Perceptions of community college football and basketball coaches on the impact of Proposition 48 on their intercollegiate programs and student-athletes

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of current community college head football and basketball coaches on the impact of Proposition 48 (formerly Bylaw 5-1-(j), now Bylaw 14.3) on certain features of their male student-athletes' educational planning and intercollegiate programs, as well as to ascertain its perceived differential impact on black versus white student-athletes. This study used the strategy of descriptive research. Two self-report type instruments, the Personal Data Sheet (PDS) and the Proposition 48 Perception Inventory (PPI), were used. These were sent to 329 community college head football and basketball coaches nationally; 221 usable responses provided the data used to address study hypotheses and research questions. Two hypotheses were tested and four research questions addressed. Despite the failure to confirm Hypothesis one--that head coaches perceived that Proposition 48 has had moderate to strong affect on the preponderance of features of their intercollegiate student-athletes' educational planning and athletic programs--study results substantiated that Proposition 48 has had a notable impact on community college student-athletes across the nation. When differences in mean responses assessing Proposition 48's impact on black versus white student-athletes were compared using t-tests, a differential pattern of impact on blacks emerged, ranging from the.01 to.001 level of significance. These results support Hypothesis Two--that head coaches perceived that Proposition 48 has had a differential impact on black versus white student-athletes. Coaches reported a moderate to very strong perceived need for increased support services, yet less than half the community colleges sampled have initiated the needed support services. Cross-tabulations and chi-square analysis conducted on selected items indicated (a) that the discrepancies between the perceived need for services and the provision of those services were significant at the.001 level of significance, and (b) that community colleges with greater amounts of athletic grants-in-aid experience a greater negative impact of Proposition 48, particularly on blacks. It was concluded that Proposition 48 has had a notable impact on community college student-athletes' educational planning and intercollegiate athletic programs, and a significantly differential impact on black community college student-athletes as compared to white.