Athletic Sports Conferences
Introduction
An athletic sports conference is a body that is in charge of different kinds of sports within a geographical area. These teams then battle it out in different categories and levels. These include the professional, college and the high school levels. It is therefore of considerable value that the board runs smoothly due to the huge responsibility that it has. However, there are challenges that occur especially at the director’s level. These include management of the team, dealing with TV rights and the huge rivalry between the teams. There are challenges that could derail the running of the conference and therefore solutions for them are appropriate. The director has to work hard to run the conference by working to combat the challenges.
Problems facing athletic sports conferences and solutions
Rivalry among the sport conferences
In attempts to outdo each other in the business, individual athletic sports conferences are always in fights with other sports conferences. These conferences may share geographical location or profile in the manner in which their games are organized. Most conferences offer similar league set up upon which competition is based. The rivalry between athletic conferences may be in form of mind games or the most physical extent. The physical extent is normally fatal as it is transmitted to the fans, who are normally violent in their actions. The rivalry leads to negation of other inferior athletic conferences unable to compete against the superior associations to lower degrees. The financially stable associations always merge as the overall winners in this duel since they are able to improve on their outlook to attract new players or members to their association.
The rivalries between these associations are based on the premise that there is unequal means through which individuals are crowned as national champions. This rivalry is not healthy as it often leads to bloodshed thus an uphill task in trying to keep the associations together. Associations should be objective enough in how they control their businesses to avoid unhealthy rivalries. These rivalries are costly towards organizations and clubs. The faster they realize the better.
Money/financial issues
In order to maintain the daily running of the sports associations, adequate funds are required. Lack of funds paralyzes the activities of the association. Officers of the organizations/employees cannot be paid in time for the services they offer to the association. This creates a lot of tension within the management with threats of looming strikes and other threats. Whenever there is little motivation within the organization, the work rate or output of the employees is on the lowest side. This interprets negatively to the association, which will be operating in loss because of the ordeal. Lack of funds also affects the arrangement and execution of fixtures during the seasons. Match officials do not get their pay in time and the colleges, clubs and schools do not always pay the players. All these, undermines the efforts applied by the sports conferences to effectively and efficiently carry out its activities (Duderstadt, 2003).
In order to improve activities within the association, extra funds are needed. Now, these funds are not available to the conferences to make the required change to the level of competitions in which players are involved in and the prices at stake. This leads to stagnation point in the game business annually, making the competitions to pun out as a routine hence boring to the other shareholders. This reduces the amount of revenue collected at the end of each competition, thus loss in the view of the associations. In order to help solve the financial issue affecting the association and respective clubs, lucrative sponsorship deals by relevant companies should be advocated for and encouraged. Total revenue collected from sales of merchandize and gate collections should be managed effectively to carter for the well-being of the club in financial terms.
TV contracts/Deals
These refer to agreement between organizations and the TV owners on which event or game is to be presented live and at what time. From these contracts, teams and groups taking part in competition organized by the conferences benefit. Players get their salaries form such contracts. Problem comes in when there is a huge gap on how the contracts are spread amongst teams. Teams with higher televised games in a season always accumulate huge revenue come end of the season thus are financially stable than the disadvantaged teams in terms of TV rights allocations. This brings about the huge difference in the capabilities of teams to handle their daily activities and pay their officers and players in time. This creates the notion of small teams against big teams in the leagues (Duderstadt, 2003).
In order to limit the negativities brought by the TV rights, there should be a fair system responsible for equal distribution of the contracts and television rights. This will reduce the gaps brought about by different amount of revenues generated from TV contracts. This will enable teams to finance their activities and matches as per budgets.
Rivalry among teams
Teams participating in any league organized by athletic sports association possess considerable element of rivalry within them. This may be due to the geographical area they share or the histories that define the teams in context. These rivalries are usually known as derbies in football matches. Such rivalries are healthy in the sense they generate much revenue than the rest of other matches in the course of the season. These games are usually huge and attended by many fans. Problem comes in when the rivalry turns to be fatal. This occurs when fans turn against opposing fans during the derby for a bloodshed encounter (Duderstadt, 2003).
In order to avoid these scenarios, very critical and strict security should be put in place by athletic sports associations/conferences. The security officials in a match should be in ideal ratio to the fans available. That is, the number should compare effectively with the audience. The respective teams participating in the matches should take control of the security measures during the matches. Each fan should realize the importance of peaceful atmosphere in derby encounters, as these matches are just games and need not to be taken to the extent of abusing the rights of fellow individuals. Those noted to be involved in the scandals during the game, should be held accountable by the clubs or university officials.
Management of internal affairs
The main challenge that the director faces is management of the internal affairs first. When it comes to issues that concern personnel, a practical solution is useful. In sports, it is all about performance and results and so it is hard for the management when the team is having dismal results. Such poor results could lead to loss of support from the stakeholders. Whenever a team is performing poorly, the management is to question and not the coach. The solution therefore has to be sought fast enough (Smith, 2011). The management then has to use a fact-finding mission to figure out what the problem could be. There are various reasons that lead to poor performance in a team and the management has to use the right methods to avoid messing the situation more than it is. The coach could be at fault with lack of expertise or it could be poor performance of the team due to various reasons. If these are internal problems, the management should ask for a meeting with the team staff and then try to solve the issue accordingly (Duderstadt, 2003).
Dismissal of coaches
There are times when the party at fault is the coach or another member of staff. The main problem is that there is never the right time to ask the member of staff to leave. This is because the levels of patience in the board and amongst the fans of the teams are different. The management can solve this is by using the performance contracts. These are very useful when the staff is seeking employment. The performance contracts show the prospect that the management has in the team. The contract also shows what is unacceptable and acceptable. If the staff is not able to reach, the standards agreed priory then they are relieved of their duties. This ensures transparency within the conference because the appointment and dismissal of the staff is clear to all (Smith, 2011).
Poor fixture planning
The scheduling of matches within the conference can also bring anarchy between the teams involved. The way the matches are scheduled is very important so that all teams are under representation. The problem is when some teams have more time to rest than the others are which gives them an unfair advantage over the others (Smith, 2011). Another issue is the venues of the games whereby no team is supposed to have unfair advantages over others. Whenever some teams are favored more than the others are, there is a fall-out within the conference, which leads to disorganization. The solution to this is to select the teams in public. A random draw is more appropriate instead of a private selection, which does not create transparency. The conduction of the draw is also better in the presence of representatives of the teams. This creates confidence in the process and shows the teamwork within the conference.
Inadequate financial assistance from outside sources
The lack of outside support is also a hindrance to the conference. This is the lack of financial and moral support from the outside factors. This leads to limited financial incentives that reduce the morale of the teams. The sports that are involved with the corporate are not very famous compared to the professional sports. This is because of lack of exposure to the outside world. Support by big corporate organizations helps in publicizing the sports within the conference as an advertisement tool. Corporate support also gives confidence to the fans of the future. The conference also gets to undertake social responsibilities with the assistance of the corporate.
Membership to the conferences
The issue on conference membership is also a challenge that is derailing the growth of the conferences. There are issues on who the members of the conference should be and the criteria that is used in appointing them. This is more common in areas that have many fit teams that are ready to compete but the chances are limited according to the set up of the conference. Some teams end up complaining that the criterion favors some teams. This reduces the credibility of the conference as it faces accusations of bribery and under-hand methods. This challenge is overcome by putting up a system that vets the teams for merit. This means that a qualification program that is popular with the public is put in place and the teams then qualify for the conference games (Smith, 2011).
The Big 12 Conference consists of ten schools and majorly focuses on college athletic. The conference is located in central USA. Its main headquarters is in Las Colinas. The Big 12 is an NCAA member and the team comprise of football, which competes in the bawl competition.
How to keep the splitting of Big 12 conference from happening
Just like many other institutions, there is bound to be differences in the Big 12 conference. Some of the issues affecting the Big 12 conference are the sharing of the conference television revenues. This can be a major challenge to the conference but it can be handled, by proper sharing of the revenues in a proper manner to avoid conflicting parties. Creation of new cable channels in the Regulation of Texas is also a big factor when it comes to conferencing. In most institutions, the conferences must know the institution’s interests. Whether it is a positive or negative interest, it surely can bring the changes in the conference. Nearly all schools established that staying with the Big 12 conference is of great benefit to it.
In a situation where a school was to part ways with the Big 12 for another competitive league, the entire money would represent the television contracts in the new league then be sent back to the Big 12. To some extent, this can create a rift in the conference but a better solution can be done by tying the schools to the conference by offering better competitive and good services for the schools (Masteralexis, 2009). Creation of working groups and pledging to the conceding of the TV money can be challenging for the conference. Poor handling of such situation can lead to a slit especially with by the wrong management. In this case, properly educated managers in the field should be in place at all times to help counter the problem.
Majority of the problems that might involves the management. Poor management reshuffles, and relocations of the members can troublesome to the conference. Realignment shuffle can lead to chaos within the conference leading to confusion among the members of the conference. Members can stage a revolution to block the top management. This can destabilize or dissolve the conference completely.
To fight this, the management of the conference should properly inform its members on the various changes taking place in the management before taking the various steps they are planning. The members of the conference can give their opinions either positive or negative so that they can feel they are part of the projects undertaken. The conference constitution should be able to satisfy the member’s institutional rights. In case the rights are not exercised, several institutions may be affected severely.
The Big 12 conference feels it is not in a perfect position to start panicking about its member’s exodus despite some members bolting up forcing it to remain with 10 members only. The arrival of Longhorn Network threatened to destabilize other member’s commitment to the conference. This is a major challenge to the various cooperates and conferences. A member leaving his position can create a big gap to the conference especially if the member used to play a vital role. This can lead to the dissolution or destabilization of the conference. However, some measures can be taken early enough to avoid these embarrassing problems (Masteralexis, 2009).
Members should be given room to air their views thus incase he is not satisfied with the position he is undertaking, his rights should be well exercised, and when it comes to monetary. Trust issues are a major factor in most organizations. This can totally cripple and hurt an organization. Some organizations have put the biggest power brokers in their conferences making them change from their original nature of a trusted relationship to a relationship that seems to crumble in front of the various eyes. In situations like this, the conference management should ensure total transparency during the performance of its activities. Keeping some vital issues on the down low will lead to mistrusts and problems among the conference members.
The conference bosses language should be professional at all times to avoid misinterpretation by the different schools and for a good authority. UN professional language can create bad conference image to the members and the conference itself. In many settings, the schools are usually worried about the security of their jobs; it is not different from this conference in that, to avoid insecurity among the members and the schools should be given long-term contracts to tie them in the station (Masteralexis, 2009). The members and the schools should be given different opportunities and tokens to motivate them in their work. In circumstances where some members feel marginalized, it is best recommended to treat each member at per. The bosses should avoid taking sides and favoring schools over others. This can prompt a split or a walk away from by the parties involved.
Reference
Duderstadt, J. J. (2003). Intercollegiate athletics and the American university: A university president’s perspective. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Masteralexis, L. P., Barr, C. A., & Hums, M. A. (2009). Principles and practice of sport management. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Smith, R. A. (2011). Pay for play: A history of big-time college athletic reform. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Wong, G. M. (2009). The comprehensive guide to careers in sports. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
