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The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of age, ethnic, and organizational tenure diversity on occupational commitment and occupational turnover intent among coaching staffs. Data were gathered via questionnaire from coaches in 48 NCAA Division IA football coaching staffs (235 coaches). Hierarchical regression analyses, controlling for the success of the team and the number of respondents per team, indicated that the block of diversity variables accounted for 18% (p < .05) of the variance in occupational commitment and 16% (p < .05) of the variance in occupational turnover intentions. Tenure and ethnic diversity were significant predictors in both analyses, although age diversity was not. Implications are discussed in relation to the complexity of diversity and strategies to mitigate the negative effects of group diversity on group-level outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of internships on students’ career-related affect and intentions. Data were gathered from 138 upper-level undergraduate sport management students (71 interns, 67 noninterns). A doubly multivariate repeated measures model indicated that, although they did not differ at the beginning of the internship, interns had less positive attitudes toward the profession than did noninterns at the end of the internship. Structural equation modeling indicated that affective occupational commitment fully mediated the relationship between anticipated career satisfaction and intentions to enter the profession. The results contribute to the extant literature by demonstrating that internships can influence career-related affect and intentions.

Three hundred twenty-eight intercollegiate coaches (men = 240, women = 88; Division I = 156, Division III = 172) responded to a questionnaire measuring commitment to their university and coaching occupation, intention to leave the organization and occupation, their team standings, and perceptions of their performance. The variables of division, gender, and marital/lifestyle status affected neither organizational nor occupational commitments. Organizational commitments of affective, normative, continuance: high sacrifice, and continuance: low alternatives correlated significantly with intention to leave the organization and cumulatively explained 23.7% of the variance. Affective, normative, and continuance: low alternatives forms of commitment to occupation correlated significantly with intention to leave the occupation and cumulatively explained 23.1% of the variance. The bases of organizational commitment cumulatively explained 5.6% and 4.9% of the variance in subjective and objective performances, respectively. Results suggest that athletic departments should focus on enhancing their coaches’ commitment to the organization in order to retain them.

The internship could have a significant impact upon the student’s desire to enter the field after graduation. Despite a substantial amount of research that has been conducted with employees in many fields, relatively little research has been conducted with sport management interns. The purpose of this study, therefore, was twofold: (1) investigate the satisfaction of student-interns with characteristics of the internship experience and (2) investigate the effect of students’ satisfaction with their internship on their affective occupational commitment for and subsequent intentions to pursue employment in the sport management field. A total of 248 undergraduate students from two universities in the Southeastern United States completed a survey. Participants generally indicated satisfaction with opportunities to develop pertinent skills, engage in meaningful tasks, and build professional networks during the internship. Those who reported satisfaction with the internship were more likely to enter the field after graduation than those reporting dissatisfaction. Implications of these findings for site supervisors and sport management faculty were discussed.