Abstract:
As the cost of operating an athletic training room escalate, athletic trainer's find themselves in search of new sources of budget support. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the utilization of financial and product sponsors within college athletic training programs. A questionnaire was developed and sent to the head athletic trainers at 57 NCAA Division IA and Division IAA institutions, based on their football divisional status and geographical location (Midwest, Northeast and Southeast). Of the 57 questionnaires, 51 were returned (89.9%). Descriptive statistics and cross tabulations were computed. The results showed that the majority (70.6%) of the institutions surveyed utilized some type of sponsorship, public or private. However, the results showed both Division levels generally utilized only one sponsorship (58.8%). Eighty percent (80.0%) of the Division IA athletic training programs acquired sponsorships in two ways: by the active pursuit of the athletic training program or by the active pursuit of the sponsor company. However, 50% of the Division IAA sponsorships were initiated by the pursuit of the athletic training program only. Therefore, the athletic training programs that utilize sponsorships may appreciate only a slight alleviation in their overall budget.