Sports Studies Commons^™

Achieving Empowerment In Transition: Advice From Former Female Athletes, Ashlyn Hardie, Molly Harry, Kristi Oshiro, Marlene A. Dixon

Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics

Scholars have highlighted the various challenges college athletes encounter in their transition from sport. Yet, the strategies athletes adopt to navigate this transitory period require further examination. Thus, we leveraged Zimmerman’s Psychological Empowerment Model and Schlossberg’s Transition Theory to explore these strategies and associated processes in-depth. The sample for this study consisted of 20 former female athletes from the U.S. who played a college sport. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed numerous strategies current and future female college athletes implement to mitigate the challenges present in their transition, specifically: Finding Acceptance, Be Proactive, Don’t Stop 100%, Embrace the …

Sport Media Consumption In Ncaa Division І Fbs Subdivision: A Panel Regression Model Using X/Twitter, Seungbak Lee, Minsoo Kang, Wonson Lim, Ju-Pil Choe, Brennan K. Berg

Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics

Athletic departments in collegiate sports have increasingly focused on enhancing sport consumer interest through social media. As social media usage continues to grow in college sports, understanding audience behavior on these platforms has become essential for athletic departments. This study examines the factors influencing consumer interest in Division I football teams’ X (formerly Twitter) accounts, utilizing a panel dataset comprising 18,221 team-day observations. Key determinants of changes in X followers were identified, including teams’ social media activity, on-field performance, scheduling events, and timing effects, with a focus on fan interest across temporal patterns such as month-to-month and day-to-day variations. The …

Sport Employees And Resilience: An Examination Of Organizational Change With Ncaa Conference Realignment, Hailee Hernandez, Claire C. Zvosec, Brent D. Oja

Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics

NCAA conference membership is critically important to institutions as it is closely associated with revenue generation (i.e., conference-wide revenue distribution, ticket sales, fundraising, etc.) in addition to institutional visibility and prestige. Therefore, universities may pursue conference realignment opportunities based on higher potential revenue, institutional and athletics financial stability, and increased notoriety. Over the past 20 years, there have been at least 80 cases of schools moving conferences at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level. As universities move conferences, employees within the athletics department are exposed to rapid change in organizational structure and are forced to adapt to new institutional, athletics …

Name, Image, And Likeness: A Critical Exploration Through Self-Determination Theory, Molly Harry

Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics

Through Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), this study explored college athletes’ experiences with Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). Analyzing congressional testimonies from 10 current and recently graduated college athletes, this research highlighted how NIL fostered/constrained athlete development within the broader power structures of college sport. Findings revealed while NIL enhances self-determination through autonomy, competence, and relatedness, institutional discourses and governance mechanisms continue to regulate athlete development. Through Fairclough’s (1995) CDA framework, this study demonstrated how language throughout the athletes’ testimonies maintained/disrupted power dynamics which reinforced/challenged authority of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The integration of SDT and …

The Perception Of Hooliganism And Its Impact Among Naia Collegiate Soccer Players, Eric Street, Fred Cromartie, Steve S. Chen, Brandon Spradley

Findings in Sport, Hospitality, Entertainment, and Event Management

There have been multiple studies with regard to the different aspects of soccer hooliganism throughout the world. Most commonly, studies of hooliganism covered areas such as harassment, vandalism, fighting, theft, public intoxication, and crowd disorder revolving around the games of soccer in various countries. This phenomenon has been studied among the major four professional sports in the United States, yet there has been no extensive research on soccer “hooliganism” associated with Major League Soccer (MLS). This study examined the survey responses from 101 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) soccer players to identify their perceptions on severity of hooliganism and …

Nba Player Types And Salaries: Assessing The Disparities In Pay, Nick Riccardi, Rodney J. Paul

Sport Management - All Scholarship

The purpose of this study was to identify player types that exist in the modern National Basketball Association (NBA), test whether player types are paid differently controlling for performance and other factors and construct successful rosters with cheaper payrolls.
We collected performance statistics and salary data for players and teams across five seasons (2018-19 to 2022-23). Cluster analysis is leveraged to group together player-seasons to identify the player types that exist in the NBA. Linear regression models are run to test for differences in pay by cluster membership while controlling for performance, age, and contractual details. Linear programming simulation models …

Family Ties: Nba Draft Position And Player Performance, Nick Riccardi, Rodney J. Paul

Sport Management - All Scholarship

This study aims to investigate the role, if any, that nepotism plays in the careers of players in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Career performance is compared between the 780 players drafted from 2007-2019 with familial relationships considered. Ordinary Least Squares and logistic regression models are specified to estimate the effect of having a relative on the success of an NBA player’s career. We find that siblings of NBA players earn more and reach minimum games played thresholds more often, while sons of NBA players earn more, but generally do not reach games played thresholds more often than similarly-drafted peers.

There Is No Finish Line: The Ramps Framework – An Evolving Model For Working With Racial Identities In Sport And Performance Psychology, Dylan Vas

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

The field of sport psychology has persisted in its calls for action on increasing cultural competence, being more inclusive of underrepresented identities, and progressing towards social justice (AASP, 2024b; Bejar et al., 2022; Fisher et al., 2003; Martens et al., 2000; Quartiroli, et al., 2023; Ryba et al, 2013; Ryba et al., 2024). This work attempts to contribute to these calls by providing attention on racial identity – including the proposal of an actionable and novel model, The Racial Identity Model of Psychology in Sport (RAMPS) Framework. The proposed model incorporates publications from sport psychology, clinical psychology, and social justice …

A Thematic Analysis Of The Perceived Impact Of Nil Policy On Athletic Identity, Career Maturity, And Black Male Student-Athletes’ Experience Of Transitioning Away From Football, Jesse Merise

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

In 2007 the NCAA launched the widely recognized slogan, “There are over 380,000 student-athletes, and most of us will go pro in something other than sports.” Today, that figure has risen to over 540,000 and continues grow. Among them, Black male student-athletes (BMSAs) comprise 40% of collegiate football participation across all three divisions, a notable increase from 36% in 2012. Since only a small percentage of college football players go on to play professionally, it means that a large number of Black student-athletes will eventually have to leave sports and pursue other career paths.

This study examined the perceived impact …

Learning To Treat The Whole Person: Assessing Spiritual Care Curriculum Inclusion At Faith And Non-Faith-Based Doctor Of Physical Therapy And Master Of Athletic Training Programs In Texas, Tricia Blalock, Heather Hudson, Andrew R. Meyer, Ryan Hebdon

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Given the identified importance of assessing the spiritual domain of health as a component of cultural competence and holistic care in physical therapy and athletic training and the importance that their governing bodies have indicated that spiritual care should play in treating patients, this current study examined how faculty, at entry-level Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) and Master of Athletic Training (MAT) programs in Texas, perceive the importance and inclusion of spiritual dimensions of care in their programs. Methods: We disseminated an online, cross-sectional, mixed-methods survey to a total of 289 faculty members from a total of 27 programs …

An Analysis Of Potential Factors Influencing College Sport Communicators Feels Of Being Overworked And Underappreciated, Kelly P. Elliott, Natalie Bunch, Tyler Williams

Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics

CSCs play pivotal roles, balancing the preservation of student-athlete narratives with the real-time demands of media-driven communication. However, a persistent challenge has emerged: many CSCs experience a pronounced sense of being overworked and undervalued. This study aims to explore predictors contributing to CSCs' feelings of being overworked and underappreciated, investigating factors like years of experience, career motivations, reasons for institutional selection, and tenure plans to understand their impact on CSCs' perceptions before employment. Researchers sent a survey instrument that included Likert scale, closed-ended items related to feelings over being overworked and underappreciated to CSCs. The primary analysis involved an independent …

“I Want To Continue Athletics And I Also Want To Study”: Exploring International Student Athletes’ Transition Experiences To The Naia Affiliated Colleges, Kibaek Kim, Karina Jolly, Chris Corr, Jinwook Han

Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics

There are over a million international students pursuing their degrees in U.S. universities. Among them are 25,000 international student-athletes (ISAs) who are enrolled in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) affiliated Universities. While studies have been striving to foster and support this population’s successful transition to the U.S., few studies are available that deal with international student-athletes competing in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) affiliated universities. Hence, based on the transition theory, this study utilized focus group interviews to explore the transition experiences of ISAs competing in NAIA. Based on previous studies that explored the transition experiences of ISAs …

Do They Belong? Inquiries Into The Perceptions Of The Black Male College Athlete Identity In Higher Education, Marcis Fennell, Kayla Martinez, C.Keith Harrison, Whitney Griffin, Nick Kopka

Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics

This qualitative study examined attitudes about Black male college athletes (BMCA)in predominantly White higher education institutions. To investigate the experience in the classroom, the purpose of this study was to inquire into the perception of the BMCA identity from the identity of the non-college athletes (NCA). Using the social identity complexity model, we sought to understand the perceptions that influence group formation among college students. The present study employed the film elicitation technique to examine the NCAs’ perceptions of the legitimacy of the BMCA identity in higher education during faculty interactions and its correlation to ingroup formation. The findings from …

Meet The Fars: An Examination Of The Background, Roles, And Appointment Of Faculty Athletic Representatives At National Collegiate Athletic Association Member Institutions, Chris Corr, Christopher Atwater, Mark S. Nagel, Richard Southall, Rick Eckstein, Marek Taškár

Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics

As many National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) member institutions continue to engage in athletic centric decision-making processes, academic integrity and the campus experience for college athletes is often marginalized. Mandated by the NCAA to represent athletes’ academic interests, the faculty athletics representative (FAR) position is designed to occupy a central role in maintaining the primacy of academia among college athletes. FARs, however, exist within an institutional setting muddled by competing and contradictory logics. Accordingly, given the inherent juxtaposition between the operation of collegiate athletics and the stated role of FARs, the present study sought to examine the characteristics and positional …

Assessing College Athletic Departments’ Ability To Implement The Ncaa Mental Health Best Practices, Grace O. Louis, Shaine Henert

Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics

Student-athletes endure rigorous schedules, intense pressure, and significant physical and mental strain, all while being expected to show no signs of weakness. This high-stakes environment can exacerbate mental health challenges (Harris & Maher, 2023; Rice et al, 2016 & Brown, 2021). To address these concerns, the NCAA’s Sport Science Institute developed mental health best practices to support college student-athletes. However, FBS Division I non-autonomous athletic programs often struggle to fully implement these guidelines due to resource limitations, despite their commitment to student-athlete well-being (2021; Beebe & Petrie, 2024). This study employs an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach to explore the …

Sport And Black/African-Palestinian Transnational Solidarity: A Conversation, Joezer Antoine, Sean Jacobs, Munene Mwaniki, Yasmin Elgoharry, Jess Nachman, Chen Chen, Roc Rochon, Anthony J. Weems

Sport Management Collection

This paper is an edited transcript of an online panel that took place February 11, 2025, exploring the historical and contemporary forms of Black/African solidarity with the Palestinian liberation movement in the context of sport. Foregrounding the long tradition of leveraging sport within various anti-racist, anti-colonial, and anti-imperialist movements worldwide, this conversation emphasizes the urgency of developing sustained and renewed strategies of resistance. First, we outline Black-Palestinian Transnational Solidarity (BPTS) as a historical movement sustained by shared anti-imperialist principles. For decades, radical and revolutionary Black and African peoples have recognized Zionism as an extension of the racialized Western imperial project …

Ua21 What's New, Wku Institutional Equity

WKU Administration Documents

Newsletter created by and about the Office of Institutional Equity.

• Demir, Ena. A Message from the Executive Director
• Training Opportunities: Stay Informed & Engaged
• Understanding Title VI
• Student Accessibility Center Joins the Office of Institutional Equity
• Need Workplace Accommodations?
• Web Accessibility Regulations
• Relevant Information
• Stop Campus Hazing Act
• Meet the Team

Demographic Characteristics And Selected Personality Traits Of Women In Competitive Bodybuilding, Chloe A. Zeeuw

Master's Theses

This study investigated demographic characteristics and measures of personality (dimensions of performance perfectionism and five-factor model characteristics) in women in competitive bodybuilding between 18-25 years old. A total of 24 women completed an online survey which included a demographic questionnaire, the Five Factor Model Rating Form (FFMRF), and the Performance Perfectionism Scale for Sport (PPSS) inventories. Descriptive results for the FFMRF were Openness (18.17±3.12), Conscientiousness (25.58±3.33), Extraversion (19.96±3.46), Agreeableness (19.88±4.58), and Neuroticism (15.67±4.94), and for the PPS-S were Self-oriented performance perfectionism (20.96±3.53), Socially prescribed performance perfectionism (13.96±4.26), and Other-oriented performance perfectionism (10.54±4.23). Pearson’s correlation coefficients and Shapiro-Wilk tests revealed that …

Ua80/1 Agenda, W Club

University Organizations

Agenda of the August 2025 W Club Board of Directors meeting.

Engaging In Movement At Work: Exploring Engagement And Physical Activity., Spencer A. Cavan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

High levels of employee engagement provide organizations competitive advantages such as increased customer satisfaction, profits, and employee productivity. Despite potential benefits, the number of engaged employees is declining and organizations need to find innovative ways to enhance engagement. Emerging evidence suggests workplace physical activity may generate organizational benefits extending beyond health improvement. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions of engagement among employees participating in a physical activity intervention at work. A qualitative design, guided by phenomenology, examined perceptions of workplace physical activity and perceived levels of engagement, as well as constraints related to involvement among university …