Athletic Success and Donation Intentions: Does Sense of Community Mediate?

Abstract

As Division-I FBS expenditures continue to rise, it is of paramount importance for universities to better understand the benefits received as a result of athletic success. Specifically, previous research has identified a strengthened campus sense of community and increased donation levels as potential beneficial outcomes of football success. However, it is not clear how football success, sense of community, and donation intention operate cumulatively. Therefore, this study sought to explain the effect of football success on donation intentions, with the mediating effect of campus sense of community. FBS students (N = 253) reported their perceptions of football success, campus sense of community, and intentions to donate to their universities’ annual funds, as well as the athletic departments. Two separate mediation analyses indicated partial mediation for both annual fund donation intentions and athletic department donation intentions. Team identification was also found to be a positive, significant predictor of sense of community, (p < .05). These results suggest university administrators may anticipate institution-wide benefits from football success, but they may be contingent upon students’ identification levels with the football team.