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Given the role and influence of head coaches within the student-athlete experience, high school athletic directors must ensure that the most effective individuals are leading the sports in their athletic department. To provide a more thorough understanding of the coaching evaluation process, this study analyzed interscholastic athletic directors' utilization of the performance appraisal process to evaluate the effectiveness of head coaches. Athletic directors (N=25) across school classification (i.e., 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A) and school type (i.e., public and private) participated in the study, with saturation achieved through this sample size. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and examined through thematic analysis. Three main themes emerged (i.e., elements of the coaching evaluation process, coaching evaluation form, and challenges in maximizing coaching evaluations) that provide deeper context into the key shared elements present within coaching appraisals in high school sports and describe how athletic directors engage in this evaluation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intercollegiate athletics is a multi-billion-dollar segment of the sport industry. Within college sports, football generates the most revenue and media attention while also providing benefits to universities through school spirit, pride in the institution, and support from donors. Previous work has evaluated the relationship between sport marketing and intercollegiate athletics through evaluations of the consumer perspective, but limited attention has been given to the perspectives of the sport organizations or practitioners responsible for the marketing exchange. Therefore, this study utilizes the sport marketing management process model to examine the marketing efforts of professionals (i.e., football sport marketing directors [N=14]) tasked with promoting college football within a particular conference (i.e., Big Ten Conference). In doing so, the research fills a gap in the literature by further evaluating the marketing processes relied upon by intercollegiate athletic departments and the organizational factors impacting these decisions. Using a phenomenological approach, data were collected using semistructured interviews with each football marketing director. The emerging themes involved marketing areas of oversight (i.e., increasing ticket sales and attendance, game day event marketing, and program branding) and organizational elements (i.e., structure, culture, and collaboration). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at the psychological factors associated with motivation of televised mixed martial arts (MMA) consumption which are risk taking, aggression, fan identification and motivation. It also reports that MMA audience are in the 18-34 years bracket and these factors enables the MMA endeavors particularly the UFC to blossomed into lucrative businesses from gate receipts, merchandising, pay per view and media broadcast.

The article presents the results of a study on the amount of coverage given to each gender through analysis of online Web site content of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. The findings proved that male athletes received greater coverage than female athletes which is consistent with the previous studies on traditional media conducted for Olympic Games. The author concludes that inequalities still exist in the quality of coverage that female athletes receive over male athletes.

The article discusses research on brand equity and association in the sport industry, particularly the fitness segment. It notes that direct experiences, such as service quality and exercise commitment, have an effect on brand association. It also asserts that brand awareness and association have consequences for sports brands.

The article examines the role of stress buffers in moderating job stress and organizational commitment among sport organization employees. According to the authors, there is a gender effect that influences job stress and organizational commitment among sport organizations employees, with men having better coping skills than women. They also reveal that age and job levels are two of the strongest demographic factors that influence commitment and stress among employees.

The article discusses a study which examined the articles and photographs featured in the "ESPN The Magazine." A review of literature on sports magazine is presented. The study was designed to describe the extent to which the magazine covers male sports and female sports through its articles and photographs. Study authors found that the magazine has reinforced gender hegemony and has established an agenda where female sports are undervalued.