Michigan State University Student Interests in Sports Participation Daniel J. Stynes and Calvin Peterson July 1978 INTRODUCTION "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." This statement sums up the essence of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 19721. Michigan State University, like thousands of other educational institutions, is affected by the provisions of this congressional legislation. Administered by the Department of Health. Education, and Welfare, the implementing regulation directs all post-secondary educational institutions to comply fully with its pro-visions no later than three years from its July 21, 1975, effective date. One major area influenced by the legislation is athletics. The implementing regulation states that an institution which is a recipient of federal financial assistance and which operates or sponsors intercollegiate, club, or intramural athletics shall provide equal athletic opportunity for students of both sexes. It continues by saying that one of the factors which the Director of HEW's Office for Civil Rights "will consider" in determining whether or not an institution is providing female and male athletes with overall equal opportunity is "whether the selection of sports and levels of competition effectively accommodate the interests and abilities of the members of both sexes." The intent of the regulation is to require institutions to take the interests of both sexes into account in determining what sports they offer. The method by which institutions will determine interests is not specified; the institutions are requested only to consider the interests of both sexes by a "reasonable method." Measuring Student Sports Interests There are two basic approaches to measuring student interest in sports. One is to rely on interests which are overtly expressed in the form of actual participation or by means of requests to designated officials for programs or facilities. The second and preferred approach is to systematically measure interests using a survey approach. Participation measures popularity of existing programs rather than interests. It cannot be used to assess interests in programs or facilities that are not pro-vided. Using participation as a measure of interest ignores a variety of constraints to participation. Lack of participation does not necessarily imply lack of interest. Lack of knowledge of programs, inadequate transportation, unsuitable scheduling of activities, and a host of social, economic, physical, and environmental constraints limit actual participation. Conversely, high participation in a sport may result from a small group of enthusiastic participants rather than widespread student interest. Participation in existing sports programs may simply reflect the possibility that more desirable programs are not offered. The monitoring of unsolicited requests for new programs, reliance on student representatives, or use of other spokesmen for student interests also pose difficulties in getting timely, accurate, unbiased estimates of student interests. All of these techniques do, however, contribute to a better understanding of student sports interests. Survey research is the most widely accepted technique for gathering information of this kind. While a survey is not specifically called for in Title IX regulations, it is a logical step in effective implementation. The principal advantages of the survey approach over those noted above is that it ensures that data is collected in a systematic manner from a representative sample of the student population. There are, of course, problems in obtaining a representative sample and in measuring student interests through survey questions. These problems relate mostly to the success in carrying out the research design and will be addressed later in this report. Objectives 1 Public Law 92-318 (except sections 904 and 906 thereof) as amended. 20 U.S. Code sections 1681, 1682, 1683, 1685, 16861. To identify in what sports activities Michigan State University students participate, including both on and off campus. 2. To measure the interests of MSU students in participating in different sports activities, to include activities which are not currently pro-vided as well as those which are provided. 3. To determine the levels of competition at which MSU students are interested in participating for different sports activities. Levels are defined as varsity, sports club, intramural, and informal. 4. To compare interests of male and female MSU students to determine if any significant differences exist, and if so, to identify what these differences in interest are. It is not the objective of this study to attempt to assess compliance with Title IX. The measurement of student interests is only a first step. Appropriate Michigan State University authorities have the responsibility of assessing existing programs to determine what changes may be needed to comply with Title IX, and of carrying Out further efforts to measure interests and abilities of students in sports participation. The study also does not attempt to measure student attitudes about existing university sports policies or student perceptions of equality of opportunity in the provision of sports programs and facilities. Title IX does not leave the determination of these issues to student attitudes. Finally, no attempt was made to determine student athletic abilities except as indicated in preferences for different levels of competition. Abilities might better be assessed through tryouts or relying upon the knowledge of the staff of MSU's Athletic Department and Health, Physical Education and Recreation Department. PROCEDURES A survey of Michigan State University students was conducted to measure the degree and nature of student interest in sports activities. The survey was conducted during the 1978 spring term. The "climate" at the time of the survey was one of growing student awareness of the Title IX issue. All three major Student organizations were considering a recommendation to conduct a student survey on various sports issues. Additionally, a complaint of Title IX noncompliance was receiving press coverage by the student newspaper at the time. Questionnaire Design A self-administered