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ABSTRACT
Over the past decades, popular media coverage of consequences produced by unethical decision-making in NCAA intercollegiate sport has grown rampant. On a daily basis, intercollegiate sport managers and administrators are charged with producing decisions stemming from ethically based dilemmas. However, sport managers are rarely prepared with the appropriate ethical decision-making skills and foundations. It is the primary purpose of this review to present the main tenets and features of three popularly followed sport-based ethical decision-making models. Specifically, DeSeni and Rosenberg's (2003) utility, rights, and justice model, Malloy, et al.'s (2003) three -way perspective model, and Bridges and Roquemore's (2004) rational approach model will be analyzed. Within the discussion of each, the significant contributions and potential limitations of application towards intercollegiate athletics are presented. Lastly, this review aims to support decision-making education and foundation implementation in practical settings to develop the moral maturation of intercollegiate sport managers and administrators.
INTRODUCTION
Rule violations, unethical decision-making, and instances of unethical misconduct in intercollegiate sport are ubiquitous occurrences that have been outlined by a series of prominent sport scholars (e.g., Coakley, 2009; French, 2004; Oriard, 2009; Simon, 2010; Yost, 2010). Intercollegiate sport managers, administrators, and coaches are faced with producing decisions concerning ethically-based dilemmas with their personal lives, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules and regulations, university policies, and local, state, and national laws on a daily basis. For example, one of the most prevalent rule violations in intercollegiate athletics is the use of impermissible recruiting tactics and procedures (NCAA, n.d.). According to the NCAA Legislative Services Database (LSDBi), since January of 2000, 97 member institutions have committed significant recruiting infractions that warranted recruiting sanctions handed down by the NCAA Committee on Infractions (NCAA, n.d.). In hopes to deter unethical behavior during the recruitment of potential student-athletes, the NCAA Manual devotes an entire chapter/section to review various recruiting rules and regulations (e.g., the time frame in which coaches or other personnel can contact potential student-athletes, the total number of phone calls and text messages allowed, the enticement of student-athletes with illegal benefits such as cash payments or gifts, the determination between official and unofficial campus visits). Despite this detailed account of recruiting regulations, the NCAA enforcement staff has still appeared to be overworked and outnumbered, with countless...