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The amenity arms race among post-secondary institutions is driving the new development or expansion of campus recreation facilities. However, investing in new and larger campus recreation facilities may not necessarily translate into usage and ultimately provide the associated benefits to students. This study explored whether human resource capacity and program capacity are mechanisms that help explain the conditions under which facility capacity translates into facility usage. Secondary data were obtained from NIRSA's research and assessment initiative from post-secondary institutions in the United States (n= 103) that contained measures of relevance to this study. Regression analyses with bootstrapping were conducted to examine the hypothesized relationships including mediation. Results identified that an indirect only mediation model (full mediation) was present, such that greater facility capacity translates into increased facility usage through human resource capacity and program capacity. Therefore, recreation professionals and programs are indicated as pivotal to making the most of facility capacity.

This rapid review was conducted to synthesize the empirical research related to campus recreation participatory experiences that was published between 2011 and 2021. To carry out the review, three databases (SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, Scopus) were systematically searched for peer reviewed empirical literature related to campus recreation participatory sport experiences. The results were then screened with predetermined criteria and 180 studies remained for data extraction. Data was extracted and trends were identified for discussion. When comparing the results to a similar review conducted on literature published between 1998–2010 (cf. Barcelona & Sweeney, 2012), the results of the reveal that the use of theory is becoming increasingly prevalent as scholars are more regularly providing theoretical frameworks, key constructs and discussing scholarly contributions. The review also revealed limitations such as inconsistencies with measurement and that most studies have been conducted at single institutions, which should both be addressed in future research.

This study investigates whether the benefits of participation in, and perceived service quality of, an intramural sport program contribute to student retention and overall program satisfaction. Health and wellness outcomes, student learning outcomes, service quality, program satisfaction, and student retention in intramural programming were assessed at one Canadian university. The results reveal that participants experience physical, emotional, social and academic outcomes as a result of participation in intramural programming. The results also reveal that benefits of participation (physical health and wellness, emotional wellness, academic learning outcomes, social learning outcomes) and service quality are associated with greater student retention and program satisfaction. The results highlight the unique association between physical health and wellness benefits and student retention. The results also highlight the association between service quality, social and emotional wellness and program satisfaction among participants. Implications for practice and future research are presented.