Expansion of Community College Athletic Programs

While community college intercollegiate athletic programs have been expanding in a somewhat sporadic manner, there have been few empirical studies which examine how and why these programs are growing. The current study investigates the questions of "how and why" with the goal of helping community college leaders to make informed decisions about athletic programs. The study was designed to build upon and provide more detailed information on a topic first discussed in The Community College Enterprise in 2006. The current article discusses leaders' perceptions of four aspects of community college intercollegiate athletics: current funding for community college athletics, future funding for athletics, whether local students are attracted to the community college because of athletic programming, and whether statewide guidelines on community college intercollegiate athletics are needed. (Contains 10 tables.)