Athletics or Academics? An Analysis of Student-Athlete ...
Transcript of Athletics or Academics? An Analysis of Student-Athlete ...
AthleticsorAcademics?AnAnalysisofStudent-AthleteCollegiatePriorities
LexiMendes
UndergraduatePublicPolicyHonorsThesisDukeUniversity
Durham,NorthCarolina2016
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AcknowledgementsIwouldliketogiveaspecialthankyoutoProfessorMuschkinandProfessorGibson-Davisfortheirtime,guidance,andexpertise.Thesuccessfulcompletionofthisprojectcertainlywouldnothavebeenpossiblewithouttheircontinualsupport.Iwouldalsoliketothankmyfriendsandfamilyforsupportingmypassions,andhelpingmethroughoutthisentirejourney.
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TABLEOFCONTENTSAbstract 4Introduction 5TheoreticalFramework 7Hypotheses&ObservableImplications 16ResearchDesign 18Findings 26Discussion/Conclusion 37References 46Appendixes 50
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ABSTRACT
Thisthesisexaminestheacademicandathleticprioritiesofcollegiatestudent-athletes,usingDukeUniversityasacasestudy.Analysesofinformationcollectedthroughonlinesurveys(N=151)andin-personinterviews(N=8)suggestthatbothnon-revenueathletesandrevenueathletesvaluetheiracademicsmorethanathletics.However,comparisonsofthetwogroupsindicatethatnon-revenueathletesvaluetheiracademicsslightlymorethandorevenueathletes.Revenueathletesstrugglewithshort-termacademicgoals,suchasstudyingoutsideofclassandturningacademiccourseworkinbeforethedeadline.Thesefindingssuggesttheneedformoreeffectivesupportpoliciestohelprevenueathletesdevotemoretimetotheiracademiccourses.
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In2014,collegiatesportsprogramsintheAtlanticCoastConference(ACC)
generatedroughly$305millioninrevenue,makingitthesecondmostlucrative
collegeconferenceintheUnitedStates(Forbes,2015).Abouteightmillion
individualsattendtheseACCfootballandbasketballhomegameseachyear,with
millionsmorewatchingthegamesontelevision(NCAA,2014;NCAA,2015).Clearly,
collegiateathleticsareanessentialaspectofAmericanculture;withover460,000
student-athletesintheNCAA,theseindividualsareanimportantpartofhigher
education(NCAA,2015;Upthegroveetal.,1999).However,somecriticssuggestthat
thisemphasisoursocietyplacesonathleticperformancecausesstudent-athletesto
undervaluetheiracademics(Ariesetal.,2004;Upthegroveetal.,1999;VanRheenen
&Atwood,2014).
Thepurposeofthisstudyistoexaminethevariousprioritiesofcollegiate
student-athletes,specificallycomparinghowindividualsvalueacademicsand
athletics.Thisthesiswillseparatelyanalyzethereportedprioritiesofthetwomajor
groupsofstudent-athletes:revenueathletesandnon-revenueathletesatasingle
university.Forthepurposesofthisstudy,therevenuesportsconsideredwillbe
men’sbasketballandfootball,andnon-revenuesportswillincludeallremaining
programs.Ihypothesizethatnon-revenueathleteswillplaceahighervalueontheir
academicsthantheirathletics,whereasrevenueathleteswillgivemoreprecedence
totheirathleticsoveracademics(notethatthroughoutthethesis,Iusetheterms
“priority”and“value”interchangeably).Individualsinthisstudywillbemale
student-athletesatDukeUniversity,aneliteacademicinstitutionwithNCAA
DivisionIathletics.
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Thisstudywillcontributetoexistingliteraturebyanalyzingthedifferences
inprioritiesofstudent-athletesfromrevenueandnon-revenuesports.Previous
studieshavefocusedondifferencesinacademicperformanceofrevenueandnon-
revenueathletes,ratherthandifferencesintheiracademicandathleticpriorities
(Ting,2009;Jolly,2008;Simons,etal,1999;Adler&Adler,1985).Additionally,
amongthefewstudiesthathaveconductedresearchonstudent-athletesatelite
universities,mosthavecenteredonDivisionIIIschoolswithlessdemandingsports
programs(Aries&Richards,1999;Ariesetal.,2004).Tosupplementthisprior
research,thisprojectwillexaminestudent-athletesatbothanacademicallyand
athleticallychallenginguniversity.
Giventhevaryingtimerequirements,athleticpressures,andlevelofsport
visibilityforeachtypeofathlete,itisreasonabletoexpectthatrevenueandnon-
revenueathleteshavedifferingpriorities.Suchdisparitiescreatedistinctathletic
andacademicchallengesforthestudent-athletes,whichmayleadtodissimilar
levelsofacademicmotivation.Ifinfacttheseacademicmotivationlevelsdiffer,then
specificandseparateacademicsupportpolicieswillbenecessaryfortheseathletes.
Mostcollegeathleteswillnotgoontoplayprofessionallyaftercollege,soitis
importanttorecognizeifmanystudent-athleteshaveinsufficientlevelsofacademic
motivation.Allinall,student-athletesnotonlyrepresenttheiruniversitiesthrough
theirathletictalents,butalsothroughtheiracademicperformanceandsuccessin
futurecareers;therefore,adequatepoliciesmustbeinplacetohelpthese
individualssucceed,bothonandoffoftheplayingfield.
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THEORETICALFRAMEWORK
TheAcademicGapBetweenAthletesandNon-Athletes
Thecontrastbetweentheacademicperformancesofstudent-athletesand
non-athletesisreasonforconcern.Academicchallengescertainlydonotexistforall
student-athletes,butevidencesuggestssignificantdisparities,onaverage,among
theacademicachievementlevelsforathletesandnon-athletes.Studiesindicatethat
malecollegiateathletes,particularlythosewhowererecruitedfortheirsport,have
collegeGPAsthatareonaverage0.20lowerthantheGPAsofmalenon-athletes
(Rampell,2010;Upthegroveetal.,1999).Student-athletesmayalsotakeclasses
from“softer”majors,suchasphysicaleducationorgeneralstudies,incomparison
withnon-athletes(Funk,1991;Kimball&Freysinger,2003).In2014,theaverage
graduationratesformaleDivisionIbasketballplayersandfootballplayerswere
respectively31.5percentagepointsand20percentagepointslowerthanthe
graduationratesofnon-athletes(Sexton&Southall,2014;Sextonetal.,2014).
However,ontheotherhand,thecombinedgraduationrateforstudent-
athletesacrossallsportsisoftenhigherthanthatoftherestofthestudentbody.In
2014,theaveragegraduationrateforallstudent-athletesatDivisionIschools
combinedwas66%,whichwassimilartotherateforallnon-athletes(Hosick,
2014).Theinclusionofothersports(besidesfootballandbasketball)thusincreases
theaveragegraduationrateforathletes,suggestingthatloweracademic
performancemayonlybeassociatedwithcertainsports.
Still,thelowereducationalachievementsforsomestudent-athletes,
particularlyrevenueathletes,maybearesultofuniversitiesoverlookingthese
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athletes’academicdevelopmentsandinsteadfocusingontheirathletic
achievements(Funk,1991;Kimball&Freysinger,2003).Thisfocusislikely
misguidedgiventhatanoverwhelmingmajorityofstudent-athleteswillnotplay
theirsportprofessionallyandthuscannotrelyontheirsporttobeafuturecareer.
Infact,in2014,theNFLdraftedonly1.6%ofallcollegiatevarsityfootballplayers
(NCAAResearch,2015).Similarly,in2013,theNBAdraftedonly1.2%ofallmen’s
varsitybasketballplayers(NCAAResearch,2015).Similarlowprobabilitiesof
competingprofessionallyexistacrossallcollegiatesportsteams(NCAAResearch,
2015).AtDukespecifically,12outof663athletesweredraftedintoprofessional
leaguesconcludingthe2013-2014schoolyear(DukeUniversity,2014;Duke
University,2014).Onlytwoofthedraftedathletesweremen’sbasketballplayers,
andonlyonewasafootballplayer.
ConflictingIdentities:Studentvs.Athlete
Existingliteratureontheprioritiesofstudent-athletesincollegefocuseson
twomajor,conflictingidentities—thestudentandtheathlete.Roughly460,000
student-athletescompeteinvarsityathletesintheUnitedStateseachyear,
belongingto23differentsports(NCAA,2015).Thesestudent-athletesaredifferent
fromtherestofthestudentpopulationinthattheymustbalancetherigorous
demandsofathleticparticipationinadditiontotheequallystrenuousdemandsof
theirstudies(NCAA,2015;Jolly,2008;Ting,2009).Student-athletesoftenspend
upwardsof25hoursperweekonathletics-relatedactivitieswhilein-season;this
includespractices,weighttraining,competitions,teammeetings,filmreview,etc.
(Johnsonetal.,2013;Upthegroveetal.,1999;Simonsetal.,1999;Jolly,2008).
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Athleticcompetitionsoftencausestudent-athletestobeabsentfromclass,andthe
strenuousnatureofathletictrainingcanimpactstudent-athletes’abilitytostay
focusedintheclassestheycanattend.Allofthisonlyaddstotheircumulative
emotionalstressofpressurefromparents,coaches,andteammates(Ting,2009;
Simonsetal.1999;Jolly,2008).
Asaresultofthegreatertimedemandsandemotionalpressuresthat
student-athletesexperienceincollegecomparedtonon-athletes,somescholars
believethatathletesprimarilyfocusonathleticsratherthanacademics,whichin
turnunderminesthevalueoftheireducationaldegrees(Funk,1991;Kimball&
Freysinger,2003).Theapparentacademicperformancedivisionbetweenathletes
andnon-athletes,asdenotedbyathleteGPAs,majors,andclassschedules,could
suggestthelackofprioritygiventotheireducationwhileincollege(Funk,1991;
Adler&Adler,1985).Additionally,athleticexperiencescouldcausestudent-athletes
tobecomeincreasinglyuninvolvedwithacademicsthroughouttheircollegecareer,
astheirlivesbecomeprogressivelymorefocusedaroundtheplayingfieldorcourt
(Adler&Adler,1985;Kimball&Freysinger,2003).
Incontrast,otherstudiessuggestthatstudent-athletesdo,infact,greatly
appreciatetheiracademics,andtheydonotallowathleticstotakeprecedencein
theircollegiatelife(Gaston-Gayles,2004;Paule&Gilson,2010;Potuto&O’Hanlon,
2007;Clark,2013;Umbach,2006).Athleticmotivation,intermsofpursuinga
professionalcareeraftercollege,mightnottakeawayfromastudent’sacademic
success(Gaston-Gayles,2004;Clark,2013).Advantageouscharacteristicsderived
fromsportsincludetheathlete’sabilitytostayfocused,demonstrateself-discipline,
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andmaintainhardwork;thesequalitiescanbebeneficialintheclassroomsetting
(Simonsetal.,1999;Upthegroveetal.,1999).Also,student-athletesmayinteract
morefrequentlywithprofessorsthannon-athletesdo,showingthatintercollegiate
athleticscanserveasamodefortheindividualtodevelopandexcel(Umbach,2006;
Clark,2013).Manystudent-athletesfromDivisionIuniversitiesbelievethata
collegeeducationisimportantfortheirfuturesuccess,andthatsportsonlyhelp
themattainthiscollegeeducationbyfunctioningasavoluntaryavenueforleisure,
thusalleviatingotherstressors(Potuto&O’Hanlon,2007;Kimball&Freysinger,
2003).
CurrentAcademicPoliciesforCollegiateStudent-Athletes
Currentspecificacademicsupportpoliciesforstudent-athletesvaryby
institution,withtheexceptionofNCAApoliciesthateachuniversitymustfollow
(Thamel,2006;Lopiano,2008).AccordingtoNCAAregulations,DivisionIstudent-
athletesmusthaveatleast40%oftheirdegreecompletedbytheendoftheirsecond
year,60%bytheendoftheirthirdyear,and80%completedbytheendoftheir
fourthyear(NCAARemainingEligible,2013;DukeUniversity,2015).
Furthermore,theNCAAlimitsthetotalnumberofmandatoryhoursa
student-athletecanspendontheirathleticsperweek.Whilein-season(duringthe
competitionperiod),athletescannotberequiredtospendmorethan20hourson
theirsportperweek(DukeCompliance,2015).Whileintheoff-season,athletes
cannotberequiredtospendmorethaneighthours.Activitiesthatcounttowards
thesehoursincludepractice,weights/conditioning,meetings,filmreview,and
competition(DukeCompliance,2015).Acaveattothisruleisthattimespentover
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themaximumnumberofhoursisconsidered“optional”forthestudent-athletes,
where“optional”meansthattheycannotberequiredtostay,butmostoftendo.
Thus,student-athletescanspendupwardsof25hoursperweekonathletics-related
activitieswhilein-season(Johnsonetal.,2013;Upthegroveetal.,1999;Simonset
al.,1999;Jolly,2008).
Someuniversitieshaveverydistinctprogramsforathletes,whereasother
institutions,likeDuke,incorporatemanyofthesameacademicservicesprovidedto
thegeneralstudentbody(Thamel,2006;DukeAthletics,2005).TheDukeAthletics
Administrationbelievesstudent-athletesshouldstrivetobeintegratedwithrestof
thestudents(DukeAthletics,2005).Hence,student-athletesareencouragedtouse
manyofthesameservicesasnon-athletes,includingthewritingstudio,pre-major
advisingstudio,foreignlanguagesupport,etc.(DukeAthletics,2005).However,
multiplesystemsofsupportexistthatarespecificallyforstudent-athletesatDuke
University,suchasfreetutoring,additionalacademiccounseling,priority
scheduling,andworkshopsforpersonaldevelopmentand/orleadership(Duke
Athletics,2005;Featherston,2014).
AtDuke,academicsupportissimilarforrevenueandnon-revenueathletes.
However,individualcoachesmayenforceadditionalacademicrequirementsto
ensurethattheirathletesmaintaintheiracademiccourseload,andthusthese
policiesmayvarybyteam.Manyteams,includingthebasketballandfootballteams,
stronglyencouragetheirstudent-athletestohaveatutorforeveryclass
(Featherstone,2014).Studentsstrugglingwiththeircourses,regardlessofteam,
oftenhavemandatorystudyhallhoursinordertostrengthentheiracademics.
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Furthermore,somefreshmenstudent-athleteshaveacademicmentorstohelpthem
adjusttotheirlargetimedemands.Mentorssuggestvarioustechniquesfortime
management,studymethods,andoveralllearningstrategies(DukeSports
Information,2011).
DifferencesBetweenRevenueandNon-RevenueAthletes
In2012,athird-stringquarterbackforOhioStatetweeted,“Whyshouldwe
havetogotoclassifwecameheretoplayFOOTBALL,weain’tcometoplay
SCHOOL,classesarePOINTLESS”(ESPN,2012;capitalizationoriginal).Although
thisindividuallikelyisnotrepresentativeofallrevenueathletesatlarge,research
suggestsdifferencesintheacademicvaluesofrevenueandnon-revenueathletes.
Thedifferingdemands,goals,andpressuresofnon-revenueandrevenueathletes
createtwodistinctsetsofacademicandathleticprioritieswithinasingleuniversity.
Accordingtoseveralstudies,revenueathletesarelessinvolvedinacademics,and
thuslessacademicallymotivated,thanarenon-revenueathletes(Simonsetal.,
1999;Adler&Adler,1991;Upthegroveetal.,1999).Additionally,non-revenue
athletesmaymoreeasilytransferbeneficialqualitiesattainedfromathleticstotheir
academics(i.e.,self-disciplineandfocus),asdemonstratedthroughlevelsof
reportedtimemanagementskillsanddifferencesintimespentonathleticsversus
academics(Simonsetal.,1999;Upthegroveetal.,1999).
Differencesinpressuresbetweenrevenueandnon-revenueathletescould
potentiallyexplainthesedistinctionsinpriorities,specificallythedegreetowhich
variousathletesvalueacademics(Upthegroveetal.,1999;Simonsetal.,1999;Adler
&Adler,1991;VanRheenen&Atwood2014).Althoughallstudent-athletesface
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bothacademicandathleticpressures,researchsuggeststhatrevenueathleteshave
amplifiedpressures,whichmayfurtherimpacttheiracademicmotivation(Adler&
Adler,1991;Upthegroveetal.,1999;Wolniaketal.,2001).Thehighvisibilityof
revenuesports,combinedwiththesesports’abilitytoproduceasubstantialprofit
fortheuniversity,drivescoachesandrecruiterstohavehigherexpectationsof
athleticsuccessforrevenueathletes(Upthegroveetal.,1999;Wolniaketal.,2001).
Revenueathletesmayfeelmoreexploitedfortheirathleticabilitiesthandonon-
revenueathletes,whichcouldthusimpacttheirlevelofacademicfocus(Ting,2009;
Ariesetal.,2004;VanRheenen&Atwood,2014;Wolniaketal.,2001;Cross,1973).
Somerevenueathleteshaveindicatedthattheyfeeltheyareuniversityemployees
withoutpropercompensation.AlthoughmanyDivisionIathleticprogramsearn
millionsofdollarsinprofiteachyearfromrevenuesportsteams,theNCAA
prohibitssalariestostudent-athletesfortheirathleticachievements(NCAA
Amateurism,2015;VanRheenen&Atwood,2014;Cross,1973).Suchanemphasis
onprofitfortheuniversitycouldunderminetheresponsibilitycollegiateathletes
feeltoperformwellintheclassroom(Ariesetal.,2004;Ting,2009;Cross,1973).
However,footballandbasketballplayersaresurprisinglynotthemostlikely
collegiateathletestoplayprofessionally.Eventhoughbaseballistraditionallya
non-revenuesportincollege,about8.6%ofallcollegiatebaseballplayersgoonto
playprofessionallyintheMLB(NCAAResearch,2015).Similarly,roughly6.8%of
men’sicehockeyplayersincollegewillgoontoplayprofessionallyintheNHL
(NCAAResearch,2015).Thisisincontrastwiththe1.6%ofcollegiatefootball
playersand1.2%ofcollegiatebasketballplayersthatwillplayprofessionally(NCAA
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Research,2015).Thus,playingattheprofessionallevelshouldlikelynotbean
additionalpressureforrevenueathletes,consideringtheselowpercentages.Yet,
manyrevenueathletesstillattesttofeelingthispressure.
ImportanceofAthleticandAcademicMotivation
Theevaluationoftheathleticandacademicprioritiesofstudent-athletescan
helpportraytheacademicgapbetweenathletesandnon-athletesincollege.The
prioritiesofcollegiatestudent-athletesaremeasuredinthisstudyasindividual
levelsofacademicandathleticmotivation.Academicmotivation(i.e.,thedesireto
learnnewmaterial,attendclasses,anddocoursework)isparticularlyimportant
becauseitisoneoftheprimaryfactorsbehindacademicachievementforstudents
(Simonsetal.,1999;Ting,2009;Ariesetal.,2004).Manyscholarsbelievethatthe
motivationtosucceedinacademicsismoredeterminantofanindividual’soverall
academicsuccessincollegethanishisorherpreexistingacademiclevelupon
entrancetocollege,asdeterminedbySAT/ACTscoresandhighschoolGPAs
(Simonsetal.,1999;Ting,2009;Ariesetal.,2004).
Learningmoreabouttheprioritiesofstudent-athletescanhelpusbetter
understandthestrengthoftheiracademicmotivation,therebyallowingusto
provideappropriateacademicsupport.Toooften,researchstudiesconsiderathletes
asasinglecategoryratherthanexaminingvariationamonggroupsofathletes.
Identifyingthedifferingpressuresonrevenueandnon-revenueathleteswill
illustratetheacademicandathleticprioritiesforthesetwogroups,andwillfurther
showhowtheirneedforsupportmaydiffer.
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SignificanceofThisStudy
Theathleticandacademicpressuresfornon-revenueathletesandrevenue
athletesaretoodissimilarforthevaluesoftheseathletestobeevaluatedtogether.
Ofthestudiesthatdoseparatethesetypesofathletesintheirfindings,mostanalyze
academicmotivationthroughacademicperformanceresultssuchasGPA,andvery
fewevaluateacademicmotivationthroughstudent-athletes’ownperceptionsofthe
importanceofathleticsandacademicsintheirlives(Gaston-Gayles,2005;Simons,
etal,1999).Therefore,toaddtothisrelativelysmallpoolofliterature,thisstudy
willspecificallycompareandcontrasttheself-reportedprioritiesbetweennon-
revenueandrevenueathletesatDukeUniversity,inordertounderstandthevarying
academicapproachesofathletes.
Secondly,thisstudyisuniqueinthatitfocusesonthedifferencesbetween
typesofathletesatDuke,aneliteacademicuniversity.Afewresearchershave
evaluatedstudent-athletesattopacademicuniversities,buttheinstitutionsintheir
reportswereDivisionIIIathleticprograms(Aries&Richards,1999;Ariesetal.,
2004).DivisionIIIsportsprogramslikelydonothavethesameathleticpressuresor
athleteexpectationsasDivisionIprograms,giventhelackofathleticscholarshipsat
DivisionIIIschools,aswellasthelackofnationalspotlightontheirsportsprograms
(O’Shaughnessy,2009;Aries&Richards,1999).Assessingthevaluesofathletesata
top-tieracademicinstitution,particularlyonewithanextremelycompetitive
DivisionIathleticsprogram,willcontributetopreviousstudiesandhelpillustrate
anypotentialissuesofmisplacedacademicandathleticpriorities.
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Ihypothesizethestudywillshowthatnon-revenueathletesvalueacademics
overathletics,whereasrevenueathletesvalueathleticsoveracademics.
Additionally,Ipredictthatnon-revenueathleteswillvalueacademicsmorehighly
thanthatofrevenueathletes.Myfindingswilllikelysuggestthenecessityof
differentacademicsupportpoliciesfornon-revenueandrevenueathletes;this
thesiswilllaterdetailmyproposedinitiativesforDukeUniversity.
HYPOTHESIS&OBSERVABLEIMPLICATIONS
1. Non-revenueathletesvalueacademicsmorethanrevenueathletesdoatDuke
University.
Tosupportthishypothesis,non-revenueathleteswouldvisitthewriting
studio,meetwithprofessorsorTAsoutsideofclass,andmeetwithtutorsand
studygroupsmorefrequentlythanrevenueathletesdo.Themajorityofnon-
revenueathleteswouldspendmoretimeontheiracademicsthanwouldrevenue
athletes,andalargerproportionofnon-revenueathleteswouldconsidertheir
favoriteaspectofDuketobeacademics-related.Intheinterviews,non-revenue
athleteswouldmentionorreferenceacademicsmoretimesonaveragethan
revenueathletes,particularlyinthequestionsregardingthestudent-athlete’s
mostinfluentialperson,theirmostmemorableexperience,andwhatthey
believewillhavethemostimpactontheirfuture.Additionally,non-revenue
athleteswouldprovidemoreconvincingargumentsforthehypothetical
situationsinfavoroftheiracademicsoverathletics,whereasrevenueathletes
wouldprovidestrongerargumentsinfavoroftheirathleticsoveracademics.
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2. Non-revenueathletesvaluetheiracademicsmorethanathleticsatDuke
University.
Ifthishypothesisistrue,onemightobservehownon-revenueathletesspend
mostoftheirtimeonacademics,orhowtheyconsidertheirfavoriteaspectof
Duketobetheinstitution’sacademicchallenge.Otherobservableimplications
includemostnon-revenueathletesclaimingtheywouldhaveattendedDuke
eveniftheycouldnotplaytheirsport,andthemajoritystatingtheywouldnot
transferfromDukeiftheirteamwascut.Intheinterviews,individualswould
emphasizetheiracademicsmorethantheirathletics.TheirDukeeducation
wouldbebelievedtohavethemostlastingimpactontheirfuture.Theywould
provideanargumentagainstskippingaclassforanathleticpractice,andthey
wouldprovideanargumentinfavorofskippingapracticeifamajorclassgrade
dependedonit.Lastly,theywouldmorefrequentlychoosearole
model/influentialpersonthathadapositiveinfluenceontheiracademic
performanceatDuke.
3. RevenueathletesvaluetheirathleticsmorethanacademicsatDukeUniversity.
Theobservableimplicationsforthishypothesisincluderevenueathletes
consideringtheirfavoriteaspectofDuketobeathleticsandrevenueathletes
spendingmostoftheirtimeontheirsport.Othersupportinginformationwould
bethemajorityofrevenueathletesbelievingtheywouldnothaveattendedDuke
withouttheirsport,andhowtheywouldconsidertransferringfromDukenowif
theysuddenlycouldnotplaytheirsport.Therevenueathleteswouldconvey
theirpriorityforathleticsoveracademicsintheinterview,aswell.Theywould
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notchoosetoskipapracticeforamajorclassassignment,andtheywouldelect
toskipaclassforanimportantpractice.Also,theywouldchoosearolemodel
thatinfluencedtheirathleticperformance,ratherthanacademicperformance.
Lastly,theywouldbelievethatathletics,orsomeextentofathletics,wouldleave
themostimpactontheirfuture.
RESEARCHDESIGN
Thisstudyevaluatedtheprioritiesofstudent-athletesofnon-revenuesports
andrevenuesportsatDukeUniversity,inordertounderstandtheirvarying
academicapproaches.Theresearchdesignincludedasurveyandinterviews.The
surveyattemptedtorankthestudent-athlete’spreferencesforathleticsand
academicsbyaskingquestionsabouttheirhabits,whereastheinterviewsprovided
moreinsightonthereasoningbehindthestudent-athletes’priorities.Duke
Universitywasthefocusofthisstudybecauseoftheinstitution’srarecombination
ofeliteacademicsandDivisionIathletics.DukeUniversity’sdemandingacademic
curriculum,coupledwiththeintenseintercollegiatecompetitionsoftheACC
Conference,madethistheidealinstitutionforobservingstudent-athlete
motivationsandchallenges.
Thequestionsinthesurveyfocusedspecificallyonbasicdemographic
information,athletepreferences,timeusage,involvementinacademics,and
importanceofathleticstotheindividual.Basicdemographicinformationwas
necessarytosetthebackgroundofthesurvey.Itwasimportanttoaskaboutathlete
preferencesbecausepreferencesultimatelyframepriorities.Additionally,giventhat
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individualtimeusageisadirectapplicationofpriorities,itwasessentialtocollect
thisdatainordertoshowhowathletesactuallyprioritizethetimeintheday.I
researcheddifferentathletes’involvementinacademicsinordertounderstandthe
importanceofathleticstostudent-athletes,whichisnecessaryforcomparison
purposesbetweenrevenueandnon-revenueathletes.
Intheinterview,student-athletesspecificallycomparedtheirathleticsand
academicsthroughhypotheticalandbroadquestionsabouttheirtimeatDuke
University.Theinterviewquestionsattemptedtogetthestudent-athletesto
vocalizetheirprioritizationofacademicsorathletics.Manyofthequestionswere
generalsoastoprovidetheopportunityforstudent-athletestoexplainandjustify
theirathleticandacademicpreferences.Theseresponseswererelevanttotheentire
thesisproject,asallthreehypotheseswereintegratedtotheinterviews.
Thecombinationoftheonlinesurveyandthein-personinterviewswasthe
mostappropriatemethodologyforconductingthisstudy.Noviabledatasource
existedthatcouldserveasthebaseforthisstudy,socollectingnewdatawas
necessary.Thesurveywasthebestmethodofshowingastudent-athlete’sdefinitive
rankingsofpriorities,aswellasprovidingquantifiablemeasurementsforastudent-
athlete’stimeuseandfrequencyofparticularactivities.One-on-oneinterviews
supplementedthesurveydatabyprovidingamorecompleteviewintothemindset
ofstudent-athletes.
AlthoughmanysportsdocontributeaprofittoDukeUniversity(after
factoringinalumnicontributions),revenuesportsforthepurposeofthisstudywere
themen’sbasketballteamandfootballteam.Therevenuegeneratedfromthese
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sportshasbeensubstantiallyhigherthananyotherDukeathleticprogram.For
example,forthe2013-2014schoolyear,themen’sbasketballteamandfootball
contributedroughly$27millionand$25millioninrevenue,respectively,whereas
thetotalrevenueofallothersportscombinedwasonlyabout$8million(Duke
University,2014).Therefore,non-revenuesportsinthisstudyreferredtothe
remainingninemalesportsprogramsatDukeUniversity.Thoughfemaleathletes
werenotincludedinthefullstudy,theywereincludedinthepilotsurveyphase.
DataCollection
Datawerecollectedthroughanonlinesurveydistributedtoroughly120
malevarsityrevenueathletesand250malevarsitynon-revenueathletes.Onlymale
student-athletesreceivedthissurveyviatheathleticlistserv;femaleathleteswere
excludedfromboththesurveyandtheinterviewbecausenofemalerevenuesport
exists.Theinterviewsub-sampleconsistedofeightvolunteerstudent-athletes—
fourrevenueathletesandfournon-revenueathletes.Boththesurveyandthe
interviewsincludedindividualsfromeachgradelevel.Allmen’steamswere
representedinthesurvey,andtheinterviewhadnon-revenueresponsesfromfour
differentteams.
OnlineSurveys
Thesurveywasaccessibleonacomputerandsmartphone.LeslieBarnes,
DukeAthleticsAssistantDirectorofStudent-AthleteDevelopment,granted
permissionfortheuseoftheathleticlistservfordatacollection.Thestudyaimedfor
abalanceacrossthetwogroups,butmoreresponseswerefromnon-revenue
athletesgiventheirlargernumber.Thesurveyreceived47revenueresponses
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(estimatedresponserateof39%)and104non-revenueresponses(estimated
responserateof42%).
Ineffortstoencourageparticipation,eachparticipantthatcompletedthe
surveywaseligibletowinaniPodfromaraffle.Theoptionalrafflewasin
accordancewithNCAAregulationsconcerningappropriatecompensationfor
athletes.Iftheathletewishedtoparticipate,thenheenteredhisemailaddressona
separateQualtricssurvey.Thepotentialforanonymityhelpedsolicithonest
feedback.ThewindowforsurveyparticipationwasfromApril23,2015toMay2,
2015andSeptember7,2015toSeptember15,2015.Thesurveywasre-
administeredinthefalltomaximizesamplesize,aswellastopotentiallysurvey
athleteswhocouldnotparticipateinthespring.Thesamplewasoneof
convenience,andwasnotarepresentativesampleofallstudent-athletesatDuke
University.
Asmentionedpreviously,thesurveyquestionscenteredonbasic
demographicinformation,athletes’preferences,timeuse,involvementinthe
academiccommunity,andimportanceofthesport(seeAppendix1).Theopening
questionsfocusedonbasicdemographicinformation,includingtheparticipant’s
gender(toensurethattheathletequalifiedforthestudy),sporttheyplayed,and
yearinschool(e.g.freshman,sophomore,etc.).
Inthesurvey,student-athletesrankedinordertheimportanceofthe
followingeightpriorities:performingwellatchampionshipgame/match/meet;
beingasupportiveteammate;attendingallpracticesforyoursport;beingagood
representativeofyourteamtorecruits;receivingACCAcademicHonorRollthis
22
semester(3.0GPAorhigher);turninginacademiccourseworkbythedeadline;
attendingallclasses;andattainingaDukedegree.Ascoreof1wasthemost
importantaspectandascoreof8wastheleastimportantaspect.Thepriorities
werepresentedrandomly,withfourprioritiesrelatedtoathleticsandfourrelated
toacademics.Thetoppriorityandthebottompriorityforeachgroupwasnotedand
comparisonsweremadebetweenthepercentagesofrespondentsforeach.
Next,individualsindicatedtheirfavoriteaspectofDukeUniversity,choosing
oneoutofthefiveoptions:theacademicchallengeofDuke;athletics;socialculture;
studentinvolvementopportunities(clubs,studentgovernment,communityservice,
etc.);andGreeklife.Theproportionofnon-revenueandrevenueathletesforeach
optionwascompared.Then,student-athletessaidwhethertheyplanoncompeting
professionallyaftercollege.
Anotherquestionqueriedtimeusebyathletes,askingeachtorecordthe
estimatedamountoftimeperweek,inhours,thathespendsonthefollowingfive
activities:hissport(practice,games/meets/matches,etc.);studying(notinclass);
extracurricularactivities(clubs,studentgovernment,communityservice,etc.);and
leisure.Theaveragetimeusagebetweenthetwotypesofathleteswascompared.
Thefollowinggroupofquestionsrelatedtotheacademicinvolvementof
student-athletes.Studentsrecordedhowmanytimesinthepasttwoweekstheydid
thefollowing:visitedthewritingstudio;metwithprofessorsorTAsoutsideofclass;
metwithastudygroup(includinggroupprojectmeetings);metwithatutor;or
attendedalectureorworkshopnotrequiredforaclass.Additionally,theytalliedthe
23
numberofstudygroupsandtutorstheyhadforthissemester.Theaverage
frequencyofeachforbothgroupswascompared.
Thenextfourquestionsallpertainedtotheimportanceofthesporttothe
athlete.Student-athletesrankedtheinfluencethatathleticshadontheircollege
decisiononascaleof1-10.Ascoreof1indicatedthatathleticshadnoimpacton
theirdecisiontoattendDuke,andascoreof10indicatedthatathleticswasthe
primaryreasonbehindtheirdecision.Comparisonswereconsideredbetweenthe
twogroups.Next,student-athletesdeterminediftheywouldhaveattendedDuke
originallyhadtheynotbeenabletoplaytheirsport.Individualsthenspecifiedif
theywouldconsidertransferringtoanotherschooliftheirsportsprogramwas
suddenlycut.Thestudentshadthreeoptions:stayatDukewithoutplayingyour
sport;transfertoanothercollegeandplayyoursport;or,unsure.Finally,thesurvey
concludedbyaskingifthestudentsplantoplaythroughouttheirentireDuke
experience.Forthethreepreviousquestions,theproportionsofrevenueandnon-
revenueathletesforeachanswerchoicewerecompared.
Totestthefeasibilityofthesurveyportionofmystudy,Iconductedapilot
surveyon10femaleswimmersatDukeUniversity.Nomajorlogistical
complicationswiththesurveyadministrationemerged.Theparticipantscompleted
thesurveyonQualtrics,whichwasaccessibleonbothcomputersandsmartphones,
andprovidedfeedback.Onaverage,ittookbetweenthreetofiveminutesto
completethe14-questionsurvey,whichsuggestedthatthelengthwouldnot
dissuadeanyindividualsfrompartakinginthestudy.Inattemptstomakethe
surveyasclearaspossible,Imodifiedthewordingofseveralanswerchoices.For
24
example,Ichanged“maintainingyoursport’spracticeschedule”to“attendingall
practicesforyoursport.”
Interviews
Theinterviewswereconductedin-person.Thewindowforparticipationfor
theinterviewswasfromSeptember17th,2015toSeptember21st,2015.Theathletes
volunteeredfortheinterviewsandtheyreceivednoadditionalcompensation.Eight
student-athleteseachansweredsixquestions,andtheinterviewslastedbetween6-
9minutes.Alloftheinterviewswereaudio-recordedonaniPhone,andeach
conversationwastranscribed.Thenamesandotheridentifyinginformationofthe
student-athleteswerenotreported.
Tobegintheinterview,thestudent-athletesaidwhatyearhewasinschool;
thisquestionprovidedtheonlybackgroundinformationontheintervieweethat
wasreportedinmyfindings.Next,theparticipantdescribedanydifficultiesthathe
mayhaveencounteredinbalancinghisacademicsandathletics.Thepurposeofthis
questionwastodelvedeeperintotheacademicapproachtakenbystudent-athletes.
Thisquestionprovidedtheopportunityforaparticipanttoelaborateonhistime
managementskills.Thestudent-athletewasfreetodiscusshowheprioritizedhis
time,howhemanagedtosatisfybothhisacademicclassesandhissport,and/or
howatimemanagementproblemledtoanacademicorathleticrevelation.
Thesubsequenttwointerviewquestionswerehypotheticalsituations
designedtorevealthestudent-athlete’simmediateprioritiestowardsathleticsand
academics.Astudentwasaskedwhetherhewouldskipaclasstomentallyor
physicallyprepareforastrenuouspracticethatevening,inwhichhisperformance
25
woulddeterminewhetherhemadethenexttravelsquad.Then,Iaskedtheopposite
ofthis:whetherhewouldbewillingtoskipapracticeinordertocompletean
academicassignmentworth30%ofhisgrade.Forbothofthesequestions,the
thoughtprocessesbehindthestudent-athlete’sdecisionshelpedtorevealhis
preferences.
Then,theparticipantstatedhismostinfluentialpersonorrolemodelat
Duke,alongwithanexplanation.Whetherthestudent-athletebelievedtherole
modelaffectedhisathleticoracademicperformancehelpedrevealthestudent-
athlete’spriorities.Finally,bothpartsofthefinalquestionrequiredthestudent-
athletetoconsiderthefuture.Thestudent-athletewasaskedwhathewould
rememberthemostfromhistimeatDuke,aswellaswhatwouldleavethemost
impactonhisfuture.Comparisonsweremadebetweenthetwogroupsastohow
muchtheindividualfavoredacademicsoverathleticsandviceversa.
DataAnalysis
Thefirstsetofanalysesinvolvedcomparisonofaveragesonsurvey
questionsfromnon-revenueandrevenueathletes.Ievaluatedhypothesesregarding
differencesbetweennon-revenueandrevenueathletesthroughtestsfordifferences
inindependentmeansandinproportions.Ap-valueof10%wasusedtodecide
whethertheobserveddifferencewassignificant.
Foreachsurveyquestion,anaveragewascalculatedtorepresentthenon-
revenueorrevenuegroup,basedonalltheresponsesfromthatparticulargroup.No
responseswereexcludedfromtheaverages.Fromthere,two-sidedt-testswere
usedtodeterminethesignificanceofdifferencesbetweenthetwogroupsregarding:
26
hoursspentonathletics/academicsperweek;frequencyofactivities(studygroups,
writingstudio,etc.);numberoftutorsandstudygroups;andaverageinfluence
ratingofathleticsoncollegedecision.Two-sidedz-testswereusedtoevaluatethe
significanceofdifferenceinproportionsbetweennon-revenueandrevenueathletes.
Thesetestsevaluateddifferencesregarding:thepercentageforeachtoppriority
andlowestpriority;theproportionsforeachfavoriteaspectofDuke;theproportion
willingtoattendDukeoriginallywithouttheirsport;theproportionwantingtostay
atDukenowwithouttheirsport;theproportionplanningtoplayprofessionally;and
theproportionplanningtoplaythroughouttheirDukecareer.
Theinterviewanalysisconsistedofthematiccodingontranscriptsofthe
audiorecordings.Foreachresponse,Itooknoteofthefrequencyofallusionsto
athleticsandacademics,aswellastheordermentioned.Moreimportantly,
however,wasthesubstanceoftheresponsesandthevigorwithwhichastudent-
athleteconveyedaparticularmessage.Anonymous,directquotesfromthe
interviewssupplementedmyfindings.
FINDINGS
Sample
ThesurveyonDukestudent-athletesgenerated175partialandcomplete
responses.Oftheseresponses,151surveyresponses(143completedsurveysand8
partialsurveys)wereeligibleforuseinthisproject.Thoseexcludedonlyhad
answersforthebeginningdemographicquestionsandleftallotherquestionsblank.
27
Thefindingsinthisreportincluded47revenueresponses(31%)and104non-
revenueresponses(69%).
Themostrepresentedteamwasfootball,with44respondentsthat
accountedfor94%ofallrevenueresponses.Fewerbasketballplayerstookthe
surveygiventheirsmallteamsize.Themostrepresentednon-revenueteamwas
Track&Field,accountingfor22%ofallnon-revenueresponses(23responses).
Distributionacrosstheclasseswasfairlyequal.Themostrepresentedclasswas
freshmenwith35%ofrespondents.SeeTable1fortherepresentationsofathletic
teamsinthesurvey,typesofathletes,andclassdistribution.
SurveyFindings
Theresultsrevealedadifferencebetweentheacademicandathleticvaluesof
revenueandnon-revenueathletesatDuke,butthedifferencewasnotaslargeas
expected.Althoughnon-revenueathletesappearedtovaluetheiracademicsslightly
morethandidrevenueathletes,bothgroupsultimatelyseemedtoprioritizetheir
academicsoverathletics.ReferenceTable2foracomparisonacrossnon-revenue
andrevenuegroups,aswellaswithingroups,forthefollowingthreehypotheses.
Hypothesis1:Non-Revenuevs.Revenue
Throughoutthesurveyresults,non-revenueathletesplacedaslightlyhigher
emphasisontheiracademicsthandidrevenueathletes,butbothvaluedtheir
athleticsfairlyequally.Tobegin,whenaskedtorankeightacademicandathletic
priorities,79%ofnon-revenueathletesand74%ofrevenueathleteshadtwoor
moreacademicprioritiesintheirtopfourplaces.Thissmalldifferencesuggests
bothgroupsofathletesplaceacademicprioritiesbeforeathleticpriorities.
28
Mostindividualsfromboththerevenuegroupandnon-revenuegroup
considered“AttainingaDukedegree”astheirnumberonepriority,whichsuggests
thegroupsaresimilarintheirlong-termacademicpriorities(seeFigure1).
Surprisingly,morerevenueathletes(62%)chose“AttainingaDukedegree”astheir
numberoneprioritythandidnon-revenueathletes(57%),whichwascontraryto
thehypothesisthatnon-revenueathletesvaluedacademicsmorethanrevenue
athletes(althoughthisdifferencewasnotstatisticallysignificant).Forbothgroups,
thenextmostpopularchoiceforthetopprioritywas“Performingwellatyour
championshipgame/match/meet.”Thesepercentageswerealsosimilar,asroughly
20%ofnon-revenueathletesand21%ofnon-revenueathletesplacedthisastheir
toppriority.However,amajorityofindividualsfrombothgroupsfeltthatgettinga
Dukeeducationwasmoreimportant.
Overall,thelowestprioritiesforrevenueandnon-revenueathletessuggested
thatsurveyednon-revenuesvaluetheiracademicsslightlymorethanrevenues,as
inaccordancewiththefirsthypothesis(seeFigure2).Althoughthedifferencewas
statisticallyinsignificant,almost30%ofnon-revenueathletesfeltthat“Beingagood
representativeofyourteamtorecruits”wastheleastoftheirconcern,compared
with21%ofrevenueathletesthatconsideredthisathleticprioritytobetheirlowest
priority.Similarly,26%ofrevenueathletesfeltthat“Turningacademiccoursework
inbeforethedeadline”wastheirbottompriority,whileonly10%ofnon-revenues
feltthisway;thislargedifference(althoughnotquitestatisticallysignificant)shows
thatnon-revenuesvaluethisprioritymorehighlythanrevenueathletesdo.
However,contrarytothishypothesis,about22%ofnon-revenuesand19%of
29
revenuesfeltthat“Attendingallclasses”wastheirlowestpriority.Ianticipateda
largerdifferenceintheoppositedirectionforthispriority,asitwasexpectedthat
non-revenueathleteswouldmorehighlyvalueattendingclassesthanwould
revenueathletes.However,theobserveddifferencewasstatisticallyinsignificant.
Themoststrikingpieceofsurveyevidenceinfavorofthishypothesiswasthe
differencebetweenthenumberofhoursspentstudyingoutsideofclassforrevenue
athletesandnon-revenueathletes.Non-revenueathletesspentanaverageof13.68
hoursperweekstudying(notincludingclasstime),whereasrevenueathletesspent
amere7.82hoursstudying(statisticallysignificantdifferenceatthe1%level).
Meanwhile,revenueathletesplayedtheirsportmoreonaverage(24.07hours)than
non-revenuesdid(21.41hours).Theseresultssupportthehypothesisthatnon-
revenuesvaluetheiracademicsmorethanrevenues.
Slightlymorenon-revenueathletes(18%)chose“academicchallenge”as
theirfavoriteaspectofDukethandidrevenueathletes(11%),thusalsocontributing
totheideathatnon-revenuesprefertheiracademicsmore.But,thedifferencewas
notstatisticallysignificant(p-value=0.851).Furthermore,amajorityfromboth
groupspreferred“athletics”astheirfavoriteaspect,withslightlymorerevenue
athletes(72%)choosingitthannon-revenueathletes(63%).AlthoughIexpected
theresultstobemoreinfavorofthe“academicchallenge”fornon-revenuesandfor
moredistinctdifferencestoexistbetweenthegroups,theseresultsstillalignwith
thenotionthatnon-revenuesvalueacademicsmorehighlythanrevenues,and
revenuesvalueathleticsmorehighlythannon-revenues.
30
Additionally,non-revenuesvisitedthewritingstudiomorethantheir
revenuecounterparts,thoughneitherutilizedthisresourceveryoften.Non-
revenuesvisited0.02timesinthelasttwoweeks,whilerevenuesvisited0timesin
thelasttwoweeks(statisticallysignificant).Non-revenueathletesmetwithstudy
groupsanaverageof1.3timesinthepasttwoweeks,whereasrevenueathletesmet
anaverageof1.1times(statisticallyinsignificant).
However,severalpiecesofevidencesuggestedtheoppositeofthe
hypothesis,thatrevenueathletesprioritizedacademicaspectsmorethannon-
revenueathletesdid.Firstofall,revenueathleteshadmoretutorsthanrevenue
athletesthissemester,andalsometwiththesetutorsmorefrequently.Surveyed
revenueathletesmetwithatutor1.61timesinthepasttwoweeks,whilesurveyed
non-revenueathletesmetwithatutor0.56times.Revenueathleteshadanaverage
of0.93tutorsthissemesterwhereasnon-revenueshadanaverageof0.5tutors
(statisticallysignificantat1%level).Additionally,surveyedrevenueathletesalso
wereinmorestudygroupsthissemester(1.07groups)thannon-revenueathletes
(0.77groups),andmetwithprofessorsmorefrequently(1time)inthepasttwo
weeksthandidnon-revenueathletes(0.8times).Therefore,theseresultswere
contrarytopreviousexpectations;Ihadanticipatedrevenueathletestomeetwitha
tutorandprofessorslessoften,andhavefewertutorsandstudygroupsthis
semesterthannon-revenueathletes.
Contrarytothehypothesis,thesurveyresultssuggestedthatnon-revenue
athletesalsohighlyvaluetheirathletics,almostmorethanrevenueathletesdo.
PlayingasportatDukeappearedtoinfluencenon-revenueathletes’decisionsto
31
attendDukemorethanitdidforrevenueathletes(7.26and7.12,respectively,ona
ten-pointscale).Furthermore,moresurveyednon-revenues(67.7%)thanrevenues
(57.1%)wouldhavewantedtoattendDukewithouttheirsport.Also,morerevenue
athletes(52.4%)thannon-revenueathletes(49.5%)saidtheywouldhavewanted
toremainatDukeeveniftheycouldnolongerplaytheirsport.
However,bothgroupsappeartovaluetheirathleticexperiences.Alarge
majorityofbothrevenueandnon-revenueathletesplantocontinuetheirsport
throughouttheirtimeatDuke(96%fornon-revenueand98%forrevenue).Infact,
manydonotwanttheirsportscareerstoendatthecollegiatelevel,asshockingly
highpercentagesofbothgroupsintendonplayingprofessionallyaftercollege(29%
ofnon-revenueathletesand50%ofrevenueathletes).
Hypothesis2:Non-RevenueAthletesValueAcademics
Ingeneral,thesurveyresultssupportedthesecondhypothesis,whichstated
thatnon-revenueathletesvaluetheiracademicsmorethantheyvaluetheir
athletics.Firstly,79%ofnon-revenueathletesplacedtwoormoreacademic
preferenceswithintheirtopfourplaceswhenrankingtheiracademicandathletic
priorities,whereasonly21%placedtwoormoreathleticpreferencesintheirtop
fourplaces(significantat1%level).Additionally,almost62%ofallrevenueathletes
chose“AttainingaDukedegree”astheirtoppriority,whereasonly21%chose
“Performingwellatyourchampionshipgame/match/meet”astheirtoppriority.
Furthermore,non-revenuesindicatedthatinatypicalweek,theyspendan
averageof13.68hoursonstudyingoutsideofclassand21.41hoursontheir
athletics.Afteradding10hoursofclasstime(assumingmosttakefourclassesand
32
regularlyattendtheseclasseseachweek),non-revenuesspendroughly23.68hours
perweekontheiracademics,plusanytimespentwithprofessors,tutors,orinstudy
groups.Althoughnotquitestatisticallysignificant,non-revenuesstillmayspend
morecumulativetimeonacademicsthanathletics.
Otherevidencesupportsthesecondhypothesis.Amajorityofnon-revenues
(68%)believedthattheywouldhavewantedtoattendDukeoriginallyevenifthey
couldn’tplaytheirsport.Finally,over70%ofnon-revenuesdidnotplanonplaying
professionallyaftercollege,suggestingthattheirfutureendeavorsdonotdependon
theirathleticsbutrathertheiracademics.
However,non-revenueathletesplacedagreateremphasisonathleticsthan
anticipated.Anoverwhelmingmajorityofnon-revenuesconsidered“athletics”tobe
theirfavoriteaspectofDuke,ratherthan“academicchallenge.”Afterexcludingthe
individualswhoselectedfavoriteaspectsofDukeotherthanacademicsand
athletics,22.4%oftheremaining85non-revenueschose“academicchallenge”
while77.6%chose“athletics”(astatisticallysignificantdifferenceatp<0.01).
Additionally,playingasportatDukeappearedtobeanimportantfactorinthe
averagenon-revenue’sdecisiontoattendDukeUniversity;theaverageratingofthis
influencewas7.26outof10(wherea10meantplayingasporthadtotalinfluence
overhiscollegiatedecision).
Hypothesis3:RevenueAthletesValueAthletics
Theresultsweremixedregardingwhetherrevenueathletesvalueathletics
morethanacademics.Firstofall,contrarytothethirdhypothesis,74%ofrevenue
athletesputtwoormoreacademicpreferencesinthetopfourplacesoftheir
33
rankingofeightacademicandathleticpriorities.Tobreakthisdownfurther,28%of
revenueathleteshadatleastthreeacademicprioritiesinthetopfourplaces,and
6.4%hadallfouracademicprioritiesbeforethefourathleticpriorities.
Alsoagainstthethirdhypothesiswasthemajorityofsurveyedrevenue
athletes(57%)thatindicatedtheywouldhaveattendedDukeeveniftheycouldnot
haveplayedtheirsport.Furthermore,afterexcludingthefourindividualsthatchose
the“unsure”option,amajorityofrevenueathletes(58%)wouldalsostayatDuke
today,ratherthantransfertoanotherschool,iftheysuddenlycouldnolongerplay
theirsport.Similartothenon-revenuesinthiscase,itisnotablethatamajorityof
revenueathletesrecognizethevalueofstayingatDukeUniversityevenwithout
athletics.
However,someevidencestillexistedforthehypothesisthatrevenueathletes
valuetheirathleticsmorethanacademics.Themostsignificantresultinfavorofthis
notionwasthelargedifferencebetweenthegroupsintheaveragetimespent
studyingoutsideofclass(7.82hours)andaveragetimespentonathleticsinagiven
week(24.07hours).Evenafteradding10hoursforclass(againassumingthe
averagerevenueathletetakes,andregularlyattends,fourclassespersemester),the
surveyedrevenueathletesstillspentmoretimeontheirathleticsthanacademics;
thedifferencebetweenthetwowassignificantatthe1%level.Furthermore,
surveyedrevenueathletes’indicatedthattheirdecisiontoattendDukewaslargely
determinedbytheirabilitytoplaytheirsportincollege.Revenuesgaveanaverage
ratingof7.12outofapossible10inregardstotheinfluenceoftheirsportontheir
collegedecision(significantat1%level).
34
Additionally,moresurveyedrevenueathleteschose“athletics”(72%)than
“academicchallenge”(11%)astheirfavoriteaspectofDuke,whichaddstothe
originalhypothesisthatrevenuesvalueathleticsmore.Also,anastonishing50%of
revenueathletesplanonplayingprofessionallyaftercollege.Thismeansthathalfof
surveyedrevenueathletesmayrelyontheirathletics,notacademics,fortheir
immediatefutureendeavors.
InterviewFindings
Throughtheprocessofthematiccoding,severalmajorthemesemerged.In
comparisonwithrevenueathletes,non-revenueathletesreferencedtheiracademics
morefrequentlythroughouttheinterviewquestionswhilerevenueathletes
stressedtheimportanceoftheirathleticsmorefrequently.However,athletesfrom
bothgroupsemphasizedthelastingimportanceofacademicsontheirfuture
careers,andtheoverallresponsesappearedtobemorefocusedonacademicsthan
athletics.
Hypothesis1:Non-Revenuevs.Revenue
Similartothesurveyresults,interviewednon-revenueathletesappearedto
slightlyvaluetheiracademicsmorethandidrevenueathletes,althoughthe
differencewasminimal.Oftheinterviewfindingsthatsupportedthisdifference,the
mostprominentwasinregardstothequestionofwhetherstudent-athleteswould
considermissingapracticeforanimportantclassassignment.Noneoftherevenue
athleteswouldmissthepractice,whereasalmostall(threeoutoffour)ofthenon-
revenueathleteswouldmissthepracticetocompletetheassignment.Additionally,
whenaskedwhethertheywouldbewillingtomissaclassforanimportantpractice,
35
morenon-revenueathletesexpressedreluctancewithskippingthisclassthandid
revenueathletes.Furthermore,allinterviewednon-revenueathletesbelievedtheir
academicswouldmostimpacttheirfuture,whereasrevenueathleteswere
relativelysplitbetweenacademicsandathleticshavingthemostimpact.
However,similaritiesbetweenthetwogroupsalsoexisted.Mostnotable
weretheshareddifficultiesinbalancingathleticsandacademicsatDuke.Both
groupsemphasizedtheproblemoftimemanagement.Timeconflictsincludedthe
challengeofarrangingclassesaroundpractices,thenecessityofadvancedweekly
planning,andthestruggleoffindingadequatetimeforhomeworkintheday.
Severalathletes—bothrevenueandnon-revenue—specificallymentionedthedirect
tradeoffbetweensleepingandcompletinghomework.Neithergroupmentionedthe
tradeoffbetweenattendingpracticeandcompletinghomework,whichsuggested
thatpracticewasmoreimportantthansleep.However,inherentintheresponses
frombothrevenueandnon-revenueathleteswasthedesiretodobothschooland
athletics,withoutoneortheothersuffering.
Hypothesis2:Non-RevenuesValueAcademics
Theinterviewresultsfurthersupportedthesurveyfindingsinitsagreement
withthehypothesisthatnon-revenueathletesvaluetheiracademicsmorethan
athletics.Forstarters,althoughallofthenon-revenueathleteswerewillingtoskipa
classforanimportantpractice,three-fourthsexpressedreluctancewithskipping
theclass.Oneindividualindicatedthathewouldfirstattempttorearrangehis
practiceschedulebeforeoptingtoskiptheclass;heexplainedthathe“prioritize[s]
school,sothat’swhy[he’d]belessinclinedtoskiptheclass.”Additionally,mostof
36
thenon-revenueathleteswerewilingtoskipapracticeforanimportantclass
assignment,ifnecessary.
Moreover,forthequestionregardingwhatwouldhavethemostimpacton
thestudent’sfuture,allnon-revenueathletesgaveresponsesthatwererelatedto
academics.Theseresponsesweresplitbetweencareerconnections,lessonslearned
frombeingastudent-athlete,andoverallacademicsatDuke.Valueslearnedfrom
beingastudent-athleteincludedorganization,workethic,timemanagement,and
beingabletocompletegoals.Oneintervieweebluntlystatedthathis“performance
inschooliswhatimpacts[his]futurethemost,”andfeltthathisperformanceinhis
sportwouldnothaveasmuchofanimpact.
Anunderlyingsenseofacademicpriorityandthedependenceonefficient
timemanagementexistedthroughoutthenon-revenueresponses.Allrespondents
expressedadesiretocompletetheiracademicassignments,yetalsomaintaintheir
sports.Mostexpressedtheneedtoeffectivelybalancethetwo,butultimately,asone
respondentstated,“Idefinitelyhave[athletic]goals…[but]they’renotasbigasmy
academicgoals.”
Hypothesis3:RevenueAthletesValueAthletics
Againsimilartothesurveyresults,theinterviewsprovidedrelativelymixed
resultsforthehypothesisthatrevenueathletesfavorathleticsoveracademics.
However,interviewedrevenuesconveyedtheirprioritizationofacademicstoa
greaterextentthanwhatcameacrossinthesurveyresults.
Tobegin,revenueathletesweresplitonwhethertheywouldskipclassforan
importantpractice.Twoindividualswereadamantthatmissingclasswouldbe
37
detrimentaltotheirsuccess.Evenifthefootballcoachesdidnotcheckforclass
attendance,thesetwostronglyemphasizedthattheywouldstillnotskipclass,even
iftheywere“downrightexhausted.”However,theothertworevenueathleteswould
considerskippingclass.Oneelaborated,sayingthatskippingclassdependson“how
seriouslytheytaketheirsport….andhowseriouslytheywanttobeonthetravel
teamandplay.”
Inaccordancewiththehypothesisandwithsurveydata,revenueathletes
appearedtoprioritizetheirshort-termathleticgoalsovershort-termacademic
goals.Noneoftherevenueathleteswouldskippracticeforaclassassignment.In
fact,twooftheathleteslaughedattheideaofskippingpractice,sayingthatthey
“don’tseeskippingpracticeasevenanoption.”
However,severalinterviewfindingsalsosupportedthesurveyresultsthat
revenueathletescaredabouttheirlong-termacademicgoals.Whenaskedwhat
wouldhavethemostimpactontheirfuture,tworevenueathletesconveyedthe
importanceoftheiracademics.Oneexplained,“Youcanonlyplayasportforso
long,”whiletheothersaidthat“weknowthatfootballdoesn’tlastforever.”These
individualselaboratedfurther,saying“alotof[theplayers]camehere,notonlyfor
thefootballbutalsoforourfutures,”and“weknowthatwithaDukedegree,weare
goingtobeset.”
DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION
Thisthesisfocusedontheacademicandathleticprioritiesofcollegiate
student-athletesatDukeUniversity,specificallylookingatthedifferencesbetween
38
revenueathletesandnon-revenueathletes.Thepurposeofthisstudywastoreveal
anyconcerninglevelsofacademicprioritiesamongsttheathletes.Student-athletes
shouldrecognizethevalueoftheirDukeeducationgiventhesmallpercentageof
individualsthatgoontoplayprofessionally,asveryfewcanrelyontheirathletics
fortheirfutureendeavors.
Similartosomepreviousstudiesthatconcentratedontheperceptionsof
student-athletes(Gaston-Gayles,2005;Simons,etal,1999),ratherthanon
achievementlevels,thisprojectutilizedsurveysandinterviewstogaininsightinto
themindsetofcollegiatestudent-athletes.Unlikepreviousstudies,thisthesis
focusedonauniquestudent-athletepopulation,giventhehighacademicdemands
andNCAADivisionIstatusofDukeUniversity.However,theseresultscanserveas
backgroundinformationforadditional,futurestudiesconcerningtheacademicand
athleticprioritiesofstudent-athletesathighlyacademicinstitutions.
Tobrieflysummarizethefindings,non-revenueandrevenueathletesatDuke
appearedtostronglyvalueboththeiracademicsandathletics.Boththesurveyand
theinterviewresponsesrevealedanunderlyingresponsibilityofstudent-athletesto
succeedatboth.Thatbeingsaid,thestudyappearstosupportmyfirsthypothesis
thatnon-revenueathletesvaluetheiracademicsmorethanrevenueathletes,
althoughonlyasmalldifferenceseemstoexistbetweenthesetwogroupsatDuke
University.Furthermore,bothgroupsatDukeUniversityseemedtovaluetheir
academicsmorethantheirathletics.
39
GroupsMoreSimilarThanAnticipated
Thesurveyandinterviewresultsprovidedpartialsupportforthefirst
hypothesis,whichpresumedthatnon-revenueathletesvaluetheiracademicsmore
thanrevenueathletesdoatDukeUniversity.Thisstudysuggestedthatnon-
revenuesmayvaluetheirdailyperformancesinclass,i.e.short-termacademicgoals,
morethandorevenues.Non-revenuesdevotedmoretimetotheiracademiccourses,
andsawtheimportanceof“Turningacademiccourseworkinbeforethedeadline,”
unliketheirrevenuecounterparts.Fromtheinterviews,noneoftherevenue
athleteswerewillingtomissthepracticeforanimportantclass,whereasmostof
thenon-revenueathleteswere.Additionally,severalrevenueathletesinsinuated
thatgettingadequaterestwasmoreimportantthancompletingmyriadhomework
assignmentsbecausethisrestaffectedtheirperformanceinpracticethenext
morning.
Furthermore,theacademicfactorsthatrevenueathletesseemingly
prioritizedmorethannon-revenues,e.g.tutorusage,“attendingallclasses,”and
visitingwithprofessorsorteachingassistants,couldbeattributedtorequirements
oftheirsport.Manyfootballandbasketballplayersarerequiredtohaveatutorfor
eachoftheirclasses;football,asdiscoveredininterviews,checksplayers’
attendanceinclasses;and,theincreasednumberofcompetitionsforrevenue
athletesmaycausethemtomeetmorefrequentlywithprofessors.
However,otherresultsequatedtheacademicandathleticpreferencesof
revenueathleteswiththatofnon-revenueathletes,suggestingthatalarge
differencemaynotexistafterall.Asmallerdifferencemayexistbecausenon-
40
revenueathletesdidnotsignificantlyvaluetheirathleticslessthanrevenueathletes.
Forexample,thepercentageofthosewhovalued“academicchallenge”versusthose
whovalued“athletics”astheirfavoriteaspectofDukeweresimilaracrossrevenue
andnon-revenuegroups.Additionally,intheirdecisiontoattendDuke,non-revenue
athletesmoreheavilyconsideredtheirdesiretoplayasportincollegethandid
revenueathletes.
Allinall,thedifferencesbetweentheacademicprioritiesofrevenueandnon-
revenueathletescouldbeduetotheiremphasisondifferentaspectsoftheir
academics.Revenueathletesmaymoreeasilyprioritizelong-termacademicgoals,
like“AttainingaDukedegree,”yetlosesightoftheshort-termgoals,e.g.studyingfor
class.However,thatbeingsaid,thesignificanceofamajorityofbothgroups
choosing“AttainingaDukedegree”overallotherathleticprioritiescannotbe
understated.ItillustratedthatDukeathletesunderstandthesignificanceoftheir
education;whethertheyutilizethiseducationtothefullest,orwhetherthey
prioritizetheiracademicsinthedailyactivitiesareseparatequestionsentirely.
Non-RevenuesStillValueAthletics
Inaccordancewiththesecondhypothesis,evidentthroughoutthesurvey
andinterviewresultswastheimportanceofacademicstonon-revenueathletes.
Non-revenueathletesvaluedacademicprioritiesoverathleticpriorities,
presumablyspentmorecumulativetimeontheiracademicsthanathletics,andwere
willingtomisspracticeforanimportantclassassignment.Interviewednon-revenue
athletesalsostronglyconveyedtheimportanceofDukeacademicsfortheirfuture
endeavors.Thus,inadditiontooverarchingtheoreticalacademicpriorities,non-
41
revenueathleteswerewillingtoputinthetimenecessarytoattainshort-term
academicgoals.Itwasapparentthatnon-revenueathleteswerenotwillingto
compromisethesuccessoftheiracademicsforthesuccessoftheirathletics.
However,debatablymoreinterestingwasthelevelofimportancethatnon-
revenueathletesstillgavetotheirathletics.Itbegsthequestion:whydonon-
revenueathletesdevotesomuchtimetoathletics,althoughtheyknowtheywill
neverreceivethesamepublicrecognitionasrevenueathletes?Afterdiscussing
furtherwithnon-revenuesintheinterviews,theanswerappearstobepainstakingly
simple.Non-revenueathletesplaybecauseitisapartoftheiridentity.Asone
respondentsaid,“developing[one]selfintellectuallyanddeveloping[one]self
athleticallyaretwoverymeaningfulparts.”Mostaregratefulforthelessonsthey
learnedfrombeingastudent-athlete,asathleticshaveestablishedafoundational
workethicthattranslatesintootheraspectsoftheirlives.
RevenuesPrioritizeLong-TermAcademicGoals
Thesurveyresultsandinterviewresultswererelativelysplitforthe
hypothesisthatrevenueathletesvaluetheirathleticsoveracademics.However,
particularlystrongevidenceexistedforrevenueathlete’sprioritizationoflong-term
academicgoals,whichinturnsuggestedthatrevenueathletesatDukemay,infact,
valuetheiracademicsmorethantheyvaluetheirathletics.Revenueathletesplaced
animportanceon“AttainingaDukedegree”and“ReceivingACCAcademicHonor
Rollthissemester(3.0GPAorhigher).”Additionally,thehighpercentageof
surveyedrevenueathletesthatwouldhaveattendedDukewithouttheirsport
(57%),alongwiththosethatwouldnotleaveDukeiftheycouldnolongerplaytheir
42
sport(52%),suggestedrevenuesvaluetheirDukeeducation.Furthertestamentto
thiswasarevenueathlete’scomment:“Asfootballplayers,weknowthatfootball
doesn’tlastforever,”and“weknowthatwithadukedegree,afterourfootball
careers,wearegoingtobeset.”
However,anapparentlackofpriorityonshort-termacademicgoalsexisted
forrevenueathletes.Withanaverageofonly7.82hoursofoutsidestudyingper
week,revenueathletesspentoverthreetimesmoretimeontheirathleticsthan
academicsinagivenweek.Canstudentstrulyexcelintheclassroomwhenlessthan
twohoursofpreparationisdevotedtoeachclass1perweek?Giventhatstudying
oftendirectlytranslatestoacademicsuccess,revenueathleteslikelyarenot
maximizingtheirfullacademicpotential.Thus,anobviousdisconnectexists
betweenrevenueathletes’conceptionoflong-termacademicgoalsandthedaily
academicdutiesthatarenecessarytofulfillthesegoals.
PolicyRecommendations
Revenueathletesshouldhaverequiredstudyhoursperweekbecause
increasedstudyhourswillhelprevenueathleteswiththeirshort-termacademic
goals.Lessthaneighthoursperweekonoutsideacademics,asindicatedfromthe
surveyresults,simplycannotbeenoughtimeneededtoexcelinclassesatsuchan
eliteinstitutionasDukeUniversity.Ifindividualsareperformingverypoorlyin
theirclasses,student-athletesareoftenrequiredtologacertainnumberofhoursin
theiracademiccenter.Ratherthanwaituntilthesituationisdire,Irecommendthat
allrevenueathletesberequiredtospend10-15hoursinstudyhallperweek.Given
1Assumestheaveragerevenueathletetakesfourclassespersemester.
43
thattheirnon-revenuecounterpartsareabletostudythismuch,revenueathletes
candevotethismuchtimetotheirstudies.Theseenforcementscancomefrom
academicadvisorsorthecoachingstaff.
Furthermore,NCAArulesshouldbemorecloselymonitoredamongstall
sportsteamsatDukeUniversity.AccordingtoNCAAbylaws,student-athletescan
onlyberequiredtopracticeamaximumof20hoursperweekin-season,andeven
lessinoff-season.Boththenon-revenueandtherevenuegroupspracticedmore
thanthis,asthesurveyresultsshowednon-revenueathletespracticedanaverageof
21.41hoursandrevenueathletesanaverageof24.07hours.Thisregulationis
meanttolimitthedemandsofathleticsoncollegiatestudent-athletes,andthey
shouldbemoreadequatelyenforcedsoastofosterhigheracademicprioritization.
Waystomanagethisincluderepeatedstudent-athletesurveys,signedtestamentsto
20hoursoftraining,andmorefrequentvisitsfromNCAAcomplianceofficersto
athleticteamstoeducateathletesandcoachesoftheseregulations.
Lastly,apolicythatestablishesmandatoryworkshopsfortimemanagement
skillsshouldbeincorporatedforallathletesatDukeUniversity,especiallyduring
freshmenyear.Aswasrepeatedlymentionedthroughouttheinterviews,time
managementisakeycomponenttosuccessatDukeUniversity.Mostathletes
indicatedthattheystruggledthroughouttheirbeginningsemestersatDukebecause
establishingaroutineisdifficult,althoughit“getseasier”oncearoutineis
established.Mandatoryworkshopsthatfostertheseskillswouldbebeneficialfor
thesuccessoftheseathletesintheclassroom.
44
Limitations
Giventherelativelymixedresultsofthisresearch,thisstudydoesnot
providesufficientevidencetoproveordisproveanyofthehypotheses.Additional
researchandfuturestudiesarenecessarytoestablishmoreconclusivetheories.
Also,thelimitednumberofinterviewsmayhaveprovidedanunrepresentative
sampleofbothrevenueandnon-revenueathletes.However,amajorityofthis
study’sclaimsrestedontheresultsfromtheextensivesurvey,andtheinformation
fromtheinterviewsweresimplysupplemental.
Anotherlimitationisthelackofinformationontheacademicperformance
dividebetweennon-revenueandrevenueathletesatDukeUniversity.Thepurpose
ofthisstudywastoevaluatethedifferencesinmotivationandprioritiesbetween
thesetwogroups,ratherthanthedifferencesinachievementlevels.Futurestudies
onthedifferencesbetweentheperformancelevelscouldbebeneficialtothis
discussion.
ClosingRemarks
Thisstudyshedfurtherlightontheinterestingdynamicbetweentheroleofa
studentandtheroleofanathleteforcollegiatestudent-athletesatDukeUniversity.
TheresultsprovidedaninsightintotheuniqueDukestudent-athletepopulation;the
intensifiedacademicdemandswerenotlostonthesestudent-athletes,andthedual
relationshipoftheirpassionswasevidentthroughouttheresults.Thestudyalso
providesinsightsonacademicsupportpracticesthatcanbenefitstudentathletesat
Duke.Overall,thisstudysuggestedthatalthoughnon-revenueathletesmayvalue
45
academicsslightlymorethantheirrevenuecounterparts,bothtypesofathletes
ultimatelyvaluetheiracademicsmorethantheirathletics.
46
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APPENDIXI:SURVEYQUESTIONS*BeforesurveyonQualtrics,participantsmustconsenttoparticipate(SeeAppendixII).BasicDemographicInformation:
1. AreyouamalevarsityathleteatDukeUniversity?(Y/N)
2. Whichvarsitysportsteamareyouon?(Chooseonefromthepull-downmenu)
• Baseball• Golf• Track&FieldandCrossCountry(combined)• Wrestling• Basketball• Fencing• Football• Lacrosse• Soccer• SwimmingandDiving(combined)• Tennis
3. Whatyearareyouinschool?(Chooseoneofthefollowing)
• Freshman• Sophomore• Junior• Senior• Fifth-yearSenior
PrioritiesofAthletes:
4. Ranktheimportanceofthefollowinginyourlife(1=mostimportant;8=leastimportant):
___Performingwellatchampionshipgame/match/meet___Beingasupportiveteammate___Attendingallpracticesforyoursport___Beingagoodrepresentativeofyourteamforrecruits___ReceivingACCAcademicHonorRollthissemester(3.0GPAorhigher)___Turninginacademiccourseworkbythedeadline___Attendingallclasses___AttainingaDukedegree
5. WhatisyourfavoriteaspectofDukeUniversity?(Chooseone)___Athletics___AcademicchallengeofDukeUniversity
51
___Diverseculture___Greeklife___StudentInvolvementOpportunities(clubs,committees,studentgovernment,communityservice,etc.)
6. Doyouplanonplayingyoursportprofessionallyaftercollege?(Y/N)
TimeUseofAthletes:7. Listthehoursperweekspentonthefollowingactivities:
___Yoursport(practice,games/meets/matches,etc.)___Othersports___Studying(notinclass)___Extracurricularactivities(clubs,committees,studentgovernment,communityservice,etc.)___Leisure
InvolvementintheAcademicCommunity:
8. Howmanytimesinthepasttwoweekshaveyoudonethefollowing?___Visitedthewritingstudio___MetwithprofessorsorTAsoutsideofclass___Metwithastudygroup(includesgroupprojectmeetings)___Metwithatutor
9. Howmanystudygroupshaveyoubeeninthissemester?
10. Howmanyacademictutorsdoyouhave?
ImportanceoftheSporttotheAthlete:11. Onascaleof1-10,howmuchdidplayingasportinfluenceyourdecisionto
attendDuke?(1=didnotaffectmydecisionatall;10=itwasthesolereasonIcametoDuke)
12. WouldyouhavewantedtoattendDukeifyoucouldn’tplayyoursport?(Y/N)
13. Rightnow,ifyouweretoldthatyoucouldremainatDukebutnotplayyoursport,ortransfertoanothercollegeandplayyoursport,whatwouldyoudo?(Chooseoneofthefollowing)
• StayatDukewithoutplayingyoursport• Transfertoanothercollegeandplayyoursport• Notsure
14. Doyouplanonparticipatinginyoursportthroughoutyourentiretimeat
Duke?(Y/N)
52
Ifyouwishtoprovideyouremailaddressinordertoentertheraffle,pleaseclick(LINK).*Notethatyouremailaddresswillbestoredseparatefromyourresponsessothatyourresponseswillbecompletelyanonymous.Noemailaddresseswillbereportedinthisstudy.Ifyouprefernottoentertheraffle,thankyouverymuchforyourtime!Pleaseprovideyouremailaddresshere:_____________
53
APPENDIXII:INTERVIEWQUESTIONS
1. WhatyearareyouatDuke?
2. Canyoudescribeanydifficultiesthatyouhaveencounteredinbalancingbothyourathleticsandacademicsincollege?
3. Considerthishypotheticalsituation.Youjustheardthatyourcoachisgoingtoselectindividualsforthetravelteambasedonperformancesattonight’spractice.Wouldyouconsiderskippingclasssothatyoucanrestand/ormentallypreparebeforepractice?
4. Consideranotherhypotheticalsituation.Yourteacherjustassignedahugepaperduethenextdaythatis30%ofyourgrade.But,youhavemandatorypracticethatevening.Wouldyouconsiderskippingpractice?Orwouldyouasktheprofessorforanextension?
5. Whohasbeenthemostinfluentialperson/rolemodelforyouatDuke(professor,coach,etc.)?Why?
6. Whenyoulookbackonyourcollegeexperience,whatareyougoingtorememberthemost?Whatdoyouthinkwillleavethemostimpactonyourfuture?
54
APPENDIXIII:CONSENTFORMFORSURVEY
Hello,MynameisAlexaMendes,andIamanundergraduatestudenthereatDukeUniversity.Iamaskingyoutoparticipateinaresearchstudyontheathleticandacademicinvolvementofstudent-athletes.Ihopethatthisstudywillprovideinsighttotheprioritiesofstudent-athletes,soastohelpadministratorscreatemoreeffectiveacademicsupportpoliciesforstudent-athletesoncollegecampuses.Ifyouagreetoparticipateinthisstudy,youwillbeaskedtocompleteanonlinesurvey.Thissurveyhas14questionsandshouldtakebetween5-10minutesofyourtime.Surveyquestionspertaintoyourpriorities,yourtimeusage,yourinvolvementintheacademiccommunity,andtheimportanceofyoursporttoyou.Somebasicdemographicinformationwillbecollectedaswell.Inordertoprotectyouridentityshouldyouchoosetoentertheraffle,youremailaddresseswillbestoredinaseparatespreadsheetwithnootheridentifyinginformation.Additionally,thesurveywillaskyouwhatyearyouareinschoolandwhatsportyouplay.InordertoprotectyouridentitywhenIreportmyfindings,allofthedatawillbeaggregatedintotwocategories:revenueathletesandnon-revenueathletes.Thesetwolargecategorieswillsignificantlyminimizethechancesoftheidentificationofanyindividualparticipantfromthefindings.Yourparticipationinthisstudyiscompletelyoptional.Ifyoudecidetoparticipate,attheendofthesurveyyouwillhavetheoptiontoenteryouremailaddress.Youarenotrequiredtoenteryouremailaddress.EnteringyouremailaddressuponcompletionofthesurveywillenteryouintoaraffleforaniPod.Ifyouhaveanyquestionsaboutmystudy,pleasecontactmeatajm70@duke.edu.Ifyouhavequestionsaboutyourrightsasaresearchparticipant,youmaycontacttheHumanSubjectsCommitteeators-info@duke.edu.Ifyouwouldliketoparticipateinthisstudybycompletingthesurvey,pleaseclickbelowtocontinue.
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APPENDIXIV:ORALCONSENTSCRIPTFORINTERVIEWS
MynameisAlexaMendes,andIamanundergraduatestudenthereatDukeUniversity.Iamaskingyoutoparticipateinaresearchstudyontheathleticandacademicinvolvementofstudent-athletes.Ihopethatthisstudywillprovideinsighttotheprioritiesofstudent-athletes,soastohelpadministratorscreatemoreeffectiveacademicsupportpoliciesforstudent-athletesoncollegecampuses.Ifyouagreetoparticipateinthisstudy,Iwillaskyouquestionsregardingyourdailyathleticandacademicactivities,andyoureverydaypreferences.Thisinterviewwilltakeabout15minutes.Yournameandallofyourresponseswillbekeptanonymousinmyresearchstudy.Iwillaskyouwhatyearyouareinschoolandwhatsportyouplay.InordertoprotectyouridentitywhenIreportmyfindings,allofthedatawillbeaggregatedintotwocategories:revenueathletesandnon-revenueathletes.Thesetwolargecategorieswillsignificantlyminimizethechancesoftheidentificationofanyindividualparticipantfromthefindings.Yourparticipationinthisstudyiscompletelyoptional.Youmayskipanyquestionsthatyouprefernottoanswer,andyoucanalsoendtheinterviewatanypoint.Ifyouhaveanyquestionsaboutmystudy,hereisasheetwithmycontactinformation.Ifyouhavequestionsaboutyourrightsasaresearchparticipant,youmaycontacttheHumanSubjectsCommitteeators-info@duke.edu.Doyouhaveanyquestionsbeforewebegin?