio nnaire ite m G
Th e r espon din g a th letic depa r tm en ts (see
Ta ble VI), u tilize sh or t-r a n ge pla n s wh ich
cover a ppr oxim a tely two yea r s, a n d lon g[ 241 ]
r a n ge pla n s wh ich cover a ppr oxim a tely six
a n d a h a lf yea r s.
Athanasio s Krie madis
Strate gic planning in highe r
educ ation athletic
departments
Que stio nnaire ite m H
Th e r espon din g a th letic depa r tm en ts h ave
en ga ged in lon g-r a n ge pla n n in g for a bou t six
yea r s.
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 6 [1 9 9 7 ] 2 3 8 –2 4 7
Que stio nnaire ite m I
On ly 29 (38.2 per cen t) of th e a th letic depa r tm en ts h ave a lr ea dy esta blish ed a for m a l
pla n n in g com m ittee.
Que stio nnaire ite m J
Wh en a th letic depa r tm en ts wer e a sk ed
wh eth er th ey pla n to esta blish a for m a l pla n n in g com m ittee w ith in th e n ext two yea r s,
on ly eigh t (10.5 per cen t) in dica ted th a t th ey
pla n to esta blish su ch a com m ittee.
Table V
Exte nt to whic h the athle tic de partme nts inc o rpo rate the fo llo wing ite ms (in
de sc e nding o rde r o f c o nside ratio n)
Factors
Financial plan
Facilities plan
M arketing plan
Human resource plan
Contingency plan
Very little
or little
4 (5.3)
7 (9.2)
10 (13.2)
18 (23.6)
Some
5
13
12
25
34
(6.6) a
(17.1)
(15.8)
(32.9)
(44.7)
Very great
or great
M ean
SD
70
58
56
40
21
4.53
3.97
3.97
3.50
3.08
0.62
0.80
0.80
0.84
0.95
(92.1)
(76.3)
(73.7)
(52.6)
(27.6)
Notes:
Frequenc y (perc entage)
Sc aling: 1 = very little; 2 = little; 3 = some; 4 = great; 5= very great
a
Table VI
Numbe r o f ye ars sho rt- and lo ng-range plans
c o ve r
Plans
M ean
Short-range plans
Long-range plans
1.75
6.50
Table VII
Fac to rs that disc o urage strate gic planning in athle tic de partme nts (in
de sc e nding o rde r o f c o nside ratio n)
Factors
Very little
or little
Insufficient finance
Insufficient time
Personnel resistance
Communication
Insufficient training
Planning policy
Planning value
12
11
18
15
10
20
23
(27.9) a
(25.6)
(41.9)
(34.9)
(23.3)
(46.5)
(53.5)
Some
11
12
15
19
26
17
14
(25.6)
(27.9)
(34.9)
(44.2)
(60.5)
(39.5)
(32.6)
Very great
or great
M ean
SD
20 (46.5)
20 (46.5)
10 (23.3)
9 (21.0)
6 (13.9)
6 (13.9)
6 (13.9)
3.35
3.35
2.67
2.84
2.86
2.49
2.26
1.31
1.09
0.99
0.95
0.81
1.03
1.04
Notes:
Frequenc y (perc entage)
Sc aling: 1 = very little; 2 = little; 3 = some; 4 = great; 5= very great
a
[ 242 ]
Research question 2
Wh a t a r e th e key fa ctor s th a t discou r a ge
NCAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts fr om
en ga gin g in str a tegic pla n n in g a ctivities?
Que stio nnaire ite m D
As m en tion ed a bove, 43.4 per cen t of th e a th letic depa r tm en ts wer e en ga ged in str a tegic
pla n n in g, wh ile 56.6 per cen t wer e n ot iden tified a s str a tegic pla n n er s. Th e da ta displayed
in Ta ble VII r evea l wh ich fa ctor s discou r a ge
th ose a th letic depa r tm en ts n ot iden tifi ed a s
str a tegic pla n n er s (56.6 per cen t) fr om en ga gin g in str a tegic pla n n in g a ctivities. Ta ble VII
in dica tes th a t 46.5 per cen t of th e a th letic
depa r tm en ts n ot en ga ged in str a tegic pla n n in g iden tified in su fficien t fin a n cia l
r esou r ces a n d tim e a s fa ctor s th a t discou r a ge
th em to a “ver y gr ea t” or “gr ea t” exten t fr om
en ga gin g in str a tegic pla n n in g a ctivities. On
th e oth er h a n d, th er e wer e two fa ctor s (la ck of
pla n n in g policy, a n d pla n n in g n ot va lu ed by
a th letic depa r tm en ts) th a t discou r a ge 46 per
cen t or m or e of th e a th letic depa r tm en ts n ot
en ga ged in str a tegic pla n n in g to a “ver y little”
or “little” exten t. In ter estin gly, 60.5 per cen t of
th e a th letic depa r tm en ts in dica ted th a t in su fficien t exper ien ce a n d tr a in in g w a s a fa ctor
th a t discou r a ged th em to “som e” exten t fr om
en ga gin g in str a tegic pla n n in g a ctivities.
Research question 3
Is it possible to develop a gen er ic str a te gic
pla n n in g pr ocess m odel, wh ich ca n be im plem en ted by N CAA Division I-A a th letic
depa r tm en ts?
F igu r e 1 pr esen ts th e str a te gic pla n n in g
pr ocess m odel a s developed by th e r esea r ch er.
A br ief a n a lysis of th e sever a l steps in volved
in th e str a te gic pla n n in g pr ocess follow s.
Strategic planning process model
Strate gy fo rmulatio n
1 Wh eth er developin g a n ew or ga n iza tion or
r efor m u la tin g th e dir ection of a n on goin g
on e th e cu ltu r e, policies, va lu es, vision ,
m ission , a n d lon g-ter m objectives wh ich
w ill sh a pe a n or ga n iza tion ’s str a te gic
postu r e m u st be deter m in ed.
2 Th e existen ce of socia l, politica l, edu ca tion a l, dem ogr a ph ic, le ga l, econ om ic/ ta x,
tech n ologica l, a n d com petitive ch a n ges
r equ ir e a th letic depa r tm en ts to per for m
a n effective exter n a l en vir on m en ta l
a ssessm en t of th e existin g oppor tu n ities
a n d th r ea ts, a n d in th is w ay to a n ticipa te
a n d r espon d effectively to ch a n ges.
3 Ath letic depa r tm en ts sh ou ld eva lu a te
th eir str en gth s a n d wea k n esses wh ich
cou ld in flu en ce th e fu tu r e of th eir su r viva l
a n d gr ow th .
4 Per iodica lly, a th letic depa r tm en ts sh ou ld
r econ sider / r evise th eir sta ted va lu es,
Athanasio s Krie madis
Strate gic planning in highe r
educ ation athletic
departments
Figure 1
Strate gic planning pro c e ss mo de l
Establish
sho rt-te rm
o bje c tive s
Exte rnal
e nviro nme nt
asse ssme nt
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 6 [1 9 9 7 ] 2 3 8 –2 4 7
•Oppo rtunitie s
•Thre ats
Re c o nside r/
re vise
•Culture
•Po lic ie s
•Value s
•Visio n
•Missio n
•Lo ng-te rm
o bje c tive s
Inte rnal
e nviro nme nt
asse ssme nt
Se le c tio n o f
lo ng-te rm
strate gie s
•Culture
•Po lic ie s
•Value s
•Visio n
•Missio n
•Lo ng-te rm
o bje c tive s
Pe rfo rmanc e
me asure me nt
and
e valuato n
De ve lo p
sho rt-te rm
strate gie s
•Stre ngths
•We akne sse s
vision , m ission , a n d lon g-ter m objectives in
or der to be r espon sive to ch a n ges occu r r in g
in th eir exter n a l or in ter n a l envir on m en ts.
5 After th e a th letic depa r tm en t h a s esta blish ed its lon g-ter m objectives (ta k in g in to
con sider a tion exter n a l a n d in ter n a l en vir on m en ta l a ssessm en ts), th e selection of
lon g-ter m str a te gies th a t m eet th e depa r tm en t’s objectives sh ou ld be u n der ta k en .
Strate gy imple me ntatio n
On ce selection of lon g-ter m str a te gies h a s
been m a de, th e n ext step wou ld be th e esta blish m en t of sh or t-ter m objectives a n d sh or tter m str a te gies to a ch ieve lon g-ter m objectives a n d str a te gies.
Strate gy e valuatio n
Th e fin a l com pon en t in th e str a te gic pla n n in g
pr ocess is th e str a te gy eva lu a tion a n d is
essen tia l to en su r e th a t sta ted objectives a r e
bein g a ch ieved. Review in g in ter n a l a n d
exter n a l fa ctor s, m ea su r in g per for m a n ce,
a n d ta k in g cor r ective a ction s a r e th e a ctivities a ssocia ted w ith th is com pon en t.
Hypotheses tested
1 Th e exten t of str a te gic pla n n in g u sed by
N CAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts is
in depen den t of th e type of u n iver sity (pu blic ver su s pr iva te).
Ch i-squ a r e w a s per for m ed to deter m in e
wh eth er th er e w a s a r ela tion sh ip between
th e exten t of str a te gic pla n n in g u sed by
N CAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts
a n d type of th e u n iver sity (pu blic ver su s
pr iva te). Th e da ta displayed in Ta ble VIII
r evea led n o sign ifi ca n t r ela tion sh ip
between th e two va r ia bles.
2 Th e exten t of str a te gic pla n n in g u sed by
N CAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts is
in depen den t of th e u n iver sity size.
Th e a n a lysis in dica ted th a t th er e w a s n o
sign ifica n t r ela tion sh ip between th e exten t
of str a te gic pla n n in g a n d u n iver sity size in
N CAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts
(see Ta ble IX).
3 Th e exten t of str a te gic pla n n in g u sed by
N CAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts is
in depen den t of th e ba ck gr ou n d of a th letic
dir ector s.
Th e da ta wer e a n a lysed by u sin g Ch isqu a r e. Th e r esu lts dem on str a ted th a t
th er e w a s n o sign ifica n t r ela tion sh ip
between th e exten t of str a te gic pla n n in g
u sed by a th letic depa r tm en ts a n d ba ck gr ou n d of a th letic dir ector s (see Ta ble X).
Table VIII
Chi-square analysis o f the e xte nt o f strate gic
planning and type o f unive rsity
Chi-square
DF
Significance
0.029
2
0.99
Table IX
Chi-square analysis o f the e xte nt o f strate gic
planning and type o f unive rsity size
Chi-square
DF
Significance
2.06
4
0.72
[ 243 ]
Athanasio s Krie madis
Strate gic planning in highe r
educ ation athletic
departments
Table X
Chi-square analysis o f the e xte nt o f strate gic
planning and bac kgro und o f athle tic dire c to rs
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 6 [1 9 9 7 ] 2 3 8 –2 4 7
Chi-square
DF
Significance
6.75
4
0.15
Discussion, implications and
recommendations
Th is stu dy is a n a ttem pt to a ssist th e m a n a gem en t of a th letic depa r tm en ts by iden tifyin g
str a te gic pla n n in g a ctivities u tilized by
N CAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts a n d
by in tr odu cin g a str a te gic pla n n in g pr ocess
m odel wh ich ca n be u tilized in depa r tm en ta l
pla n n in g. Th e str a te gic pla n n in g pr ocess
m odel m ay h elp a th letic depa r tm en ts to th in k
str a te gica lly, cla r ify fu tu r e dir ection , dea l
effectively w ith r a pidly ch a n gin g en vir on m en ts, a n d a n ticipa te a n d in itia te ch a n ge.
Discussion
Mor e th a n 80 per cen t of th e ath letic depa r tm en ts in dica ted th a t th ey wer e involved in
str a tegic pla n n in g a ctivities su ch a s developin g vision , m ission , goa ls a n d objectives, lon gter m a n d sh or t-ter m str a tegies, a n d eva lu a tion pr ocedu r es. However, on ly 43.4 per cen t of
th e a th letic depa r tm en ts m ay be cla ssified a s
str a tegic pla n n er s sin ce on ly th a t per cen ta ge
m et th e cr iter ia of: h avin g for m a lized w r itten ,
lon g-r a n ge pla n s; h avin g a ssessed th e exter n a l a n d in ter n a l envir on m en ts; a n d h avin g
esta blish ed str a tegies ba sed on depa r tm en ta l
m ission a n d objectives. A m a jor ity of ath letic
depa r tm en ts (56.6 per cen t) wer e iden tified a s
n on -str a tegic pla n n er s even th ou gh th ey took
in to con sider a tion som e of th e str a tegic pla n n in g pr ocess com pon en ts. Th ey wer e exclu ded
beca u se th eir pla n n in g en deavou r s fell in to
on e of th e follow in g ca tegor ies: th ey u tilized
sh or t-r a n ge, w r itten pla n s of a ction a n d bu dgets for cu r r en t fisca l per iod (sh or t-r a n ge
pla n n er s); th ey u tilized sh or t-r a n ge, u n w r itten pla n s th at a r e stor ed in th e m em or ies of
th e a th letic depa r tm en t’s a dm in istr a tor s
(in tu itive pla n n er s); or th ey did n ot u se a n y
m ea su r a ble pla n n in g pr ocedu r es.
Accor din g to Ha r vey (1982), th e pu r pose of
th e developm en t of a str a te gic pla n is to m a in ta in or ga in a position of a dva n ta ge in r ela tion to com petitor s. On ce th e str a te gic pla n is
m a de, th e im plem en ta tion sta ge of th e pla n is
th e cr itica l step. Th e issu e of im plem en ta tion
w a s n ot r igor ou sly a ssessed in th is stu dy.
Con sequ en tly, it m ay be qu estion ed wh eth er
th e a th letic depa r tm en ts th a t h a d been iden tified a s str a te gic pla n n er s, a ctu a lly im plem en t
th e str a te gic pla n wh en m a k in g decision s
con cer n in g th e com m itm en t of depa r tm en t’s
[ 244 ]
r esou r ces tow a r ds th e desir ed objectives.
Th is position is su ppor ted to som e de gr ee by
th e follow in g fin din gs su r fa cin g in th is stu dy:
1 A sm a ll per cen ta ge of th e a th letic depa r tm en ts (38.2 per cen t) h ave esta blish ed a
for m a l pla n n in g com m ittee. In a ddition ,
lon g-r a n ge pla n n in g exper ien ce is on ly
a bou t six yea r s old. Given th e la ck of exper ien ce a n d a for m a l pla n n in g com m ittee,
it does n ot seem lik ely th a t m a n y of th e
a th letic depa r tm en ts system a tica lly
a dh er e in th e en tir e str a te gic pla n n in g
pr ocess, i.e. for m u la tion , im plem en ta tion ,
a n d eva lu a tion .
2 Th er e seem to be differ in g opin ion s con cer n in g th e n u m ber of yea r s th e sh or t- a n d
lon g-r a n ge pla n s sh ou ld cover. With th e
exter n a l en vir on m en t ch a n gin g so r a pidly,
a th letic depa r tm en ts m u st r ea lize th a t
th ey h ave to r edu ce th e per iod of tim e th e
sh or t- a n d lon g-r a n ge pla n s cover.
3 Ath letic depa r tm en ts do n ot seem to su fficien tly con sider th e h u m a n r esou r ces
fa ctor a n d th e developm en t of con tin gen cy
pla n s in th eir pla n n in g a ctivities. Th ese
two su ppor t a ctivities a r e tim e con su m in g.
Sin ce tim e a n d exper tise a r e two sign ifi ca n t fa ctor s th a t in flu en ce a th letic depa r tm en ts n ot to pla n , th ese two fa ctor s m igh t
a lso be sign ifica n t in a th letic depa r tm en ts
n ot im plem en tin g th e str a te gic pla n . To
th e con tr a r y, th e str a te gic pla n n in g liter a tu r e in dica tes th a t sign ifica n t con sider a tion m u st be given to th e developm en t of a
h u m a n r esou r ces pla n . David (1989) su ggested th a t even a well-design ed str a te gic
pla n ca n fa il if in su fficien t a tten tion is
given to th e h u m a n r esou r ces dim en sion .
Re ga r din g th e im por ta n ce of developin g
con tin gen cy pla n s, Pea r ce a n d Robin son
(1985) sta ted th a t for or ga n iza tion s to im pr ove
th eir a bility to cope w ith ch a n ge, th ey m u st
a dopt a con tin gen cy a ppr oa ch to str a te gic
pla n n in g a n d m u st develop con tin gen cy
pla n s. Th e su ccess of th e str a te gy ch osen is
con tin gen t to va r yin g de gr ees on fu tu r e con dition s. Ba sed on th is im por ta n t obser va tion ,
a dm in istr a tor s sh ou ld iden tify scen a r ios,
develop a lter n a tives, a n d for m u la te con tin gen cy str a te gies for th e a th letic depa r tm en t.
In th is w ay, th ey w ill a lw ays a n ticipa te a n d
r espon d to ch a n ges effectively.
A sm a ll per cen ta ge of Division I-A a th letic
depa r tm en ts a r e fin a n cia lly self-su ppor tin g
(Atwell et al., 1980; Ra ibor n , 1990). Ath letic
dir ector s, a lr ea dy u n der fin a n cia l du r ess, h ave
n ot seen th e va lu e of u tilizin g sca r ce r esou r ces
for en ga gin g in str ategic pla n n in g a ctivities.
Sin ce con tr a dictor y fin din gs h ave been dr aw n
fr om stu dies con cer n in g th e r ela tion sh ip
between str a tegic pla n n in g a n d fin a n cia l
Athanasio s Krie madis
Strate gic planning in highe r
educ ation athletic
departments
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 6 [1 9 9 7 ] 2 3 8 –2 4 7
per for m a n ce, a th letic dir ector s m ay n ot w ish
to expen d r esou r ces on a n “u n pr oven ” ven tu r e. In su fficien t tr a in in g in str ategic pla n n in g pr a ctices m ay be a n oth er fa ctor wh ich
discou r a ges a th letic dir ector s fr om en ga gin g
in str ategic pla n n in g. Th e ava ila bility, cost,
a n d tim e for tr a in in g does n ot r ea dily len d
itself to th e n eeds of a th letic depa r tm en ts to
becom e pr oficien t in th e str ategic pla n n in g
pr ocess.
Th e stu dy pr ovided eviden ce th a t th e exten t
of str a te gic pla n n in g u sed by N CAA Division
I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts does n ot seem to be
r ela ted to th e type of u n iver sity, u n iver sity
size, a n d ba ck gr ou n d of a th letic dir ector s.
Accor din g to Steiss (1985), th e con cept of
str a te gic pla n n in g fi r st fou n d a pplica tion in
th e pr iva te sector. Th e str a te gic pla n n in g
pr ocess w a s design ed to pr ovide dir ection to
th e or ga n iza tion a n d gu ide a ll its oper a tion a l
a ctivities. However, m ost of th e fu n da m en ta l
a ppr oa ch es, m eth ods, a n d pr ocedu r es of
str a te gic pla n n in g a r e dir ectly a pplica ble to
th e pu blic or n on -pr ofi t sector. Ba sed on th is
obser va tion , th is a u th or is won der in g wh y
a th letic depa r tm en ts in pr iva te u n iver sities
h ave n ot ta k en gr ea ter a dva n ta ge of th is pla n n in g pr ocess wh en com pa r ed w ith pu blic
u n iver sities.
David (1989) n oted th a t str a te gic pla n n in g
in sm a ll fir m s is m or e in for m a l th a n in la r ge
fir m s. It w a s su r pr isin g to th is a u th or th a t
la r ge u n iver sities h ave n ot a dopted a str a tegic pla n n in g a ppr oa ch to decision m a k in g to
a gr ea ter exten t wh en com pa r ed w ith sm a ll
u n iver sities.
Wh ile som e a th letic dir ector s h a d wor k
exper ien ces fr om th e pr iva te sector, it wou ld
seem th a t th ey eith er did n ot tr a n sfer th eir
k n ow ledge a n d exper ien ces in str a te gic pla n n in g or h a d n ot a cqu ir ed th e n ecessa r y sk ills
in str a te gic pla n n in g to be a ble to tr a n sfer
th em to th e a th letic depa r tm en t’s en vir on m en t. Th is m ay be a ttr ibu ted to th e fa ct th a t
th e a th letic depa r tm en t decision m a k er s m ay
la ck th e n ecessa r y h u m a n a n d fin a n cia l
r esou r ces to u n der ta k e str a te gic pla n n in g
a ctivities. An oth er possible r ea son cou ld be
th a t u n iver sity a dm in istr a tion does n ot
en cou r a ge th e for m u la tion a n d im plem en ta tion of th e str a te gic pla n n in g pr ocess in a th letic depa r tm en t decision m a k in g.
Implications
Th e fin din gs pr esen ted a n d discu ssed a bove
h ave im plica tion s for th e developm en t a n d
u se of th e str a te gic pla n n in g pr ocess in a th letic depa r tm en ts:
1 Th e pr oposed str a te gic pla n n in g pr ocess
m odel is a w ay of h elpin g a th letic a dm in istr a tor s th in k a n d a ct str a te gica lly. By r ecogn izin g a n d a n a lysin g k ey va r ia bles in
th e pr oposed m odel, a th letic depa r tm en ts
w ill be better a ble to: esta blish a n d per iodica lly r eview m ission a n d objective sta tem en ts; iden tify exter n a l a n d in ter n a l va r ia bles a n d th eir in ter r ela tion sh ips; a n d
for m u la te, im plem en t, a n d eva lu a te th eir
str a te gies. Th e iden tifica tion of th ese va r ia bles w ill con tr ibu te to th e developm en t of
r ea listic decision s in th e ligh t of th eir
fu tu r e con sequ en ces.
2. Sin ce th e two m ost sign ifica n t con str a in ts to
str ategic pla n n in g wer e in su fficien t fin a n cia l r esou r ces a n d tim e, ath letic depa r tm en ts n eed to r ecogn ize th ese con str a in ts
a n d be willin g to com m it th e fin a n cia l
r esou r ces a n d tim e, if th ey a r e to su ppor t
th e im plem en tation of th e str ategic pla n .
3 If str ategic pla n n in g is to be con sider ed a s
a n im por ta n t a dm in istr ative r espon sibility
(a s su ggested by th e liter atu r e), a n d if
a n oth er sign ifica n t con str a in t to str ategic
pla n n in g is in su fficien t tr a in in g a n d exper ien ce in pla n n in g pr ocedu r es, th en ath letic
depa r tm en ts sh ou ld pr ovide n ecessa r y
pla n n in g sk ills th r ou gh edu cation a l pr ogr a m m es. In th is way, decision m a ker s will
begin to con sider str ategic pla n n in g a s on e
of th eir pr im a r y r espon sibilities r ath er
th a n a n a ddition a l ta sk . Edu cation a l pr ogr a m m es em ph a sizin g su ch sk ills a s h u m a n
r elation s, a n a lytica l th in k in g, tim e m a n a gem en t, a n d pa r ticipator y decision m a k in g
ca n gr eatly a ssist ath letic depa r tm en ts in
ca r r yin g ou t th e str ategic pla n n in g pr ocess.
4. In developin g th e str a te gic pla n n in g
pr ocess m odel, th ose wh o wer e iden tified
a s str a te gic pla n n er s in dica ted th a t th ey
r elied h eavily on th e exper tise of con su lta n ts. It wou ld, th er efor e, seem a dvisa ble
th a t ou tside con su lta tion a n d fa cilita tion
ca n h elp a th letic a dm in istr a tor s in th e
a pplica tion of th e str a te gic pla n n in g
pr ocess for th eir r espective depa r tm en ts.
Recommendations for further study
Th e liter a tu r e in th e a r ea of str a te gic pla n n in g in in ter colle gia te a th letics is ver y lim ited. Th er e a ppea r s to be a n ever in cr ea sin g
in ter est in th is a r ea , a n d fu r th er stu dies
cou ld pr ove to be ben efi cia l. Ba sed on th e
fin din gs of th is stu dy, th e follow in g r ecom m en da tion s a r e offer ed for fu tu r e r esea r ch :
1 Follow -u p stu dies sh ou ld be don e to th e
sa m e sa m ple in th r ee to five yea r s to in vestiga te possible ch a n ges in th e u tiliza tion of
th e str a te gic pla n n in g pr ocess.
2 Resea r ch n eeds to be don e to th e sa m e
popu la tion (N CAA Division I-A a th letic
depa r tm en ts) to a ssess qu a lita tively th e
exten t of str a te gic pla n n in g.
Qu a lita tive ca se stu dies r ely on da ta
obta in ed fr om in ter view s, obser va tion s,
[ 245 ]
Athanasio s Krie madis
Strate gic planning in highe r
educ ation athletic
departments
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 6 [1 9 9 7 ] 2 3 8 –2 4 7
a n d th e stu dy of officia l docu m en ts. Som e
of th e in ter view a n d obser va tion issu es
wou ld a ddr ess m em ber sh ip of th e pla n n in g
com m ittee, th e type of data u sed in pla n n in g, th e m eth ods u sed to obta in th e data ,
th e type of lea der sh ip beh aviou r wh ich
a ppea r s to be n eeded to en su r e th e su ccess
of th e pla n n in g effor t, a n d th e r esista n ce
th a t is en cou n ter ed in ga in in g com m itm en t to str a tegic pla n n in g. Th e stu dy of
officia l docu m en ts wou ld r evea l th e exten t
to wh ich th ese docu m en ts a ddr ess th em selves to str a tegic issu es su ch a s th e exter n a l or in ter n a l envir on m en ta l a ssessm en t.
3 A com pa r a tive stu dy of str a te gic pla n n in g
sh ou ld be con du cted a m on g th e N CAA
Division s (I, II, a n d III).
4 A u sefu l investigation m igh t a lso be u n der ta ken to a ssess th e r elation sh ip between th e
exten t of str ategic pla n n in g a ctivities u sed
by ath letic depa r tm en ts a n d th e fin a n cia l
per for m a n ce or pr odu ctivity of th ese
depa r tm en ts. It wou ld be n ecessa r y to establish wh ich m ea su r es of fin a n cia l per for m a n ce or pr odu ctivity wou ld be appr opr iate. A su ggestion con cer n in g a m ea su r e of
fin a n cia l per for m a n ce for ath letic depa r tm en ts m igh t be th e per cen ta ge of self-gen er ated r even u e. Exa m ples of self-gen er ated
r even u e a r e ticket sa les, con cession s, spon sor sh ips, TV a n d r a dio, etc., a s opposed to
u n iver sity fu n din g. An oth er su ggestion
con cer n in g a m ea su r e of pr odu ctivity of
ath letic depa r tm en ts m igh t be th e in -con fer en ce a n d n ation a l per for m a n ce of th e
tota l ath letic pr ogr a m m e.
5 F in a lly, fu tu r e r esea r ch sh ou ld be design ed
to esta blish th e va lidity a n d r elia bility of a
str a te gic pla n n in g su r vey in str u m en t
wh ich cou ld be u sed in a n y N CAA a th letic
depa r tm en t to eva lu a te th e qu a n tity a n d
qu a lity of str a te gic pla n n in g a ctivities
wh ich a r e occu r r in g, a n d th e effectiven ess
of th e im plem en ta tion of th ose str a te gic
pla n s th a t h ave been developed.
References
Agw u , P. (1992), “Str a te gic pla n n in g in h igh er
edu ca tion : a stu dy of a pplica tion in Ar k a n sa s
sen ior colle ges a n d u n iver sities”, Disser ta tion
A b stra cts In ter n a tion a l, DAI-A 53/ 08, 0745
(Un iver sity Micr ofi lm s N o. AAC 9300582).
An soff, H.I. (1984), Im pla n tin g S tra tegic M a n a gem en t, P r en tice-Ha ll, E n glewood Cliffs, N J .
An soff, H.I. a n d McDon n ell, E . (1990), Im pla n tin g
S tra tegic M a n a gem en t (2n d ed.), P r en ticeHa ll, E n glewood Cliffs, N J .
Atwell, R.H., Gr im es, B. a n d Lopia n o, D.A. (1980),
T h e M on ey Ga m e, Am er ica n Cou n cil of E du ca tion , Wa sh in gton , DC.
Ba llou , P. (1988), “A m odel of str a te gic pla n n in g for
pu blic sch ools”, Disser ta tion A b stra cts
[ 246 ]
In ter n a tion a l, DAI-A 49/ 11, 0514 (Un iver sity
Micr ofi lm s N o. AAC 8825986).
Ba n k , B. (1992), “Str a te gic m a n a gem en t in n on pr ofi t a r t or ga n iza tion s: a n a n a lysis of cu r r en t pr a ctice”, Disser ta tion A b stra cts In ter n a tion a l, MAI 32/ 01, 0454 (Un iver sity Micr ofilm s
N o. AAC 1353924).
Ba r r y, B.W. (1986), S tra tegic Pla n n in g Work b ook
for N on -profi t Orga n iz a tion s, Am h er st H.
Wilder Fou n da tion , St P a u l, MI.
Br yson , J .M. (1988), S tra tegic Pla n n in g for Pu blic
a n d N on -profi t Orga n iz a tion s, J ossey-Ba ss,
Sa n F r a n cisco, CA.
Br yson , J.M., F r eem a n , R. E . a n d Roer in g, W. D.
(1986), “Str a tegic pla n n in g in th e pu blic sector :
a ppr oa ch es a n d dir ection s”, in Ch eckow ay, B.
(E d.), S trategic Perspectiv es on Plan n in g Practice, Lexin gton Book s, Lexin gton , MA.
Br yson , J .M., Va n de Ven , A.H. a n d Roer in g, W.D.
(1987), “Str a te gic pla n n in g a n d r evita liza tion
of th e pu blic ser vice”, in Den h a r dt, R. a n d
J en n in gs, E . (E ds), T ow a rd a N ew Pu blic
S er vice, Ex ten sion Pu blica tion , Un iver sity of
Missou r i, Colu m bia , MO.
Bu ch er, C.A. (1987), M a n a gem en t of Ph ysica l Ed u ca tion a n d A th letic Progra m s, C.V. Mosby
Com pa n y, St Lou is, MI.
Bu h ler -Miko, M. (1985), A T ru stee’s Gu id e to
S tra tegic Pla n n in g, High er E du ca tion Str a tegic P la n n in g In stitu te, Wa sh in gton , DC.
Bu sler, B. (1992), “Th e r ole of str a te gic pla n n in g
a n d its effect on decision m a k in g in Wiscon sin pu blic sch ools”, Disser ta tion A b stra cts
In ter n a tion a l, DAI-A 53/ 07, 0514 (Un iver sity
Micr ofi lm s N o. AAC 9223867).
Ca m er on , K. (1983), “Str a te gic r espon ses to con dition s of declin e in h igh er edu ca tion a n d pr iva te sector ”, J ou r n a l of High er Ed u ca tion ,
Vol. 54 N o. 4, pp. 359-80.
Coolba u gh , J . (1993), “An a n a lysis of str a te gic
pla n n in g in Ca lifor n ia cities”, Disser ta tion
A b stra cts In ter n a tion a l, DAI-A 55/ 05, 0999
(Un iver sity Micr ofi lm s N o. AAC 9426151).
David, F. (1989), S tra tegic M a n a gem en t, Mer r ill,
Colu m bu s, OH.
DeRose, J .W. (1986), “A com pa r ison of distr ict level
pla n n in g pr a ctices in selected Pen n sylva n ia
sch ool distr icts to th e liter a tu r e of pla n n in g”,
Disser ta
departments
Athanasios Kriemadis
Ministry o f Educ atio n, Argo s, Gre e c e
The primary purposes of this
study were: to determine the
extent to which the strategic
planning process was being
used in NCAA Division I-A
athletic departments; to
identify the key factors that
discourage the abovementioned departments from
engaging in strategic planning
activities; to develop and
recommend a generic strategic planning process model,
which could be implemented
by the athletic departments;
and to examine the relationships between the extent of
strategic planning used by the
athletic departments and
these selected variables: type
of the university (private
versus public), university size,
and background of athletic
directors. All 106 NCAA Division I-A athletic departments
were surveyed. The response
rate was 72 per cent. Findings
of this study were as follows:
33 (43.4 per cent) of the
athletic departments were
classifi ed as strategic planners; insufficient fi nancial
resources and time were the
factors that highly discouraged the athletic departments
from engaging in strategic
planning; a strategic planning
process model was developed
and an analysis of its several
components was presented;
the extent of strategic planning used by the athletic
departments was not related
to the type of university,
university size, and the background of athletic directors.
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 6 [ 1997] 2 3 8 –2 4 7
© MCB Unive rsity Pre ss
[ ISSN 0951-354X]
[ 238 ]
Introduction
Th r ou gh ou t h u m a n h istor y, people h ave been
en ga ged in som e sor t of pla n n in g in or der to
a ccom plish design a ted goa ls a n d objectives.
Mu ch of th e pla n n in g liter a tu r e cu r r en tly
bein g pu blish ed a ddr esses th e n ecessity of
pla n n in g in th e pr ofi t a n d n on -pr ofi t sector s.
Accor din g to Bu h ler -Miko (1985), “m a ster
pla n n in g w a s th e vogu e in th e sixties, lon gr a n ge pla n n in g in th e seven ties, a n d str a te gic
pla n n in g for th e deca des of th e eigh ties a n d
n in eties” (p. 1).
Th e bu sin ess sector of society h a s lon g r ecogn ized th a t con tin u ed pr ofita bility r equ ir es
m a in ta in in g a str a tegic fit between th e or ga n iza tion a l goa ls a n d ca pa bilities a n d th e
ch a n gin g societa l a n d econ om ic con dition s.
As th ese envir on m en ta l ch a n ges evolved,
bu sin esses developed pla n n in g system s wh ich
m a de possible co-or din a ted a n d effective
r espon ses to in cr ea sin g u n pr edicta bility,
n ovelty, a n d com plexity (An soff, 1984).
Accor din g to Br yson (1988), str a te gic pla n n in g, wh ich h a s developed in th e pr iva te
sector, ca n h elp pu blic a n d n on -pr ofi t or ga n iza tion s a n ticipa te a n d r espon d effectively to
th eir dr a m a tica lly ch a n gin g en vir on m en ts.
Most of th e fu n da m en ta l a ppr oa ch es a n d
m eth ods of cor por a te m a n a gem en t a r e a pplica ble to th e pu blic a n d n on -pr ofi t m a n a gem en t
a r ea . However, pu blic a n d n on -pr ofi t pla n n er s
m u st be aw a r e th a t cor por a te str a te gic pla n n in g “em br a ces a r a n ge of a ppr oa ch es th a t
va r y in th eir a pplica bility to th e pu blic a n d
n on -pr ofit sector s a n d in th e con dition s th a t
gover n th eir su ccessfu l u se” (p. 43). Str a te gic
th ou gh t a n d a ction h ave becom e in cr ea sin gly
im por ta n t a n d h ave been a dopted by pu blic
a n d n on -pr ofi t pla n n er s to en a ble th em to
su ccessfu lly a da pt to th e fu tu r e (Ba n k , 1992;
Br yson , 1988; Coolba u gh , 1993; Du n ca n , 1990;
E spy, 1988; Laycock , 1990; Medley, 1988; N elson , 1990; Robin son , 1992; Str eib a n d Poister,
1990; Wilson , 1990).
Th e edu ca tion a l sector h a s be gu n to r ecogn ize th a t pla n n in g is n ecessa r y in or der to
m a in ta in its ow n r espon siven ess to a r a pidly
ch a n gin g en vir on m en t (Agw u , 1992; Bu sler,
1992; DeRose, 1986; Ha ll, 1994; Potgieter, 1992;
Sch illin g, 1987; Sch m eltzer, 1983; Sm ith et a l.,
1987; Spen ce, 1982; Wa lk er, 1990; Willia m s,
1992). Ca m er on (1983) sta ted th a t “th e fu tu r e
of colle ges a n d u n iver sities a s or ga n iza tion s
in clu des con dition s of declin e wh ich r equ ir e
a n ew set of a dm in istr a tive a n d or ga n iza tion a l r espon ses” (p. 359). Today’s colle ges
a n d u n iver sities h ave exper ien ced r a pid
ch a n ge. E du ca tion a l a dm in istr a tor s a r e con fr on ted w ith ch a n ges a ssocia ted w ith a gein g
fa cilities, ch a n gin g tech n ology, ch a n gin g
dem ogr a ph ics, in cr ea sin g com petition , r isin g
costs, fu n din g cu ts, etc. E du ca tion a l a dm in istr a tor s a r e ch a llen ged to a n ticipa te ch a n ges
a n d to for m u la te pr oa ctive r espon ses th a t
w ill en h a n ce th e edu ca tion a l pr ocesses u sed
on colle ge a n d u n iver sity ca m pu ses. Som e of
th e m a jor issu es edu ca tion a l a dm in istr a tor s
a r e fa cin g in clu de: th e fin a n cin g of h igh er
edu ca tion ; in cr ea sin g levels of in volvem en t
by pu blic officia ls in th e pr ocesses of h igh er
edu ca tion ; a n d th e br oa den in g of th e ba sis for
k n ow ledge w ith in con tem por a r y society
(Osta r, 1989). Con fr on ted w ith th e u n pr eceden ted m a gn itu de of ch a n ges a n u m ber of
colle ges a n d u n iver sities h ave tu r n ed to
str a te gic pla n n in g wh ich is design ed to h elp
or ga n iza tion s r espon d effectively to th eir
n ew situ a tion s (Ba llou , 1988; Ca m er on , 1983;
Kotler a n d Mu r ph y, 1982; Livesey, 1990; Ma n h eim er, 1989; Ma zu r, 1991; Mor ga n , 1994;
Reich r a th , 1990; Toll, 1982).
Sin ce a th letic pr ogr a m m es a r e so m u ch a
pa r t of h igh er edu cation in stitu tion s, a th letic
depa r tm en ts fa ce th e sa m e pr oblem s a s do
in stitu tion s to wh ich th ey belon g. Ath letic
a dm in istr a tor s m u st n ow dea l w ith per iods of
declin e, gover n m en ta l m a n dates a n d gu idelin es, a n d fin a n cia l difficu lties (Lew is, 1979).
Also, em ph a sis m u st be on pla cin g th e
a th letic depa r tm en t in a com petitive position
in ch a n gin g envir on m en ts beca u se ath letic
pr ogr a m m es h ave evolved to a poin t wh er e
th ey com pete for a segm en t of th e en ter ta in m en t m a r k et. If a th letic depa r tm en ts a r e to
r espon d, th ey m u st a n ticipate ch a n ge a n d
a da pt pr ogr a m m es a n d r esou r ces to m eet
th eir m ission a n d objectives (Bu ch er, 1987).
Str a tegic pla n n in g m ay h elp a th letic depa r tm en ts a n ticipate a n d r espon d effectively to
th eir n ew situ a tion s, a n d develop str a tegies
n ecessa r y to a ch ieve th e a th letic depa r tm en t’s
m ission a n d objectives (Dyson et a l., 1989;
Sm ith , 1985; Su tton a n d Miglior e, 1988).
Athanasio s Krie madis
Strate gic planning in highe r
educ ation athletic
departments
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 6 [1 9 9 7 ] 2 3 8 –2 4 7
Purpose of the study
Th e pr im a r y pu r poses of th is stu dy wer e to
deter m in e th e exten t to wh ich th e str a tegic
pla n n in g pr ocess is bein g u sed in Nation a l
Collegia te Ath letic Association (NCAA) Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts; iden tify th e key
fa ctor s th a t discou r a ge NCAA Division I-A
a th letic depa r tm en ts fr om en ga gin g in str a tegic pla n n in g a ctivities; to develop a n d r ecom m en d a gen er ic str a tegic pla n n in g pr ocess
m odel, wh ich ca n be im plem en ted by NCAA
Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts. Th e developm en t of th is m odel wa s ba sed on th e r eview
of liter a tu r e a n d th e r ecom m en da tion s fr om a
selected n u m ber of a th letic depa r tm en ts
wh ich h a d been iden tified a s str a tegic pla n n er s; a n d to exa m in e th e r ela tion sh ips
between th e exten t of str a tegic pla n n in g u sed
by NCAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts
a n d th ese selected va r ia bles: type of th e u n iver sity (pu blic ver su s pr iva te); u n iver sity
size; a n d ba ck gr ou n d of a th letic dir ector s.
Th e stu dy a ddr essed th e follow in g r esea r ch
qu estion s a n d h ypoth eses.
Research questions
Th e r esea r ch qu estion s to be exa m in ed for th e
descr iptive pa r t of th e stu dy wer e a s follow s:
1 To wh a t exten t is th e str a te gic pla n n in g
pr ocess bein g u sed in N CAA Division I-A
a th letic depa r tm en ts?
2 Wh a t a r e th e k ey fa ctor s th a t discou r a ge
N CAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts
fr om en ga gin g in str a te gic pla n n in g a ctivities?
3 Is it possible to develop a gen er ic str a te gic
pla n n in g pr ocess m odel, wh ich ca n be
im plem en ted by N CAA Division I-A
a th letic depa r tm en ts?
Hypotheses tested
1 Th e exten t of str a te gic pla n n in g u sed by
N CAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts is
in depen den t of th e type of th e u n iver sity
(pu blic ver su s pr iva te).
2 Th e exten t of str a te gic pla n n in g u sed by
N CAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts is
in depen den t of u n iver sity size.
3 Th e exten t of str a te gic pla n n in g u sed by
N CAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts is
in depen den t of th e ba ck gr ou n d of a th letic
dir ector s.
Significance of the study
Lea der s a n d m a n a ger s of n on -pr ofi t
or ga n iza tion s a n d com m u n ities fa ce difficu lt
ch a llen ges in th e yea r s a h ea d. Accor din g to
Br yson (1988), som e exa m ples of th e sever a l
tr en ds a n d even ts a r e th e dem ogr a ph ic
ch a n ges, va lu e sh ifts, th e pr iva tiza tion of th e
pu blic ser vices, sh ifts in feder a l a n d sta te
fu n din g pr ior ities, a vola tile econ om y, a n d th e
in cr ea sed im por ta n ce of th e n on -pr ofit sector.
Th is tu r bu len ce is a ggr ava ted by th e
in cr ea sed in ter con n ectedn ess of th e wor ld, so
th a t ch a n ges a n ywh er e typica lly r esu lt in
ch a n ges elsewh er e (Lu k e, 1988).
Ath letic a dm in istr ator s, ju st a s n on -pr ofit
lea der s a n d a ca dem ic a dm in istr ator s, m u st
dea l w ith th is tu r bu len t envir on m en t. Mor eover, in ter collegiate ath letic pr ogr a m m es h ave
evolved to a poin t wh er e th ey com pete for a
segm en t of th e en ter ta in m en t m a r ket. Th e
fu tu r e of in ter collegiate ath letics will depen d
on th e ability of th e ath letic depa r tm en ts to
r espon d effectively to th eir n ew situ ation s, a n d
to develop str ategies n ecessa r y to a ch ieve th e
ath letic depa r tm en t’s m ission a n d objectives.
A n u m ber of a u th or s (An soff a n d McDon n ell, 1990; Ba r r y, 1986; Br yson et a l., 1986, 1987;
Rowe et a l., 1989; Stein er, 1979) a r gu e th a t
str a te gic pla n n in g ca n h elp or ga n iza tion s in
th is tu r bu len t en vir on m en t to:
• th in k str a te gica lly a n d develop effective
str a te gies;
• cla r ify fu tu r e dir ection ;
• esta blish pr ior ities;
• develop a coh er en t a n d defen sible ba sis for
decision m a k in g;
• im pr ove or ga n iza tion a l per for m a n ce;
• dea l effectively w ith r a pidly ch a n gin g
cir cu m sta n ces;
• a n ticipa te fu tu r e pr oblem s a n d oppor tu n ities;
• bu ild tea m wor k a n d exper tise; a n d
• pr ovide em ployees w ith clea r objectives
a n d dir ection s for th e fu tu r e of th e or ga n iza tion a n d in cr ea se th eir m otiva tion a n d
sa tisfa ction .
New m a n a n d Wa llen der (1987) su ggested th at
ba sic m a n a gem en t con cepts sh ou ld be applied
to both pr ofit a n d n on -pr ofit or ga n ization s.
Th is stu dy is u sefu l in exten din g th e con cept of
str ategic pla n n in g to in ter collegiate ath letics.
Th e stu dy will be u sefu l in h elpin g a th letic
a dm in istr ator s to fu r th er th eir u n der sta n din g
of th e str ategic pla n n in g pr ocess in th eir
r espective ath letic depa r tm en ts. Mor e specifica lly, th e pr esen t stu dy of str ategic pla n n in g
pr ocess in NCAA Division I-A ath letic depa r tm en ts pr ovided in for m ation abou t th e exten t
of th e str ategic pla n n in g pr ocess cu r r en tly
bein g u sed in th ese ath letic depa r tm en ts, a n d
th e r elation sh ips between th e exten t of str ategic pla n n in g u sed by NCAA Division I-A ath letic depa r tm en ts a n d th ese selected va r iables:
type of u n iver sity (pu blic ver su s pr ivate);
[ 239 ]
Athanasio s Krie madis
Strate gic planning in highe r
educ ation athletic
departments
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 6 [1 9 9 7 ] 2 3 8 –2 4 7
u n iver sity size; a n d ba ck gr ou n d of ath letic
dir ector s. Secon d, th e r esea r ch pr ovided
in sigh t in to th ose or ga n ization a l fa ctor s wh ich
discou r a ge th e u se of th e str ategic pla n n in g
pr ocess. A gen er ic str ategic pla n n in g pr ocess
m odel wa s developed th at ca n be im plem en ted
by NCAA Division I-A ath letic depa r tm en ts.
Research methods and procedures
Population
Th e popu la tion of th e stu dy con sisted of a ll
106 N CAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts.
Instrument development
Sin ce a va lida ted in str u m en t h a d n ot yet been
developed to m ea su r e str a te gic pla n n in g
a ctivities in a th letic depa r tm en ts, a qu estion n a ir e w a s developed by th e r esea r ch er ba sed
on th e r eviewed liter a tu r e on str a te gic pla n n in g a s well a s on in pu t a n d su ggestion s fr om
r eview s offer ed by a selected pa n el of exper ts.
Instrument validity and reliability
Instrume nt validity
Th e con ten t va lidity of th e qu estion n a ir e w a s
deter m in ed by a pa n el of exper ts in th e fi elds
of str a te gic pla n n in g, h igh er edu ca tion , m a n a gem en t, m a r k etin g r esea r ch , a n d Division IA Con fer en ce Com m ission er s.
Instrume nt re liability
Th e r elia bility of th e su r vey in str u m en t w a s
a ssessed th r ou gh Cr on ba ch ’s coefficien t
a lph a (a ). All coefficien ts a lph a wer e w ith in
a ccepta ble r a n ges for com pa r a ble in str u m en ta tion s (N u m m a lly, 1967).
Que stio nnaire ite m E
Ta ble II r evea ls th a t on ly 33 (43.4 per cen t) of
th e a th letic depa r tm en ts h ave: for m a lized
Table I
Ac tivitie s inc lude d in the athle tic de partme nt’ s
c urre nt planning pro c e ss
Frequency
Percentage
Vision
Yes
No
71
5
93.4
6.6
M ission
Yes
No
69
7
90.8
9.2
Strengths/ weaknesses
Yes
No
71
5
93.4
6.6
Opportunities/ threats
Yes
No
63
13
82.9
17.1
Goals/ objectives
Yes
No
75
1
98.7
1.3
Long-range plans
Yes
No
70
6
92.1
7.9
Short-range plans
Yes
No
71
5
93.4
6.6
Research question 1
Wh a t is th e exten t to wh ich th e str a te gic
pla n n in g pr ocess is bein g u sed in N CAA
Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts?
Evaluation of planning
process
Yes
No
51
25
67.1
32.9
Que stio nnaire ite m A
Accor din g to th e su r vey r espon ses, 71 (93.4
per cen t) of th e N CAA Division I-A a th letic
Performance evaluation
Yes
No
68
8
89.5
10.5
Presentation and analysis of data
A tota l of 76 (72 per cen t) of th e a th letic
depa r tm en ts r espon ded to th e su r vey.
Th e ch a r a cter istics of th e n on -r espon den ts
did n ot follow a specific pa tter n in ter m s of
geogr a ph ica l loca tion , size of th e u n iver sity,
a n d type of th e u n iver sity. Ba sed on th is fa ct
a n d th e h igh r espon se r a te it a ppea r s th a t th e
r esu lts of th e stu dy cou ld be gen er a lized to
th e ta r get popu la tion (a ll N CAA Division I-A
a th letic depa r tm en ts).
Descr iptive sta tistics wer e u sed to a n swer
th e fir st two r esea r ch qu estion s, wh ile ch isqu a r e w a s u sed to test th e h ypoth eses.
[ 240 ]
depa r tm en ts h ave developed a vision of th e
depa r tm en t’s fu tu r e dir ection a n d a spir a tion s. Sixty-n in e (90.8 per cen t) of th e depa r tm en ts h ave a lso developed a m ission sta tem en t th a t descr ibes th e depa r tm en t’s pu r pose a n d ph ilosoph y. Th e da ta in Ta ble I sh ow
th a t 71 (93.4 per cen t) of th e depa r tm en ts
a ssess th eir str en gth s a n d wea k n esses, wh ile
63 (82.9 per cen t) a ssess th e oppor tu n ities a n d
th r ea ts in th eir exter n a l en vir on m en ts. Seven ty-five (98.7 per cen t) of th e r espon din g
a th letic depa r tm en ts in dica ted th a t th ey
develop goa ls a n d objectives, a n d 70 (92.1 per
cen t) develop lon g-r a n ge pla n s to a ch ieve
th eir sta ted goa ls a n d objectives. Ta ble I a lso
in dica tes th a t 71 (93.4 per cen t) of th e a th letic
depa r tm en ts develop sh or t-r a n ge pla n s to
a ch ieve sh or t-r a n ge objectives. Wh en it
com es to eva lu a tion on ly 51 (67.1 per cen t) of
th e depa r tm en ts per iodica lly eva lu a te th e
per for m a n ce of th eir pla n n in g pr ocess, wh ile
68 (89.5 per cen t) eva lu a te th e per for m a n ce of
th e a th letic depa r tm en t.
Item
Athanasio s Krie madis
Strate gic planning in highe r
educ ation athletic
departments
Table II
Le ve l o f planning in NCAA divisio n I-A athle tic
de partme nts
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 6 [1 9 9 7 ] 2 3 8 –2 4 7
Plans
Structured long-range
Operational
Intuitive
Unstructured
Frequency
Percentage
33
28
13
2
43.4
36.8
17.1
2.6
Table III
Exte nt to whic h e xte rnal fac to rs are c o nside re d in the planning pro c e ss (in
de sc e nding o rde r o f c o nside ratio n)
Factors
Spectators
Trustees
University administration
NCCA trends
Education trends
Economic tax
Community
State/ federal
Demographics
Social trends
Businesses
Competitors
M edia
Suppliers
Parents
Technology
Civic organization
Political trends
Religious groups
Very little
or little
1
1
3
2
1
6
2
9
10
7
9
14
19
22
15
21
27
27
46
(1.3) a
(1.3)
(3.9)
(2.6)
(1.3)
(7.9)
(2.6)
(11.8)
(13.2)
(9.2)
(11.8)
(18.4)
(25.0)
(28.9)
(19.7)
(27.7)
(35.5)
(35.5)
(60.6)
Some
10 (13.2)
10 (13.2)
15 (19.7)
16 (21.1)
18 (23.7)
15 (19.7)
19 (25.0)
16(21.1)
22 (28.9)
29 (38.2)
30 (39.5)
26 (34.2)
22 (28.9)
21 (27.6)
30 (39.5)
25 (32.9)
34 (44.7)
35 (46.1)
17 (22.4)
Very great
or great
M ean
SD
65
65
58
58
57
55
55
51
44
40
37
36
35
33
31
30
15
14
13
4.30
4.30
4.17
4.08
3.99
4.03
4.01
3.89
3.60
3.53
3.41
3.40
3.27
3.17
3.37
3.20
2.80
2.71
2.32
0.75
0.75
0.93
0.86
0.74
0.95
0.82
1.05
1.07
0.94
0.86
1.03
1.14
1.23
1.06
1.10
0.94
1.07
1.20
(85.6)
(85.6)
(76.4)
(76.3)
(75.0)
(72.4)
(72.4)
(67.1)
(57.9)
(52.7)
(48.7)
(47.4)
(46.1)
(43.4)
(40.8)
(39.5)
(19.7)
(18.5)
(17.1)
Notes:
Frequenc y (perc entage)
Sc aling: 1 = very little; 2 = little; 3 = some; 4 = great; 5= very great
a
Table IV
Exte nt to whic h inte rnal fac to rs are c o nside re d in the planning pro c e ss (in
de sc e nding o rde r o f c o nside ratio n)
Factors
Financial preference
Facilities
Coaches’ opinion
Athletic academics
Athletic preference
Coaches’ preference
Staff preference
Administration preference
Athletes’ preference
Athletes’ opinion
Advisory committees
Very little
or little
1
2
1
(1.3) a
(2.6)
(1.3)
1 (1.3)
3 (3.9)
3 (3.9)
5 (6.6)
4 (5.3)
7 (9.2)
9 (11.8)
Some
9 (11.8)
8 (10.5)
11 (14.5)
13 (17.1)
14 (18.4)
12 (15.8)
14 (18.4)
18 (23.7)
26 (34.2)
23 (30.3)
34 (44.7)
Very great
or great
M ean
SD
66
66
64
63
61
61
55
53
46
46
33
4.37
4.08
4.03
4.26
4.08
4.01
3.92
3.90
3.75
3.64
3.42
0.80
0.67
0.63
0.74
0.73
0.76
0.75
0.92
0.83
0.87
0.84
(86.8)
(86.9)
(84.2)
(82.9)
(80.2)
(80.3)
(72.3)
(69.7)
(60.5)
(60.6)
(43.4)
Notes:
a Frequenc y (perc entage)
Sc aling: 1 = very little; 2 = little; 3 = some; 4 = great; 5= very great
w r itten , lon g-r a n ge pla n s; a ssessed th e exter n a l a n d in ter n a l en vir on m en ts; a n d esta blish ed str a te gies ba sed on depa r tm en t’s m ission , objectives. Con sequ en tly, 43.4 per cen t of
th e a th letic depa r tm en ts m ay be iden tified a s
str a te gic pla n n er s. Th e da ta in Ta ble II a lso
r evea l th a t 28 (36.8 per cen t) of th e a th letic
depa r tm en ts u tilize w r itten sh or t-r a n ge oper a tion a l pla n s of a ction a n d bu dgets for th e
cu r r en t fisca l per iod, wh ile 13 (17.1 per cen t)
of th e a th letic depa r tm en ts h ave n o w r itten
pla n s, bu t in stea d h ave developed sh or t-r a n ge
in for m a l, u n w r itten pla n s ba sed on th e in tu ition a n d exper ien ce of th e a dm in istr a tive
tea m . A ver y low per cen ta ge of th e a th letic
depa r tm en ts (2.6 per cen t) in dica ted th a t th ey
h a d n o m ea su r a ble str u ctu r ed pla n n in g.
Que stio nnaire ite m B
Th e da ta fr om th e r espon den ts (see Ta ble III)
in dica te th a t th e exter n a l fa ctor s con sider ed
to a “ver y gr ea t” or “gr ea t” exten t by 70 per
cen t or m or e of th e a th letic depa r tm en ts wh en
for m u la tin g th eir pla n s wer e: specta tor s,
boa r d of tr u stees, NCAA Division I-A tr en ds,
u n iver sity a dm in istr a tor s, edu ca tion a l
tr en ds,a n d econ om ic/ ta x con sider a tion s.
Th er e wer e n o fa ctor s con sider ed to a “ver y
little” or “little” exten t by 70 per cen t or m or e
of th e a th letic depa r tm en ts wh en for m u la tin g
th eir pla n s. Th e fa ctor con sider ed to th e
“lea st” exten t by 60.6 per cen t of th e a th letic
depa r tm en ts w a s r eligiou s gr ou ps.
Que stio nnaire ite m C
As n oted in Ta ble IV, it w a s fou n d th a t th e
in ter n a l fa ctor s con sider ed to a “ver y gr ea t”
or “gr ea t” exten t by 70 per cen t or m or e of th e
a th letic depa r tm en ts wh en for m u la tin g th eir
pla n s wer e: fin a n cia l per for m a n ce, a dequ a cy
of fa cilities, coa ch es’ opin ion , a th letes’ a ca dem ic a ch ievem en t, a th letic per for m a n ce,
coa ch es’ per for m a n ce, a n d a th letic depa r tm en t’s sta ff per for m a n ce.
Th er e wer e n o fa ctor s con sider ed to a “ver y
little” or “little” exten t by 70 per cen t or m or e
of th e a th letic depa r tm en ts wh en for m u la tin g
th eir pla n s.
Que stio nnaire ite m F
Th e da ta displayed in Ta ble V r evea l th a t th e
item s in cor por a ted to a “ver y gr ea t” or
“gr ea t” exten t by 70 per cen t or m or e of th e
a th letic depa r tm en ts wer e: fin a n cia l pla n ,
fa cilities m a ster pla n , a n d m a r k etin g pla n .
Th er e wer e n o item s in cor por a ted to a “ver y
little” or “little” exten t by 70 per cen t or m or e
of th e a th letic depa r tm en ts.
Que stio nnaire ite m G
Th e r espon din g a th letic depa r tm en ts (see
Ta ble VI), u tilize sh or t-r a n ge pla n s wh ich
cover a ppr oxim a tely two yea r s, a n d lon g[ 241 ]
r a n ge pla n s wh ich cover a ppr oxim a tely six
a n d a h a lf yea r s.
Athanasio s Krie madis
Strate gic planning in highe r
educ ation athletic
departments
Que stio nnaire ite m H
Th e r espon din g a th letic depa r tm en ts h ave
en ga ged in lon g-r a n ge pla n n in g for a bou t six
yea r s.
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 6 [1 9 9 7 ] 2 3 8 –2 4 7
Que stio nnaire ite m I
On ly 29 (38.2 per cen t) of th e a th letic depa r tm en ts h ave a lr ea dy esta blish ed a for m a l
pla n n in g com m ittee.
Que stio nnaire ite m J
Wh en a th letic depa r tm en ts wer e a sk ed
wh eth er th ey pla n to esta blish a for m a l pla n n in g com m ittee w ith in th e n ext two yea r s,
on ly eigh t (10.5 per cen t) in dica ted th a t th ey
pla n to esta blish su ch a com m ittee.
Table V
Exte nt to whic h the athle tic de partme nts inc o rpo rate the fo llo wing ite ms (in
de sc e nding o rde r o f c o nside ratio n)
Factors
Financial plan
Facilities plan
M arketing plan
Human resource plan
Contingency plan
Very little
or little
4 (5.3)
7 (9.2)
10 (13.2)
18 (23.6)
Some
5
13
12
25
34
(6.6) a
(17.1)
(15.8)
(32.9)
(44.7)
Very great
or great
M ean
SD
70
58
56
40
21
4.53
3.97
3.97
3.50
3.08
0.62
0.80
0.80
0.84
0.95
(92.1)
(76.3)
(73.7)
(52.6)
(27.6)
Notes:
Frequenc y (perc entage)
Sc aling: 1 = very little; 2 = little; 3 = some; 4 = great; 5= very great
a
Table VI
Numbe r o f ye ars sho rt- and lo ng-range plans
c o ve r
Plans
M ean
Short-range plans
Long-range plans
1.75
6.50
Table VII
Fac to rs that disc o urage strate gic planning in athle tic de partme nts (in
de sc e nding o rde r o f c o nside ratio n)
Factors
Very little
or little
Insufficient finance
Insufficient time
Personnel resistance
Communication
Insufficient training
Planning policy
Planning value
12
11
18
15
10
20
23
(27.9) a
(25.6)
(41.9)
(34.9)
(23.3)
(46.5)
(53.5)
Some
11
12
15
19
26
17
14
(25.6)
(27.9)
(34.9)
(44.2)
(60.5)
(39.5)
(32.6)
Very great
or great
M ean
SD
20 (46.5)
20 (46.5)
10 (23.3)
9 (21.0)
6 (13.9)
6 (13.9)
6 (13.9)
3.35
3.35
2.67
2.84
2.86
2.49
2.26
1.31
1.09
0.99
0.95
0.81
1.03
1.04
Notes:
Frequenc y (perc entage)
Sc aling: 1 = very little; 2 = little; 3 = some; 4 = great; 5= very great
a
[ 242 ]
Research question 2
Wh a t a r e th e key fa ctor s th a t discou r a ge
NCAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts fr om
en ga gin g in str a tegic pla n n in g a ctivities?
Que stio nnaire ite m D
As m en tion ed a bove, 43.4 per cen t of th e a th letic depa r tm en ts wer e en ga ged in str a tegic
pla n n in g, wh ile 56.6 per cen t wer e n ot iden tified a s str a tegic pla n n er s. Th e da ta displayed
in Ta ble VII r evea l wh ich fa ctor s discou r a ge
th ose a th letic depa r tm en ts n ot iden tifi ed a s
str a tegic pla n n er s (56.6 per cen t) fr om en ga gin g in str a tegic pla n n in g a ctivities. Ta ble VII
in dica tes th a t 46.5 per cen t of th e a th letic
depa r tm en ts n ot en ga ged in str a tegic pla n n in g iden tified in su fficien t fin a n cia l
r esou r ces a n d tim e a s fa ctor s th a t discou r a ge
th em to a “ver y gr ea t” or “gr ea t” exten t fr om
en ga gin g in str a tegic pla n n in g a ctivities. On
th e oth er h a n d, th er e wer e two fa ctor s (la ck of
pla n n in g policy, a n d pla n n in g n ot va lu ed by
a th letic depa r tm en ts) th a t discou r a ge 46 per
cen t or m or e of th e a th letic depa r tm en ts n ot
en ga ged in str a tegic pla n n in g to a “ver y little”
or “little” exten t. In ter estin gly, 60.5 per cen t of
th e a th letic depa r tm en ts in dica ted th a t in su fficien t exper ien ce a n d tr a in in g w a s a fa ctor
th a t discou r a ged th em to “som e” exten t fr om
en ga gin g in str a tegic pla n n in g a ctivities.
Research question 3
Is it possible to develop a gen er ic str a te gic
pla n n in g pr ocess m odel, wh ich ca n be im plem en ted by N CAA Division I-A a th letic
depa r tm en ts?
F igu r e 1 pr esen ts th e str a te gic pla n n in g
pr ocess m odel a s developed by th e r esea r ch er.
A br ief a n a lysis of th e sever a l steps in volved
in th e str a te gic pla n n in g pr ocess follow s.
Strategic planning process model
Strate gy fo rmulatio n
1 Wh eth er developin g a n ew or ga n iza tion or
r efor m u la tin g th e dir ection of a n on goin g
on e th e cu ltu r e, policies, va lu es, vision ,
m ission , a n d lon g-ter m objectives wh ich
w ill sh a pe a n or ga n iza tion ’s str a te gic
postu r e m u st be deter m in ed.
2 Th e existen ce of socia l, politica l, edu ca tion a l, dem ogr a ph ic, le ga l, econ om ic/ ta x,
tech n ologica l, a n d com petitive ch a n ges
r equ ir e a th letic depa r tm en ts to per for m
a n effective exter n a l en vir on m en ta l
a ssessm en t of th e existin g oppor tu n ities
a n d th r ea ts, a n d in th is w ay to a n ticipa te
a n d r espon d effectively to ch a n ges.
3 Ath letic depa r tm en ts sh ou ld eva lu a te
th eir str en gth s a n d wea k n esses wh ich
cou ld in flu en ce th e fu tu r e of th eir su r viva l
a n d gr ow th .
4 Per iodica lly, a th letic depa r tm en ts sh ou ld
r econ sider / r evise th eir sta ted va lu es,
Athanasio s Krie madis
Strate gic planning in highe r
educ ation athletic
departments
Figure 1
Strate gic planning pro c e ss mo de l
Establish
sho rt-te rm
o bje c tive s
Exte rnal
e nviro nme nt
asse ssme nt
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 6 [1 9 9 7 ] 2 3 8 –2 4 7
•Oppo rtunitie s
•Thre ats
Re c o nside r/
re vise
•Culture
•Po lic ie s
•Value s
•Visio n
•Missio n
•Lo ng-te rm
o bje c tive s
Inte rnal
e nviro nme nt
asse ssme nt
Se le c tio n o f
lo ng-te rm
strate gie s
•Culture
•Po lic ie s
•Value s
•Visio n
•Missio n
•Lo ng-te rm
o bje c tive s
Pe rfo rmanc e
me asure me nt
and
e valuato n
De ve lo p
sho rt-te rm
strate gie s
•Stre ngths
•We akne sse s
vision , m ission , a n d lon g-ter m objectives in
or der to be r espon sive to ch a n ges occu r r in g
in th eir exter n a l or in ter n a l envir on m en ts.
5 After th e a th letic depa r tm en t h a s esta blish ed its lon g-ter m objectives (ta k in g in to
con sider a tion exter n a l a n d in ter n a l en vir on m en ta l a ssessm en ts), th e selection of
lon g-ter m str a te gies th a t m eet th e depa r tm en t’s objectives sh ou ld be u n der ta k en .
Strate gy imple me ntatio n
On ce selection of lon g-ter m str a te gies h a s
been m a de, th e n ext step wou ld be th e esta blish m en t of sh or t-ter m objectives a n d sh or tter m str a te gies to a ch ieve lon g-ter m objectives a n d str a te gies.
Strate gy e valuatio n
Th e fin a l com pon en t in th e str a te gic pla n n in g
pr ocess is th e str a te gy eva lu a tion a n d is
essen tia l to en su r e th a t sta ted objectives a r e
bein g a ch ieved. Review in g in ter n a l a n d
exter n a l fa ctor s, m ea su r in g per for m a n ce,
a n d ta k in g cor r ective a ction s a r e th e a ctivities a ssocia ted w ith th is com pon en t.
Hypotheses tested
1 Th e exten t of str a te gic pla n n in g u sed by
N CAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts is
in depen den t of th e type of u n iver sity (pu blic ver su s pr iva te).
Ch i-squ a r e w a s per for m ed to deter m in e
wh eth er th er e w a s a r ela tion sh ip between
th e exten t of str a te gic pla n n in g u sed by
N CAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts
a n d type of th e u n iver sity (pu blic ver su s
pr iva te). Th e da ta displayed in Ta ble VIII
r evea led n o sign ifi ca n t r ela tion sh ip
between th e two va r ia bles.
2 Th e exten t of str a te gic pla n n in g u sed by
N CAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts is
in depen den t of th e u n iver sity size.
Th e a n a lysis in dica ted th a t th er e w a s n o
sign ifica n t r ela tion sh ip between th e exten t
of str a te gic pla n n in g a n d u n iver sity size in
N CAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts
(see Ta ble IX).
3 Th e exten t of str a te gic pla n n in g u sed by
N CAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts is
in depen den t of th e ba ck gr ou n d of a th letic
dir ector s.
Th e da ta wer e a n a lysed by u sin g Ch isqu a r e. Th e r esu lts dem on str a ted th a t
th er e w a s n o sign ifica n t r ela tion sh ip
between th e exten t of str a te gic pla n n in g
u sed by a th letic depa r tm en ts a n d ba ck gr ou n d of a th letic dir ector s (see Ta ble X).
Table VIII
Chi-square analysis o f the e xte nt o f strate gic
planning and type o f unive rsity
Chi-square
DF
Significance
0.029
2
0.99
Table IX
Chi-square analysis o f the e xte nt o f strate gic
planning and type o f unive rsity size
Chi-square
DF
Significance
2.06
4
0.72
[ 243 ]
Athanasio s Krie madis
Strate gic planning in highe r
educ ation athletic
departments
Table X
Chi-square analysis o f the e xte nt o f strate gic
planning and bac kgro und o f athle tic dire c to rs
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 6 [1 9 9 7 ] 2 3 8 –2 4 7
Chi-square
DF
Significance
6.75
4
0.15
Discussion, implications and
recommendations
Th is stu dy is a n a ttem pt to a ssist th e m a n a gem en t of a th letic depa r tm en ts by iden tifyin g
str a te gic pla n n in g a ctivities u tilized by
N CAA Division I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts a n d
by in tr odu cin g a str a te gic pla n n in g pr ocess
m odel wh ich ca n be u tilized in depa r tm en ta l
pla n n in g. Th e str a te gic pla n n in g pr ocess
m odel m ay h elp a th letic depa r tm en ts to th in k
str a te gica lly, cla r ify fu tu r e dir ection , dea l
effectively w ith r a pidly ch a n gin g en vir on m en ts, a n d a n ticipa te a n d in itia te ch a n ge.
Discussion
Mor e th a n 80 per cen t of th e ath letic depa r tm en ts in dica ted th a t th ey wer e involved in
str a tegic pla n n in g a ctivities su ch a s developin g vision , m ission , goa ls a n d objectives, lon gter m a n d sh or t-ter m str a tegies, a n d eva lu a tion pr ocedu r es. However, on ly 43.4 per cen t of
th e a th letic depa r tm en ts m ay be cla ssified a s
str a tegic pla n n er s sin ce on ly th a t per cen ta ge
m et th e cr iter ia of: h avin g for m a lized w r itten ,
lon g-r a n ge pla n s; h avin g a ssessed th e exter n a l a n d in ter n a l envir on m en ts; a n d h avin g
esta blish ed str a tegies ba sed on depa r tm en ta l
m ission a n d objectives. A m a jor ity of ath letic
depa r tm en ts (56.6 per cen t) wer e iden tified a s
n on -str a tegic pla n n er s even th ou gh th ey took
in to con sider a tion som e of th e str a tegic pla n n in g pr ocess com pon en ts. Th ey wer e exclu ded
beca u se th eir pla n n in g en deavou r s fell in to
on e of th e follow in g ca tegor ies: th ey u tilized
sh or t-r a n ge, w r itten pla n s of a ction a n d bu dgets for cu r r en t fisca l per iod (sh or t-r a n ge
pla n n er s); th ey u tilized sh or t-r a n ge, u n w r itten pla n s th at a r e stor ed in th e m em or ies of
th e a th letic depa r tm en t’s a dm in istr a tor s
(in tu itive pla n n er s); or th ey did n ot u se a n y
m ea su r a ble pla n n in g pr ocedu r es.
Accor din g to Ha r vey (1982), th e pu r pose of
th e developm en t of a str a te gic pla n is to m a in ta in or ga in a position of a dva n ta ge in r ela tion to com petitor s. On ce th e str a te gic pla n is
m a de, th e im plem en ta tion sta ge of th e pla n is
th e cr itica l step. Th e issu e of im plem en ta tion
w a s n ot r igor ou sly a ssessed in th is stu dy.
Con sequ en tly, it m ay be qu estion ed wh eth er
th e a th letic depa r tm en ts th a t h a d been iden tified a s str a te gic pla n n er s, a ctu a lly im plem en t
th e str a te gic pla n wh en m a k in g decision s
con cer n in g th e com m itm en t of depa r tm en t’s
[ 244 ]
r esou r ces tow a r ds th e desir ed objectives.
Th is position is su ppor ted to som e de gr ee by
th e follow in g fin din gs su r fa cin g in th is stu dy:
1 A sm a ll per cen ta ge of th e a th letic depa r tm en ts (38.2 per cen t) h ave esta blish ed a
for m a l pla n n in g com m ittee. In a ddition ,
lon g-r a n ge pla n n in g exper ien ce is on ly
a bou t six yea r s old. Given th e la ck of exper ien ce a n d a for m a l pla n n in g com m ittee,
it does n ot seem lik ely th a t m a n y of th e
a th letic depa r tm en ts system a tica lly
a dh er e in th e en tir e str a te gic pla n n in g
pr ocess, i.e. for m u la tion , im plem en ta tion ,
a n d eva lu a tion .
2 Th er e seem to be differ in g opin ion s con cer n in g th e n u m ber of yea r s th e sh or t- a n d
lon g-r a n ge pla n s sh ou ld cover. With th e
exter n a l en vir on m en t ch a n gin g so r a pidly,
a th letic depa r tm en ts m u st r ea lize th a t
th ey h ave to r edu ce th e per iod of tim e th e
sh or t- a n d lon g-r a n ge pla n s cover.
3 Ath letic depa r tm en ts do n ot seem to su fficien tly con sider th e h u m a n r esou r ces
fa ctor a n d th e developm en t of con tin gen cy
pla n s in th eir pla n n in g a ctivities. Th ese
two su ppor t a ctivities a r e tim e con su m in g.
Sin ce tim e a n d exper tise a r e two sign ifi ca n t fa ctor s th a t in flu en ce a th letic depa r tm en ts n ot to pla n , th ese two fa ctor s m igh t
a lso be sign ifica n t in a th letic depa r tm en ts
n ot im plem en tin g th e str a te gic pla n . To
th e con tr a r y, th e str a te gic pla n n in g liter a tu r e in dica tes th a t sign ifica n t con sider a tion m u st be given to th e developm en t of a
h u m a n r esou r ces pla n . David (1989) su ggested th a t even a well-design ed str a te gic
pla n ca n fa il if in su fficien t a tten tion is
given to th e h u m a n r esou r ces dim en sion .
Re ga r din g th e im por ta n ce of developin g
con tin gen cy pla n s, Pea r ce a n d Robin son
(1985) sta ted th a t for or ga n iza tion s to im pr ove
th eir a bility to cope w ith ch a n ge, th ey m u st
a dopt a con tin gen cy a ppr oa ch to str a te gic
pla n n in g a n d m u st develop con tin gen cy
pla n s. Th e su ccess of th e str a te gy ch osen is
con tin gen t to va r yin g de gr ees on fu tu r e con dition s. Ba sed on th is im por ta n t obser va tion ,
a dm in istr a tor s sh ou ld iden tify scen a r ios,
develop a lter n a tives, a n d for m u la te con tin gen cy str a te gies for th e a th letic depa r tm en t.
In th is w ay, th ey w ill a lw ays a n ticipa te a n d
r espon d to ch a n ges effectively.
A sm a ll per cen ta ge of Division I-A a th letic
depa r tm en ts a r e fin a n cia lly self-su ppor tin g
(Atwell et al., 1980; Ra ibor n , 1990). Ath letic
dir ector s, a lr ea dy u n der fin a n cia l du r ess, h ave
n ot seen th e va lu e of u tilizin g sca r ce r esou r ces
for en ga gin g in str ategic pla n n in g a ctivities.
Sin ce con tr a dictor y fin din gs h ave been dr aw n
fr om stu dies con cer n in g th e r ela tion sh ip
between str a tegic pla n n in g a n d fin a n cia l
Athanasio s Krie madis
Strate gic planning in highe r
educ ation athletic
departments
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 6 [1 9 9 7 ] 2 3 8 –2 4 7
per for m a n ce, a th letic dir ector s m ay n ot w ish
to expen d r esou r ces on a n “u n pr oven ” ven tu r e. In su fficien t tr a in in g in str ategic pla n n in g pr a ctices m ay be a n oth er fa ctor wh ich
discou r a ges a th letic dir ector s fr om en ga gin g
in str ategic pla n n in g. Th e ava ila bility, cost,
a n d tim e for tr a in in g does n ot r ea dily len d
itself to th e n eeds of a th letic depa r tm en ts to
becom e pr oficien t in th e str ategic pla n n in g
pr ocess.
Th e stu dy pr ovided eviden ce th a t th e exten t
of str a te gic pla n n in g u sed by N CAA Division
I-A a th letic depa r tm en ts does n ot seem to be
r ela ted to th e type of u n iver sity, u n iver sity
size, a n d ba ck gr ou n d of a th letic dir ector s.
Accor din g to Steiss (1985), th e con cept of
str a te gic pla n n in g fi r st fou n d a pplica tion in
th e pr iva te sector. Th e str a te gic pla n n in g
pr ocess w a s design ed to pr ovide dir ection to
th e or ga n iza tion a n d gu ide a ll its oper a tion a l
a ctivities. However, m ost of th e fu n da m en ta l
a ppr oa ch es, m eth ods, a n d pr ocedu r es of
str a te gic pla n n in g a r e dir ectly a pplica ble to
th e pu blic or n on -pr ofi t sector. Ba sed on th is
obser va tion , th is a u th or is won der in g wh y
a th letic depa r tm en ts in pr iva te u n iver sities
h ave n ot ta k en gr ea ter a dva n ta ge of th is pla n n in g pr ocess wh en com pa r ed w ith pu blic
u n iver sities.
David (1989) n oted th a t str a te gic pla n n in g
in sm a ll fir m s is m or e in for m a l th a n in la r ge
fir m s. It w a s su r pr isin g to th is a u th or th a t
la r ge u n iver sities h ave n ot a dopted a str a tegic pla n n in g a ppr oa ch to decision m a k in g to
a gr ea ter exten t wh en com pa r ed w ith sm a ll
u n iver sities.
Wh ile som e a th letic dir ector s h a d wor k
exper ien ces fr om th e pr iva te sector, it wou ld
seem th a t th ey eith er did n ot tr a n sfer th eir
k n ow ledge a n d exper ien ces in str a te gic pla n n in g or h a d n ot a cqu ir ed th e n ecessa r y sk ills
in str a te gic pla n n in g to be a ble to tr a n sfer
th em to th e a th letic depa r tm en t’s en vir on m en t. Th is m ay be a ttr ibu ted to th e fa ct th a t
th e a th letic depa r tm en t decision m a k er s m ay
la ck th e n ecessa r y h u m a n a n d fin a n cia l
r esou r ces to u n der ta k e str a te gic pla n n in g
a ctivities. An oth er possible r ea son cou ld be
th a t u n iver sity a dm in istr a tion does n ot
en cou r a ge th e for m u la tion a n d im plem en ta tion of th e str a te gic pla n n in g pr ocess in a th letic depa r tm en t decision m a k in g.
Implications
Th e fin din gs pr esen ted a n d discu ssed a bove
h ave im plica tion s for th e developm en t a n d
u se of th e str a te gic pla n n in g pr ocess in a th letic depa r tm en ts:
1 Th e pr oposed str a te gic pla n n in g pr ocess
m odel is a w ay of h elpin g a th letic a dm in istr a tor s th in k a n d a ct str a te gica lly. By r ecogn izin g a n d a n a lysin g k ey va r ia bles in
th e pr oposed m odel, a th letic depa r tm en ts
w ill be better a ble to: esta blish a n d per iodica lly r eview m ission a n d objective sta tem en ts; iden tify exter n a l a n d in ter n a l va r ia bles a n d th eir in ter r ela tion sh ips; a n d
for m u la te, im plem en t, a n d eva lu a te th eir
str a te gies. Th e iden tifica tion of th ese va r ia bles w ill con tr ibu te to th e developm en t of
r ea listic decision s in th e ligh t of th eir
fu tu r e con sequ en ces.
2. Sin ce th e two m ost sign ifica n t con str a in ts to
str ategic pla n n in g wer e in su fficien t fin a n cia l r esou r ces a n d tim e, ath letic depa r tm en ts n eed to r ecogn ize th ese con str a in ts
a n d be willin g to com m it th e fin a n cia l
r esou r ces a n d tim e, if th ey a r e to su ppor t
th e im plem en tation of th e str ategic pla n .
3 If str ategic pla n n in g is to be con sider ed a s
a n im por ta n t a dm in istr ative r espon sibility
(a s su ggested by th e liter atu r e), a n d if
a n oth er sign ifica n t con str a in t to str ategic
pla n n in g is in su fficien t tr a in in g a n d exper ien ce in pla n n in g pr ocedu r es, th en ath letic
depa r tm en ts sh ou ld pr ovide n ecessa r y
pla n n in g sk ills th r ou gh edu cation a l pr ogr a m m es. In th is way, decision m a ker s will
begin to con sider str ategic pla n n in g a s on e
of th eir pr im a r y r espon sibilities r ath er
th a n a n a ddition a l ta sk . Edu cation a l pr ogr a m m es em ph a sizin g su ch sk ills a s h u m a n
r elation s, a n a lytica l th in k in g, tim e m a n a gem en t, a n d pa r ticipator y decision m a k in g
ca n gr eatly a ssist ath letic depa r tm en ts in
ca r r yin g ou t th e str ategic pla n n in g pr ocess.
4. In developin g th e str a te gic pla n n in g
pr ocess m odel, th ose wh o wer e iden tified
a s str a te gic pla n n er s in dica ted th a t th ey
r elied h eavily on th e exper tise of con su lta n ts. It wou ld, th er efor e, seem a dvisa ble
th a t ou tside con su lta tion a n d fa cilita tion
ca n h elp a th letic a dm in istr a tor s in th e
a pplica tion of th e str a te gic pla n n in g
pr ocess for th eir r espective depa r tm en ts.
Recommendations for further study
Th e liter a tu r e in th e a r ea of str a te gic pla n n in g in in ter colle gia te a th letics is ver y lim ited. Th er e a ppea r s to be a n ever in cr ea sin g
in ter est in th is a r ea , a n d fu r th er stu dies
cou ld pr ove to be ben efi cia l. Ba sed on th e
fin din gs of th is stu dy, th e follow in g r ecom m en da tion s a r e offer ed for fu tu r e r esea r ch :
1 Follow -u p stu dies sh ou ld be don e to th e
sa m e sa m ple in th r ee to five yea r s to in vestiga te possible ch a n ges in th e u tiliza tion of
th e str a te gic pla n n in g pr ocess.
2 Resea r ch n eeds to be don e to th e sa m e
popu la tion (N CAA Division I-A a th letic
depa r tm en ts) to a ssess qu a lita tively th e
exten t of str a te gic pla n n in g.
Qu a lita tive ca se stu dies r ely on da ta
obta in ed fr om in ter view s, obser va tion s,
[ 245 ]
Athanasio s Krie madis
Strate gic planning in highe r
educ ation athletic
departments
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 6 [1 9 9 7 ] 2 3 8 –2 4 7
a n d th e stu dy of officia l docu m en ts. Som e
of th e in ter view a n d obser va tion issu es
wou ld a ddr ess m em ber sh ip of th e pla n n in g
com m ittee, th e type of data u sed in pla n n in g, th e m eth ods u sed to obta in th e data ,
th e type of lea der sh ip beh aviou r wh ich
a ppea r s to be n eeded to en su r e th e su ccess
of th e pla n n in g effor t, a n d th e r esista n ce
th a t is en cou n ter ed in ga in in g com m itm en t to str a tegic pla n n in g. Th e stu dy of
officia l docu m en ts wou ld r evea l th e exten t
to wh ich th ese docu m en ts a ddr ess th em selves to str a tegic issu es su ch a s th e exter n a l or in ter n a l envir on m en ta l a ssessm en t.
3 A com pa r a tive stu dy of str a te gic pla n n in g
sh ou ld be con du cted a m on g th e N CAA
Division s (I, II, a n d III).
4 A u sefu l investigation m igh t a lso be u n der ta ken to a ssess th e r elation sh ip between th e
exten t of str ategic pla n n in g a ctivities u sed
by ath letic depa r tm en ts a n d th e fin a n cia l
per for m a n ce or pr odu ctivity of th ese
depa r tm en ts. It wou ld be n ecessa r y to establish wh ich m ea su r es of fin a n cia l per for m a n ce or pr odu ctivity wou ld be appr opr iate. A su ggestion con cer n in g a m ea su r e of
fin a n cia l per for m a n ce for ath letic depa r tm en ts m igh t be th e per cen ta ge of self-gen er ated r even u e. Exa m ples of self-gen er ated
r even u e a r e ticket sa les, con cession s, spon sor sh ips, TV a n d r a dio, etc., a s opposed to
u n iver sity fu n din g. An oth er su ggestion
con cer n in g a m ea su r e of pr odu ctivity of
ath letic depa r tm en ts m igh t be th e in -con fer en ce a n d n ation a l per for m a n ce of th e
tota l ath letic pr ogr a m m e.
5 F in a lly, fu tu r e r esea r ch sh ou ld be design ed
to esta blish th e va lidity a n d r elia bility of a
str a te gic pla n n in g su r vey in str u m en t
wh ich cou ld be u sed in a n y N CAA a th letic
depa r tm en t to eva lu a te th e qu a n tity a n d
qu a lity of str a te gic pla n n in g a ctivities
wh ich a r e occu r r in g, a n d th e effectiven ess
of th e im plem en ta tion of th ose str a te gic
pla n s th a t h ave been developed.
References
Agw u , P. (1992), “Str a te gic pla n n in g in h igh er
edu ca tion : a stu dy of a pplica tion in Ar k a n sa s
sen ior colle ges a n d u n iver sities”, Disser ta tion
A b stra cts In ter n a tion a l, DAI-A 53/ 08, 0745
(Un iver sity Micr ofi lm s N o. AAC 9300582).
An soff, H.I. (1984), Im pla n tin g S tra tegic M a n a gem en t, P r en tice-Ha ll, E n glewood Cliffs, N J .
An soff, H.I. a n d McDon n ell, E . (1990), Im pla n tin g
S tra tegic M a n a gem en t (2n d ed.), P r en ticeHa ll, E n glewood Cliffs, N J .
Atwell, R.H., Gr im es, B. a n d Lopia n o, D.A. (1980),
T h e M on ey Ga m e, Am er ica n Cou n cil of E du ca tion , Wa sh in gton , DC.
Ba llou , P. (1988), “A m odel of str a te gic pla n n in g for
pu blic sch ools”, Disser ta tion A b stra cts
[ 246 ]
In ter n a tion a l, DAI-A 49/ 11, 0514 (Un iver sity
Micr ofi lm s N o. AAC 8825986).
Ba n k , B. (1992), “Str a te gic m a n a gem en t in n on pr ofi t a r t or ga n iza tion s: a n a n a lysis of cu r r en t pr a ctice”, Disser ta tion A b stra cts In ter n a tion a l, MAI 32/ 01, 0454 (Un iver sity Micr ofilm s
N o. AAC 1353924).
Ba r r y, B.W. (1986), S tra tegic Pla n n in g Work b ook
for N on -profi t Orga n iz a tion s, Am h er st H.
Wilder Fou n da tion , St P a u l, MI.
Br yson , J .M. (1988), S tra tegic Pla n n in g for Pu blic
a n d N on -profi t Orga n iz a tion s, J ossey-Ba ss,
Sa n F r a n cisco, CA.
Br yson , J.M., F r eem a n , R. E . a n d Roer in g, W. D.
(1986), “Str a tegic pla n n in g in th e pu blic sector :
a ppr oa ch es a n d dir ection s”, in Ch eckow ay, B.
(E d.), S trategic Perspectiv es on Plan n in g Practice, Lexin gton Book s, Lexin gton , MA.
Br yson , J .M., Va n de Ven , A.H. a n d Roer in g, W.D.
(1987), “Str a te gic pla n n in g a n d r evita liza tion
of th e pu blic ser vice”, in Den h a r dt, R. a n d
J en n in gs, E . (E ds), T ow a rd a N ew Pu blic
S er vice, Ex ten sion Pu blica tion , Un iver sity of
Missou r i, Colu m bia , MO.
Bu ch er, C.A. (1987), M a n a gem en t of Ph ysica l Ed u ca tion a n d A th letic Progra m s, C.V. Mosby
Com pa n y, St Lou is, MI.
Bu h ler -Miko, M. (1985), A T ru stee’s Gu id e to
S tra tegic Pla n n in g, High er E du ca tion Str a tegic P la n n in g In stitu te, Wa sh in gton , DC.
Bu sler, B. (1992), “Th e r ole of str a te gic pla n n in g
a n d its effect on decision m a k in g in Wiscon sin pu blic sch ools”, Disser ta tion A b stra cts
In ter n a tion a l, DAI-A 53/ 07, 0514 (Un iver sity
Micr ofi lm s N o. AAC 9223867).
Ca m er on , K. (1983), “Str a te gic r espon ses to con dition s of declin e in h igh er edu ca tion a n d pr iva te sector ”, J ou r n a l of High er Ed u ca tion ,
Vol. 54 N o. 4, pp. 359-80.
Coolba u gh , J . (1993), “An a n a lysis of str a te gic
pla n n in g in Ca lifor n ia cities”, Disser ta tion
A b stra cts In ter n a tion a l, DAI-A 55/ 05, 0999
(Un iver sity Micr ofi lm s N o. AAC 9426151).
David, F. (1989), S tra tegic M a n a gem en t, Mer r ill,
Colu m bu s, OH.
DeRose, J .W. (1986), “A com pa r ison of distr ict level
pla n n in g pr a ctices in selected Pen n sylva n ia
sch ool distr icts to th e liter a tu r e of pla n n in g”,
Disser ta