Amorose, A. J., & Horn, T. S. (2001). Pre- and post-season changes in intrinsic motivation of first year college athletes: Relationships with coaching behavior and scholarship status. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 13, 355-373.

This study examined whether the intrinsic motivation levels of first-year college athletes changed from pre- to post-season as a function of their scholarship status or their perceptions of their coaches' behaviors. Division I athletes (N = 72) were tested.

Neither scholarship status nor time affected athletes' levels of intrinsic motivation. There was a strong relationship between an athlete's perceptions of the coach's behaviors and changes in intrinsic motivation over the season. The most influential coaching variables were high frequencies of training and instructional behaviors, and low frequencies of autocratic behavior and social support.

Implication. While scholarships provide access to an education, it is the actual coaching behaviors in college athletics that influences intrinsic motivation. Therefore, the role and function of a coach in an educational setting should be monitored and evaluated if program satisfaction is an important criterion for the "educational success" of the college athletics experience.

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