FACTORS INFLUENCING

This study was carried out to examine the factors influencing the decline of sporting activities among University of Benin students, four research questions were raised and the descriptive survey research design was used for this study. The population of the Study comprised 243 student-athletes in the University of Benin who train daily at the various sporting facilities within the UNIBEN Ugbowo main campus. A sample size of 100 student-athletes was selected for this study and the research instrument used was a self-constructed questionnaire. The validity of the instrument was subjected to scrutiny and the Cronbach alpha method of reliability technique was used to ascertain it reliability. The correlation coefficient computed was 0.722 indicating that the instrument was reliable. The instrument was analyzed using mean and standard deviation. From the results, the current study indicate that instability of academic calendar, low level of students' motivation to sports participation, inadequate and poor maintenance of sports facilities, equipment and supplies and improper physical education background in primary and secondary schools affect University of Benin students' participation in sporting activities. It was recommended that there should be change in the work culture of the university and the nature of the students' weeks to give them more opportunities to participate in sporting activities by creating space for sports participation, the university management should create a well-structured programme with adequate evaluation that include all students participation in sporting activities by including it in the General Studies (GST) or adding it to the academic calendar of the university, athletic scholarships should be given and sports tournaments should be consistently held with tempting prizes for participants and winners. Nigerian primary and secondary schools should be looked upon as one of the fertile grounds for breeding the nation's future sports men and women by making physical education compulsory in all school levels