Masters Theses

Date of Award

8-1998

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Human Performance and Sport Studies

Major Professor

Patricia A. Beitel

Committee Members

Joy DeSensi, Dennie Kelley

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine factors which differentiate patterns of giving and to investigate the differences in patterns of donor motivation and behavior across these factors in intercollegiate athletics at National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III institutions. The study was divided into two primary divisions, demographic interrelationships and donor motivation. The Athletic Contributions Questionnaire Revised Edition-ll, ACQUIRE-II, which was developed by Staurowsky, Parkhouse, and Sachs in 1996, was used as the instrument to measure the motivation and behavior of donors. The subjects for the study were 200 donors, male and female, from two NCAA Division III athletics support groups. The survey consisted of twenty-two questions concerning demographics and twenty-two motivation statements in the form of a six-point Likert scale.

The results of the study offered new information concerning the patterns, the behaviors, and the motivations of these donors. An analysis of the data from the demographics section of the ACQUIRE-II resulted in several differences and similarities among the profiles of the donors along the lines of gender. Although these results supported previous research in this area which indicated that men and women behave differently in some areas across demographics, the results also offered evidence of the many similarities between the men and the women donors. These results provided an indication that the actions of women, when making contributions to organizations, have become more like those actions of men. These actions are those which are molded by the lines of educational background, personal income, marital status amount of independence, and the ability to be self-supporting.

Some of the results suggested that the independence level of women, as based on marital status and personal income, affected their donor behaviors in a way similar to the donor behaviors of the men. An analysis of the data based on the previous intercollegiate athletics participation of the donor indicated that those donors with previous participation in intercollegiate athletics as compared to those donors without previous participation were motivated more by those statements which pertained directly to the athletic program. Some of those statements included the opportunity to obtain tickets, the opportunity to influence decisions made as related to the coaching staff, and the occasion to return to the school.

The results from this study indicated that all donors were influenced by individual motivations as related to their individual backgrounds and characteristics. It was also found that all donors to Division III athletics support groups were motivated by the success of the institution, the success of the state in which the institution was located, and philanthropy.

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