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The objective of the current research was to verify the extent to which Gouldner’s (1954) three patterns of bureaucracy were prevalent in intercollegiate athletic departments. Single and multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) of the data provided by 907 coaches from all three NCAA divisions (n_divI = 322; n_divII = 277; n_divIII = 308) showed that structural relationships among goals, processes, and patterns of bureaucracy were invariant among all three groups of coaches. Substantively, the factor of developmental goals through developmental processes (Trail & Chelladurai, 2000) predicted positively the presence of representative bureaucracy and punishment-centered bureaucracy and negatively the existence of mock bureaucracy. This means that the more athletic departments emphasize academic values, the less the coaches perceive a pattern of loose coupling between rules and actual technical activities. Implications of these results for theory and practice were discussed.

This paper presents the outcomes of an 18-month developmental action research study to enhance the governance capability of a national sport organization. Bowls Australia, the national governing body for lawn bowls in Australia, includes nine independent state and territory member-associations. An intervention was designed and implemented with the Bowls Australia Board. The purpose of the intervention was to enact collaborative governance to overcome a perceived cultural malaise in the governance of the sport. This study is one of the first to examine collaborative governance in a federal sport structure. Results demonstrate the utility of collaborative governance to overcome adversarial national, member-state relations for the purpose of establishing a common and unifying vision for bowls, while also enhancing governance capability. This study identified the importance of collective board leadership in governance decision-making throughout the sport. It also highlights future research directions in relation to collective board leadership in federal governance structures.

This research assessed the direct and indirect influences of personal values on the importance attached to intercollegiate athletic goals, and approval of various processes in intercollegiate athletics. Students and faculty of a large Midwestern university responded to a questionnaire consisting of Schwartz's Value Scale (SVS), and Trail and Chelladurai's Scale of Athletic Department Goals (SADG) and Scale of Athletic Department Processes (SADP). Structural Equation Modeling procedures showed that the model of goals fully mediating the relationship between personal values and processes was more tenable than alternate models. Further, the Power values were positively associated with importance ratings of athletic performance goals such as Winning, Financial Security, Visibility/Prestige, and Entertainment. Universalism values were positively associated with student developmental goals such as Health/Fitness, Academic Achievement and Careers. Managers of intercollegiate athletics would do well to link their emphases on specific processes and decisions to the relevant values held by critical stakeholders to engender support of the program.