Relationships between met-expectation and attitudinal outcomes of coaches in intercollegiate athletics

•Coaches generally indicated high levels of the met-expectations regarding resource allocation among teams.•Met-expectation of organizational justice had both direct and indirect impacts on attitudes via organizational support.•Differing paths in the proposed model were observed between high profile and non-high profile sports.The purpose of this study was to examine direct and indirect relationships between met-expectation and coaches’ attitudinal work-related outcomes (job satisfaction and organizational commitment) through the mediating effects of perceived organizational support. A total of 260 coaches at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, II, and III institutions in the United States participated in the online survey. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated full mediation of perceived organizational support between met-expectation and job satisfaction and partial mediation of perceived organizational support between met-expectation and organizational commitment. In addition, the results of multiple group SEM revealed distinct paths between high profile sports and non-high profile sports. Met-expectation had only indirect relationships with job satisfaction and organizational commitment through perceived organizational support for coaches in high-profile sports. However, met-expectation had both direct and indirect relationships with organizational commitment for coaches in non-high profile sports. The results generally support the effects of met-expectation on coaches’ attitudes, which highlights the importance of clear expectations for coaches and their immediate supervisors.