Leadership Styles of College and University Athletic Directors and the Presence of NCAA Transgender Policy

In September 2011, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced the Policy on Transgender Inclusion. It provides guidelines for transgender student athletes to participate in sex-separated athletic teams according to their gender identity. The 2012 LGBTQ National College Athlete Report, the first of its kind, provided information to help serve gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer (GLBTQ) students. Although the Policy on Transgender Inclusion has been around since 2011 and the 2012 Report provided insights, the extent by which best practices have been implemented has not been adequately explored. This study examined the relationship of athletic directors’ leadership frames to transgender inclusion policies at institutions with NCAA athletics. Athletic directors from active member NCAA schools were contacted- 340 in Division I; 290 in Division II; and 436 in Division III. Leadership was examined according to the Multi-frame Model for Organizations in addition to Intersectionality Theory. The human resource frame was the most common and the political frame was the least. There were no statistically significant differences among NCAA Divisions or between private and public institutions. Although athletic directors acknowledged transgender policies and were aware of the legal parameters, lack of policy presence was prevalent on campuses.