Diversity efforts implemented by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) hope to improve the Association through the addition of multiple voices in athletics. Notably, the Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) designation is intended to encourage and promote the involvement of female administrators in meaningful ways in the decision-making process in intercollegiate athletics. This role, created under Article 4.02.4 of the NCAA constitution, is to be filled by the highest ranking female in each NCAA athletic department or member conference (Levick, 2002; Raphaely, 2003). Given the evolving definition and nature of the SWA designation and of female managerial roles (Eagly & Karau, 2002), there exists a question as to whether the SWA designation has provided the scope of decision-making and authority suggested in the NCAA definition of the designation. Research must show if SWAs are able to use their power and give different opinions. It must also uncover if there is still a need for the SWA role and if the title is still appropriate for this designation.

Athletic programs within Division I-A universities and colleges have maintained a unique relationship with both the NCAA and their governing academic institutions. Resources in support of academic, social, and athletic services for student athletes vary across the country for Division-I collegiate athletes. The purpose of this study was to assess the attitudes and opinions of student athletes concerning academic, athletic, and social services provided to them at numerous Division-I athletic programs. Student athletes have not been assessed through a questionnaire concerning their own perceptions and opinions of the specific services (athletic, academic, and social) provided to them at their designated university. Is there a relationship between the attitudes and opinions of student athletes on academic, athletic, and social services and the amount of money spent per student athlete at their Division-I institutions? Four Division-I universities were viewed, individually, according to the athletic academic budget designated for each scholarship student athlete. As a result of the findings, the following summary and conclusions were drawn regarding student athletes' attitudes and opinions toward athletic academic services provided at their designated university. The researcher concluded that overall gaps between expectations and experiences do exist at all target universities. There is a realistic value in identifying expectation-experience gaps at individual universities as a means for internal evaluation and potential improvement for services provided to student athletes. Identification of areas in need of change or improvement would be the first step toward creating a more holistic environment for the student athletes at each targeted university.

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The present article addresses issues within U.S. collegiate sport as it pertains to the physical preparation and health and well-being of intercollegiate athletes. Specifically, the sport coach is often perceived as “all knowing” about every facet of their sport when, in fact, they typically are not formally educated or well-trained in current methods of enhancing sport performance. Often strength and conditioning coaches, who may also be poorly trained, are tied directly (financially and administratively) to the sport coach—a situation which has led to a subservient role heavily influenced by the wishes of the sport coach. This has unfortunately resulted in the multidimensional well-being of the athlete clearly not being a primary objective in many programs.

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Eating disorders (EDs) are strikingly common among American adults. Past research has indicated that athletes in general are particularly vulnerable to developing EDs due to media pressure, athletic drive, and the population’s proclivity to perfectionism. Most ED research, both in athletic and non-athletic populations, is female-focused, as women are more likely to develop EDs. However, men are still susceptible to develop EDs and are understudied. Links between lack of autonomy and EDs exist in familial settings, but have yet to be applied in organizational settings. This quantitative thesis sought to bridge a research gap by assessing ED levels in male NCAA Division 1 athletes and examining the relationships with perceived levels of concertive, institutional, and simple control present in athletic settings. Findings indicated that although athletes perceived different forms of control in their sport, these forms of control did not negatively affect their eating habits. Implications and direction for future research are explored.

ABSTRACT For the past five years, I have been a Division I Women’s Basketball player under the National Collegiate Athletic Association. I have played at two different schools, I have spoken to numerous investigators and lawyers, and I am now on my third set of college basketball coaches. Most athletes that enter college have one set of four-five coaches during their four-five-year period, I have had thirteen. College basketball has presented countless challenges for me mentally and psychically. For a while I thought that the adversity that I was facing as a young woman playing a high level of athletics was considered normal, but now that I have grown, reflected, and sought out opinions of professionals I know that my experience wasn’t a “normal” one. Throughout my time as an NCAA athlete I have been home to the harsh routine that so many young student-athletes struggle to get through. In this paper, I am reflecting upon my experience as a college athlete and college sports as I know it. The NCAA is one of the most corrupt corporations in our modern-day world. Despite its claims that ensure success of student-athletes, the NCAA treats athletes not developing human beings, but as objects that contribute to their dirty multi-million-dollar franchise. At the end of the day, they NCAA is a business that operates around making money around student-athlete’s identity and runs in a way that doesn’t benefit student-athletes. Throughout my paper I will be discussing the rules of the NCAA and how they play out in reality, as well as how they can be improved. I am also writing this paper to have a conversation about how hard it is to be a college athlete in general, many people have a false perception of the life we live, and I want to clear some things up. The NCAA doesn’t take the mental health of athletes seriously. There are plenty of opportunities to improve the way the NCAA treats its athletes, while still profiting from the goldmine they make off of amateurism. The NCAA doesn’t put student athletes in a position to take full advantage of their scholarship, let alone gives them a chance at being a healthy, functioning, young adult. I will be telling personal stories that relate to bigger topics and issues within the NCAA, as well as how I think they can be improved for the well-being of college athletes. This paper is my story, this paper is a personal account of the power of resilience.

This research focuses on college football players from low socioeconomic backgrounds (i.e., attended a Title I High School) and examines whether they are more likely to experience athletic success and influence the performance of the college football programs they attend relative to other student-athletes. The results show that, over the period 2010-2016, Title I players are more likely to be drafted or play in the NFL than other student-athletes. In addition, teams with more Title I players on their roster appear to reap some benefits. On one hand, Title I heavy rosters are associated with better conference records and are more successful in terms of having their players drafted. On the other hand, Title I heavy rosters are not associated with the program's financial performance or ability to produce NFL players. Overall, the evidence supports the notion that socioeconomic background is important for athletic success, especially at the individual level. However, this effect is reversed in the case of student-athletes playing as quarterbacks, which raises interesting questions for future research.

Informed by the words and experiences of 41 Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) student-athletes, this qualitative study reveals the complexities of the student-athlete academic experience shaped by the expectations of their athletic role, the campus climate, and the NCAA Academic Reform Package. Using role-identity as a theoretical framework, it examines how, over time, these student-athletes have shaped their athletic and academic role-identities, and the roles played in such shaping by those in their academic and athletic role-sets. The study critically examines the academic decisions made by these student-athletes, questions the isomorphic academic and athletic rubric, and proposes suggestions for the enhancement of the student-athlete experience within the confines of the academic reform policies.

In "One Foot In: Student-Athlete Advocacy and Social Movement Rhetoric in the Margins of American College Athletics," the author explores student-athlete advocacy of black male student-athletes in revenue generating sports and educational and cultural reforms to NCAA policies and bylaws over approximately two decades (1985-2006). The author examines non-profit organizations--Black Coaches Association, Drake Group, Institute for Diversity and Ethics and Sport, and Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics--who pressured the NCAA to enact measures to restore order and balance to American college athletics. In addition, these measures are designed to increase student-athlete graduation rates, increase opportunities for minority coaches and administrators, and protect college educators who blow the whistle on institutions who commit infractions. The author begins by identifying social movement rhetorical strategies--the "Triple Front" strategy of Harold Cruse and Agitation/Control Rhetoric of Bowers, Ochs, and Jensen--to analyze rhetorical interactions between non-profit organizations and the NCAA, especially how the NCAA responds by using control rhetoric in order to protect itself from outside influences. Finally, the author ends the discussion by using autoethnography to analyze my own experiences as a writing program administrator challenging NCAA hegemony by running a progressive writing program within a traditional student-athlete study hall.