Formation and Function of a Collegiate Athletics Sustainability Committee

Abstract

Institutions of higher learning may be considered dual-identity organizations because of the perceived distinctiveness between universities’ academic and athletic missions. One way in which these barriers can be weakened is through cross-sector social partnerships (CSSP), a form of collaborative engagement aimed at achieving a common societal goal. In this study, we examine the formation of a university-directed CSSP focused on enhancing environmentally sustainable initiatives within the athletic department. Interviews with 11 members of a so-called Green Team illustrate the processes of boundary spanning and boundary blurring. As demonstrated in the article, boundary spanning occurred under the leadership of a “champion” who assembled a team of stakeholders to assist with the major renovation of a pro-environmental football stadium. Though the sustainability committee has a common goal, not all experiences of Green Team members have been the same. In light of these differences, we identify key barriers and prescribe solutions that can lead to the realization of a new organizational form.

‘A Nut We Have Officially yet to Crack’: Forcing the Attention of Athletic Departments Toward Sustainability Through Shared Governance

“…Accordingly, these findings reify the work of McCullough, Kellison, and Wendling [30], who suggest cross-functional sustainability teams provide a bridge with university-wide goals through formal, joint decision-making processes. Similarly, shared governance provides an opportunity for universities to operationalize sustainability as a legitimate bonding mechanism, which Bstieller et al [64] suggest is made possible by how shared governance enables organizations to adapt to new circumstances.…”

“…Casper, Pfahl, and McSherry [18] found 41% of Division I institutions had athletic department representation on campus-wide sustainability teams, while Casper and Pfahl [19] found 28% of Division III institutions with similar involvement. Nevertheless, McCullough et al [30] suggest that green teams provide a bridge with university-wide goals through formal, joint decision-making processes.…”

“…Athletic departments look to compensate for a lack of a coordinated and organized approach to sustainability through the creation of cross-functional 'green teams' [18,19,29,30]. Green teams are voluntary and formal collaborative arrangements between relevant internal and external stakeholders that can help advance an organization's sustainability initiatives [30]. Moreover, a green team is a planning and policy making team whose impact extends into organization operations and the external world of its stakeholders [29].…”

Sport Ecology: Conceptualizing an Emerging Subdiscipline Within Sport Management

“…At the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III level, Casper and Pfahl (2015a) identified three critical barriers to the implementation of proenvironmental initiatives: a lack of funding to support efforts, a need for additional staff that could specialize in sustainability initiatives, and a desire for information gathering and further planning. In response to these concerns, organizations across all levels of sport have begun creating so-called green teams, cross-sector social partnerships comprising several different specializations, with the aim of identifying and removing barriers in order to promote sport ecology (McCullough, Kellison, & Wendling, 2018;Pfahl, Casper, Trendafilova, McCullough, & Nguyen, 2015).…”

Collegiate athletics environmental sustainability efforts within STARS reporting

“…In North America, the cultural significance and size of collegiate athletics make it worthwhile to examine with regard to its environmental impact (Pfahl, 2013). Researchers examining environmental sustainability in collegiate sport have primarily focused on the environmental impact of events (Dolf and Teehan, 2015;Triantafyllidis et al, 2018), athletic department environmental strategies (Casper and Pfahl, 2015;Casper, Pfahl, and McSherry, 2012), fan engagement campaigns (Casper et al, 2020;Casper et al, 2014Casper et al, , 2017 and interactions between collegiate athletic administrators and campus sustainability staff (McCullough et al, 2018;Pelcher and McCullough, 2019;Pfahl et al, 2015). Despite the focus on the development and evolution of administrative relationships between college campus stakeholders, specifically sustainability officers and collegiate athletic departments, further examination is necessary to evaluate the fruits of those collaborations to determine whether they are effective (White, 2014).…”