Organizational and Occupational Commitment, Intention to Leave, and Perceived Performance of Intercollegiate Coaches

Three hundred twenty-eight intercollegiate coaches (men = 240, women = 88; Division I = 156, Division III = 172) responded to a questionnaire measuring commitment to their university and coaching occupation, intention to leave the organization and occupation, their team standings, and perceptions of their performance. The variables of division, gender, and marital/lifestyle status affected neither organizational nor occupational commitments. Organizational commitments of affective, normative, continuance: high sacrifice, and continuance: low alternatives correlated significantly with intention to leave the organization and cumulatively explained 23.7% of the variance. Affective, normative, and continuance: low alternatives forms of commitment to occupation correlated significantly with intention to leave the occupation and cumulatively explained 23.1% of the variance. The bases of organizational commitment cumulatively explained 5.6% and 4.9% of the variance in subjective and objective performances, respectively. Results suggest that athletic departments should focus on enhancing their coaches’ commitment to the organization in order to retain them.