Not So Black and White: A Multi-Divisional Exploratory Analysis of Male Student-Athletes’ Experiences at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Institutions

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the nature and quality of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) male student-athletes’ college experiences across race, sport, and divisional classifications. In recent years, the NCAA and its member institutions have faced intense scrutiny regarding the purpose of intercollegiate athletics within their educational missions. Additional concerns have been levied at the NCAA for persistent academic performance gaps along gender and racial lines across all divisions. However, limited research has engaged in multidivisional analyses of male student-athletes across racial groups and sport types. Using data from the 2006 NCAA GOALS study viewed through the lens of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, the current study examined differences in male student-athletes’ experiences across racial groups, type of sport involvement, and divisional classifications. Key findings indicated salient differences between the social experiences across divisional and sport type classifications as well as significant differences between the academic experiences of Black and non-Black male student-athletes. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.Le but de cette étude était d’examiner la nature et la qualité des expériences scolaires des étudiants-athlètes masculins de la National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) en fonction de la race, du sport et la division de pratique. Récemment, la NCAA et ses institutions membres ont dû faire face à un examen minutieux concernant l’adéquation du sport interuniversitaire avec leurs missions éducatives. Des inquiétudes additionnelles ont été exprimées par la NCAA par rapport à la persistance des écarts en termes de réussite académique en fonction du sexe et de la race dans l’ensemble des divisions. Cependant, rares sont les travaux ayant proposé des analyses multidivisionnelles sur les étudiants-athlètes en fonction des groupes raciaux et des types de sports. En s’appuyant sur les données de l’étude NCAA GOALS de 2006, et au prisme de la théorie des systèmes écologiques de Bronfenbrenner, la présente étude a examiné les différences entre les expériences des étudiantsathlètes en fonction des groupes raciaux, du type d’investissement sportif et de la division de pratique. Les principaux résultats montrent des différences saillantes entre les expériences sociales en fonction du type de sport et du niveau de pratique mais aussi des différences significatives entre les expériences académiques des étudiants noirs et non-noirs. Les implications politiques et pratiques sont discutées.

The Perfect Game: An Ecological Systems Approach to the Influences of Elite Youth and High School Baseball Socialization

“…These systems include the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem (Bronfenbrenner, 1977;Bronfenbrenner, 1994). Ecological systems theory has been used in sport research to examine the development of sport talent (Krebs, 2009), the experiences of male college athletes at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) institutions (Cooper et al, 2017), parental involvement in youth sport (Holt et al, 2008), sport for development programs (Burnett, 2015), cognition and action in sport and exercise (Araújo & Davids, 2009), and models of physical activity (Spence & Lee, 2003). Ecological systems theory also has been used to examine youth Bowling Green State University -https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/jade/ JADE programs beyond sport (Duerden & Witt, 2010).…”

A Division III Study: Does Being a Collegiate Athlete Cause Lower GPAs, While Also Causing Negative Treatment in the Classroom by Other Students?

“…However, it seems once they come in contact with the team, individuality is lost and the individual meshes with the team. It seems that once on the team players start achieving similar lower GPAs and start to feel academically detached from the other students who are not athletes (Adler and Adler 1985;Cokley et al 2015;Cooper, Davis, and Dougherty 2017). The hours and amount of practice athletes are required to participate in foster the disengagement towards academics (Eitzen 1987).…”

“…It seems that athletes are asked to spend so much time together that they develop "collectivist" ideals (Eitzen 1987). Teams often develop group think, whether this become apparent with many team members choosing the same major or how intense of an emphasis a team puts on academic success (Eitzen 1987;Rubin and Moses 2017;Cooper et al 2017). While spending so much time with their athlete peers, athletes isolate themselves from non-athletes.…”

“…While spending so much time with their athlete peers, athletes isolate themselves from non-athletes. In the classroom there is a preference towards sitting together and in some ways alienating their peers (Eitzen 1987;Rubin and Moses 2017;Cooper et al 2017).…”

“…The literature states that athletes isolate themselves from the rest of their college peers who are non-athletes (Eitzen 1987;Rubin and Moses 2017;Cooper et al 2017). They then associate with each other meaning that they are not treated poorly by other students because they have limited or close to no interactions with them (Eitzen 1987;Rubin and Moses 2017;Cooper et al 2017). With this in mind, the fact that athletes are not perceived to be treated poorly must be due to the two groups, athletes and non-athletes, being kept separate.…”