College athletics directors’ attitudes toward spectator aggression

ABSTRACT In 2008, former President of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Myles Brand expressed serious concern about college sport spectator aggression. More specifically, Brand asserted that many sport administrators may be “looking the other way” when confronted by spectator aggression. As a result, the following study was conducted to assess university athletic directors’ attitudes toward various form of spectator aggression using the Sport Spectator Attitude Scale (SSAS). Overall, results showed that athletic directors were unsupportive of spectator aggression. However, there were a couple of exceptions based on responses to items #2 and #7. These particular responses suggest that some, if not many athletic directors, may need to increase their understanding and valuing of sportsmanship and ethical behavior. Additional implications from the results are discussed.