Abstract:

In 1978, P. Chelladurai and A. Carron developed the Multidimensional Theory of Sports Leadership. Considered a major breakthrough in sport leadership research, this theory is sport-specific and provides the framework for the study of leadership in an athletic environment. The essence of the Multidimensional Theory is "that situational characteristics have an impact on the coach's behavior and, in turn, the coach's behavior has consequences for athlete satisfaction and individual and team performance". (p.35)

This research extends the knowledge of leader behavior in sport by investigating contemporary coaches' perceptions of behavior preferences and whether or not these preferences affect winning success. Exploring the relationship between leadership theory and sport, this study focuses on leadership style preference of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men's and women's head coaches in the sport of basketball at the NCAA Division I level. Specifically, to what extent does leadership style preference predict success in NCAA Division I Basketball Coaching?

Descriptive in nature, this investigation examined the relationship between perceived leadership style preferences of men and women head basketball coaches at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level and their success, defined by winning success as a NCAA Division I head coach.

Subjects completed the Leadership Scale for Sport (LSS), (Chelladurai, 1980), used to measure leadership style, and a completed Coaching Demographics Form (Appendix I). The LSS is a 40-item questionnaire designed specifically for use in sport to measure a coach's perceptions of his or her leadership behavior. In the development of the LSS a five-factor solution was found to be the most meaningful. The factors were labeled Training and Instruction, Democratic Behavior, Autocratic Behavior, Social Support, and Positive Feedback Behavior.

A positive relationship was found between democratic behavior and training and instruction with r = .223, (p = .000). A positive relationship was also found between social support and winning percentage; r = .144 (p = .007). Social support behavior was a predictor for winning success.