Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Resiliency, Mindset, And Academic Performance: A College Athlete's Perspective, Trisha C. Giacomazzi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem addressed in this qualitative case study was the low graduation rates self-reported by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics institutions when compared to the general student population at a small Christian university in the Southern United States. In this study, I sought to acquire a deeper understanding of the degree to which an athlete’s mindset and psychological resilience influenced their perseverance and academic achievement on their path toward graduation. Utilizing semistructured interviews as the primary data collection method, I used purposive, convenience, and snowball selection methods to enlist a total of 10 participants from a pool of 52 …

Reasoned Action Approach To Analyze Differences In Athletes' Physical Activity During Covid-19, Olivia Branson, Karly S. Geller, Paul Branscum

Health Behavior Research

The purpose of this study was to examine the reasoned action approach (RAA) in relation to the impact of COVID-19 on college athletes’ physical activity (PA). Participants were college athletes (ages 18-22 years) who were involved in university, club, and/or intramural sport. The RAA constructs were measured for the three different types of PA behaviors. Statistical analyses included ANOVA and multiple regression analyses to evaluate the RAA determinants of PA intentions. Results partially supported theoretical expectations. All RAA constructs had an impact on perceived norms indicating a dominant influence. Remote social interaction/training during isolation periods are suggested to promote sustained …

“I Might As Well Get My Education”: The Experiences Of Black Male Division Iii College Athletes, Lisa M. Rubin, Rhema D. Fuller, Sarah Stokowski

Journal of Athlete Development and Experience

Division III college athletes have been largely ignored in the growing literature involving college sport. Given that the majority of college athletes that participate in high profile sports are athletes of color, there is a need to explore the experiences of this population, specifically at the Division III level. Informed by the Excellence Beyond Athletics (EBA) framework, which empowers students of color, especially Black male athletes, the purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of Black male athletes at two rural Division III institutions. Ten Black male Division III athletes took part in semi-structured interviews. Using inductive analysis …

Division I College Athletes’ Self-Perception: Investigating The Impact Of Race And Discrimination, Sean Strehlow, Sayvon Jl Foster, Rhema Fuller, B. David Ridpath, Alison Fridley, Sarah Stokowski

Journal of Athlete Development and Experience

Self-perception is the level of competency at which individuals evaluate themselves in certain areas or domains (Marsh & Shavelson, 1985). An individual’s self-perceptions contribute to their global self-worth and even predicts performance (Cuellar, 2014; Harter & Neemann, 2012). This study measures self-perception scores, as well as experiences with racial discrimination, of 306 NCAA Division I college athletes using the Self-Perception Profile for College Students (Harter & Neemann, 2012). Scores are compared across race. Findings suggest that White college athletes have significantly higher self-perception scores than college athletes of color - with recent discrimination (within the last year) as a significant …

Enhancing Financial Literacy Among College Athletes, Lisa M. Rubin, Mindy Joseph, Sonya Lutter, Daron K. Roberts, Julian J. Jones

Journal of Athlete Development and Experience

College students, including athletes, have limited exposure to financial education prior to enrolling in college (Britt et al., 2015). Athletes juggling two full-time roles as athlete and college student have limited time for financial education and the opportunity to work. Some athletes receive athletic scholarships and some do not, but either way, many athletes must seek additional funding and student loans to pay for college. Huston’s (2010) model demonstrated connections between financial literacy, behaviors, and education to serve as a framework for our study. The purpose of this study was to determine college athletes’ subjective and objective financial literacy, how …

A Qualitative Examination Of Sport Retirement In Former Ncaa Division I Athletes, Kelly Barcza-Renner, Amber M. Shipherd, Itay Basevitch

Journal of Athlete Development and Experience

Statistics indicate that the overwhelming majority of NCAA Division I college athletes will not continue in their sport professionally (NCAA, 2019). Therefore, there is a need to develop a deeper understanding of the variables that influence college athletes’ psychological health and well-being as they transition to retirement. The present study gathered detailed information about 15 former NCAA Division I college athletes’ retirement experiences four to five months post retirement. The findings suggested that the former college athletes had varied retirement experiences ranging from negative to positive. All college athletes who reported having a successful retirement transition described having at least …

Ncaa Division I Athletes’ Engagement In Educationally Sound Activities: A Review Of The Research, Eddie Comeaux, Rebecca E. Crandall

Journal of Athlete Development and Experience

Today’s academic support centers will have to forge a more authentically responsive approach to address the needs of intercollegiate athletes in U.S. higher education. This approach must include new and different ways of thinking about all athletes and the quality of their educational experience. This article presents findings from a review of a steadily growing body of research on the benefits of educationally sound engagement activities for Division I athletes. The review indicates that participating in purposeful engagement activities enhances athletes’ personal and academic self-concept and their collective learning and communication skills. These academic-related activities for athletes are conditional on …

Comparing Division Ia Scholarship And Non-Scholarship Student-Athletes: A Discriminant Analysis Of Academic Performance, Lisa Melanie Rubin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Many research studies have examined the academic performance and graduation rates of college student-athletes. The limited focus on scholarship student-athletes has overlooked the majority of NCAA student-athletes, those participating in collegiate athletic programs without athletic scholarships. Therefore, this study contributes to a gap in the literature about non-scholarship student-athletes. The following dissertation examined the academic performance, time-to-degree, and demographic and profile characteristics of Division IA scholarship and non-scholarship student-athletes. The theoretical framework for this study was work motivation viewing athletic scholarships as extrinsic rewards. The researcher applied descriptive discriminant analysis utilizing secondary data to compare scholarship and non-scholarship student-athletes across …

Division I Student-Athlete Degree Choice Assessment, Tony Terrell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Though the NCAA has established rules that require student-athletes to complete their college degree in an expeditious manner, the 40/60/80% rule may impinge on student-athlete academic decisions (i.e., degree choice).Yet limited empirical data exist regarding the nature and prevalence of student-athlete degree impingement. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Student-Athlete Degree Choice Questionnaire (SA-DCQ). The SA-DCQ assesses factors that influence Division I student-athletes' degree choice. An initial 40 item, 4 component SA-DCQ instrument was piloted with 170 Division I student-athletes. In order to develop scales, Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was conducted. PCA results yielded 13 …

Perceptions Of Sport Retirement By Current Student-Athletes, Brandy Sue Leffler

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study focused on the problem of college student-athletes retiring from their sports unprepared for life outside of sanctioned athletics. The purpose was to identify if a current student-athlete believes he/she is prepared for a career life after competitive college athletics and who the student-athlete feels should provide guidance into the sport retirement transition process. The research questions were: (1) Do current student-athletes feel they are properly prepared to enter into sport retirement (voluntary or involuntary) by their institution?; (1a) Do current student-athletes feel the institution/organization they are associated with should provide athletic retirement planning or aid?; (2) Does the …

The Relationship Between Institutional, Departmental And Program-Specific Variables And The Academic Performance Of Division I Fbs Football Programs, Steven C. Eigenbrot

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study investigated the connection between the academic evaluation of Division I FBS football programs and the various social settings that influenced these student-athletes. These social settings were classified as: institutional, departmental and program-specific. The experience of the student-athlete is thought to be impacted by all three settings, creating applicability for social identity theory, which provides the theoretical framework of the study.

Coaching Motivation, James Derella

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Introduction

The ability to motivate athletes is one of the major requirements of being a good coach at any level. Collegiately it may even be more important because college athletes are trying to juggle so much in their life. Student athletes have to deal with schoolwork, practice, social life and other various demands that coaches, peers, individual and family members put on them. Student-athletes need to also weigh the options of trying to make sport a career or making sport a secondary option and making education. All educational institutions act politically correct and say that student-athletes are exactly that: students …