http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/4909362

Motives toward track and field competition of foreign and domestic grant-in-aid student-athletes in NCAA Division I colleges and universities

This study sought to chronicle the increased presence of the foreign athlete in NCAA Division I track and field and to assess the competitive motivations of American and foreign track and field athletes. Recruiting pipelines, as well as the successes of foreign athletes on U.S. university track and field teams, are discussed. It is suggested that many of these successes may be due in part to high motivational levels. To the foreign athlete, in particular, an athletic scholarship offers the opportunity to compete and gain an education at the same time. A motivation inventory and related questionnaire were sent to universities which have foreign athletes on their track and field teams. Results indicated that few personality differences in regards to competition existed between the foreign and domestic athletes. However, the foreign athlete appeared more confident of success in competition than was his American counterpart. It is suggested that this may in part be due to the foreign athlete's somewhat greater exposure to previous national and international competition. It is recommended that such studies recognize the increase of sport towards internationalism and that future research focus on the development of historical-descriptive studies as well as the development of valid and reliable psychological constructs related to competition. Moreover, sport needs to be seen in a broad context, incorporating physiological, social, cultural, and psychological factors.

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