The importance of team chemistry to the success of the top 25 Division III football programs of the 1990's

Abstract

The purpose of this study was two fold. The first aspect was to evaluate how important positive team chemistry was to the top 25 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III (D III) football programs of the 1990's. The second aspect is to investigate what the head coaches did to create that chemistry by means of a survey. Two research questions were developed to answer both purposes of the study. The subjects of this study were the head coaches from the top 25 NCAA D III football programs of the 1990's. The football coaches were selected by the winning percentage of their respective football programs. Each coach was sent a questionnaire to complete. Twenty of the twenty-five questionnaires were returned. Following the compiling of the data it was concluded by the researcher that team chemistry was considered a valuable aspect in the success of the top D III football programs of the 1990's. The coaches provided many examples of chemistry building. Some of those examples include team meetings, cookouts, movie nights and team service projects. The significance of this study may reach many areas. The study is significant for football coaches to understand that a team's chemistry could be the difference between a successful season and an unsuccessful one. Since team chemistry has played a significant role in the success of the top 25 NCAA D In football programs of the 1990's, then many other coaches at different levels of football may want to see if chemistry is what they need for their programs to be successful as well. Also, others may research the effects of team chemistry on the success of other team sports.