Buying in: Analyzing the First Fan Adopters of a New National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Program

Establishing a strong fan base within the inaugural year of a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Program presents many challenges. Tracking consumers and their behavior becomes imperative as sport marketers seek to better understand the first fan adopters of a new program. With new NCAA football programs being established every year, sport marketers of a new program are challenged to not only find a loyal fan-base who will continue to support the program despite win or lose, but find new and innovative ways to grow their fan base. The purpose of this study was to examine attendance demographics and consumer behavior for the inaugural football season at a NCAA Division 1 program. Data were collected (n = 914) from a relatively equal distribution of fan groups (students- 34.8%, alumni- 32.9%, and other- 32.3%) via an in-person survey completed on a tablet interface. Results demonstrate that the level of fandom (temporary, devoted, or fanatic) impacts certain consumer behaviors, including; overall support of the program, media consumption, and game day behaviors

Creation and Initial Validation of the Physical Educator Efficacy Scale for Teaching Lifetime Physical Activities

The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument that measures self-efficacy perceptions of physical educators towards teaching lifetime physical activities. This Physical Educator Efficacy Scale for Teaching Lifetime Physical Activities (PEES-LPA), was validated through expert review, and pilot procedures, and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). EFA revealed a six-factor model that accounted for 67.8% of the total observed score variance (PAF extraction/Varimax rotation). Additionally, results demonstrated: (a) factors showing simple structure that aligns with related literature, (b) high factor scores (\u3e.40) with no double loadings, (c) efficacy items relating to Net/Wall activities and Target activities loading together, and (d) internal consistency showed to be very high for both the full model (.95) and each individual factor (.92-.95). The PEES-LPA appears demonstrate accptable reliability and validity, though further analysis needs be explored for items that may influence multicollinearity and normality

Utilizing One’s Local Community Track: Speed Workouts for High-Intensity Interval Training

The purpose of this article is to overview the cardiovascular fitness benefits associated with HIIT and speed training, as well as discuss specific ways coaches and fitness professionals can introduce and promote speed workouts as a viable, and creative, exercise alternative

Engaging Students in Health Literacy Through Fiction Novels

Personal identification with characters from a story impacted thinking and attitudes of subjects. Therefore, using narratives such as fiction novels can provide a richer and more authentic and impactful learning experience, compared to solely providing facts or short scenarios. There are a variety of ways to access and use novels to increase the depth of learning in most, if not all, content areas within secondary health education

Promoting Social Acceptance and Inclusion in Physical Education

In addition to psychomotor and cognitive learning, social development is one of the three pillars of the national standards for physical education instruction. Though a plethora of research has exhibited the benefits social inclusion can have for students with and without disabilities, inclusion cannot be successful unless physical educators are deliberate, persistent, and continually reflective on the needs of students. The purpose of this paper is to outline the state of inclusion of students with disabilities in a general physical education classes and to highlight teacher behaviors and instructional techniques that promote social acceptance and inclusion for all students in physical education

Breaking from Traditionalism: Strategies for the Recruitment of Physical Education Teachers

Teacher education programs across the country are being asked to systematically and deliberately recruit teacher candidates who are not only highly qualified, but represent diverse backgrounds. Coupled with dwindling enrollments, these programs may want to reevaluate the types of students recruited into a career in physical education. This article uses occupational socialization theory as the framework for discussing how breaking away from traditional recruitment strategies may be necessary to keep physical education teacher education programs thriving. To address this point, current recruitment practices in physical education teacher education are critiqued, and nontraditional strategies for recruiting highly qualified candidates who also represent diverse backgrounds are discussed. It is argued that the future of the physical education discipline rests on the ability to recruit and train students who are focused on lifetime physical activity rather than team sports

The Sport Education Model: A Track and Field Unit Application

Track and field is a traditional instructional unit often taught in secondary physical education settings due to its history, variety of events, and potential for student interest. This article provides an approach to teaching this unit using the sport education model (SEM) of instruction, which has traditionally been presented as a model for team and dual sports. The application of the SEM to this individual sport provides teachers with an opportunity to provide their students with an authentic, engaging and festive environment in which to learn a sport that has been around for centuries

University Supervisor Perceptions of Live Remote Supervision in Physical Education Teacher Education

With advancement in modern technology, it is now possible for student teaching supervisors to virtually observe lessons remotely through the use of live video remote supervision. This innovation requires less overall funding (i.e., travel costs) and allows for highly qualified university professionals to provide direct feedback to student teachers. A phenomenological case-study approach was used to explore university supervisors’ perceptions and experiences with live remote supervision. Data from post-observation survey logs and a culminating focus group were collected from current physical education teacher education (PETE) program university supervisors (n = 3) from two separate higher education institutions. An interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) was conducted to best find meaning in the participants’ personal experiences. Qualitative results showed: (a) the iPad’s field of vision restricted the university supervisor from viewing all student teacher actions, though this was offset by increased ability to hear teacher through the Bluetooth, (b) initial and continual connectivity was problematic at times, (c) university supervisors rated the ability to hear every word the student teacher says to be very helpful (even more so than in live observations), (d) supervisors rated the quality of pre/post conferences and quality of observation to be high, though (e) this format did lose some of the personal touch of on-site visits. The findings suggest that remote supervision may prove to be a practical and cost-efficient way to facilitate supervision of field experiences in physical education and can potentially help shift towards a new paradigm of supervision in teacher education