Journal of Student-Athlete Educational Development and Success
Contents & Abstracts, Volume 7, 2025

ISBN 978-0-89641-648-2
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    An Exploratory Study of Selected Mentoring Programs for Student-Athletes at NCAA Division I and II Member Institutions — Jeongwon Choi, Angelia Nelson, Boung Jin Kang — Student-athletes face the challenging task of balancing academics, sports, and social life, often leading to difficul¬ties in managing their schedules effectively. As a result, many struggle to excel in all these areas simultaneously. It is clear that there is a need for support to ensure that student-athletes can have a fulfilling and balanced college experience. The purpose of this study is to explore and evaluate mentoring programs at NCAA I and II institutions to determine their mission, goals, functions, strengths, and weaknesses based on Mentor-Role Theory (MRT). A total of ten institutions were selected based on the three criteria established for this study. The researchers utilized the constant comparative method and thematic analysis for the data analysis. To ensure the ac¬curacy of the findings, the researchers conducted peer de¬briefing, following the guidelines of Lincoln and Gula (1985) to establish the overall trustworthiness of the results. This study resulted in five themes: 1) Gaps between Division I and Division II, 2) Lack of mentorship programs at HBCUs, 3) Lack of feedback and evaluation for mentorship programs, 4) Strengths and weaknesses of guidelines and expectations, and 5) Focusing on psychosocial functions rather than career functions. The findings of the study contribute to the body of knowledge regarding the importance of mentorship programs in intercollegiate athletics. Keywords: Student-Athlete, College Sport, Mentoring Program, Mentor-Role Theory (1-28)

  • Investigating Academic Support Systems for High School Basketball Players — Tim Godley, Ryann N. Shelton — The purpose of this multiple case study was to investigate three existing high school academic support systems for high school basketball players through the lens of self-directed learning. Data collection included a questionnaire, interviews, and artifacts gathered from four participants across three high schools, who provided rich de¬scriptions of their academic support activities. Garrison’s (2016) theoretical framework served as the lens for data analysis. Data analysis generated within-case patterns, and cross-case analysis led to five findings. This study’s findings emphasized the importance of adults working in concert with each other to support high school basketball players academically. First, participants indicated that individual mentoring positively impacts student-athlete academic achievement. Second, participants noted that us¬ing outside resources enhances programmatic academic support. Third, according to participants, developmental goal-setting supports academic independence. Fourth, participants shared that developmental goal-setting supports academic independence. Finally, participants re¬ported that utilizing programmatic incentives increases academic motivation and morale. We share implications and recommendations that benefit administrative decision-makers and academic mentors who seek to improve high school basketball players’ college readiness. Keywords: Advisor, Athlete, Academic Support, Eligibility, High School, Coach (29-64)

  • Presence and Characterization of Mental Health Programming Addressing Retirement from Collegiate Athletics — Courtney J. Duckworth, Dyland McCaleb,Jason Freemen, Siobhan M. Statuta — Despite known mental health risks associated with retire¬ment from sport, little is known about programming to prepare collegiate athletes for this transition and how COVID-19 affected these practices. To learn more, a 20-question survey was delivered via the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) listserv. Results were collected from 108 multidisciplinary collegiate sports medicine professionals, where 29% reported pres¬ence of mental health programs addressing retirement. Over half of existing programs were required (53%) and delivered by behavioral health specialists (53%) in the 1st semester senior year (21%) with 70% delivered over multiple semesters. Most programs were multi-modality with a significant increase in virtual seminars after COVID-19. Participants indicated ideal programming would be required (78%) in individual or small groups and delivered by behavioral health specialists (50%) during the 1st semester senior year (22%) and additional semesters (59%). Themes of both existing and ideal programming included: insight into potential obstacles, resource awareness, normalization of difficulties, self-compassion, and purpose outside of athletics. These data suggest discrepancies between ideal and existing program requirements, though they share common themes and goals. These find¬ings could assist in programming design and delivery. Keywords: Collegiate athletes, mental health, retirement planning (65-91)

  • Play Action: Proposing Creative Intervention for Student-Athletes in Transition Who Experience Crises and Mental Health Issues — Kaethe Hoehling — Student-athletes experience a variety of transitions in their lives and careers. Many athletes expend energy to maintain an image of strength, athleticism, and resilience even during periods of crisis, transition, and vulnerability. There are advances in sports culture that encourage healthy and safe transitions and coping strategies. The theoretical foundations of existentialism, self-compassion, and interpersonal psychology offer some support and structure for creative intervention to support athletes in transition. A model for such an intervention is proposed and delineated, based on existing literature. Keywords: crisis, student-athlete, existentialism, interpersonal, self-compassion, intervention (92-116)

  • Exploration of Player Experience in Division I College Football — Abbie Kipp, Maysen Chesler, Calista Preator, Jet Trowbridge, Jonathon Cheney, Lexi Anderson,Billy Nixon, Mat Duerden — Our research aimed to define player experience using insights from current football players at a Division I university in the United States. We analyzed data from eight guided focus groups with over 35 players using grounded theory methodology. We explored player ex¬perience across three stages: (1) the recruiting experi-ence, (2) the concurrent student-athlete experience, and (3) the alumni experience. Four major themes emerged: (1) rela-tionships, (2) communication, (3) coaching tactics, and (4) on-field player experience. Players emphasized that relationships, communication, and coaching tactics significantly impacted each stage of their player experience. Effective coaching requires fostering strong relationships, open communication, and combining high expectations with respect. Further opportunities for research include delving into specific coaching tactics and effective ways to implement them, how to measure the level of trust between players and coaches, and the impact of team culture on performance. Keywords: coaching, relationships, student-athletes, retention, recruitment, communication, on-field experience, college athletes, college football, coaching tactics (117-147)

  • Getting Used to It: International Student-Athlete Adjustment — Tianxiang Chen — International student-athletes have become an important part of intercollegiate athletics in the United States. Like their nonathlete peers, international student-athletes ex¬perience an adjustment process that can be both exciting and challenging after they arrive on the campuses of American higher education institutions. Based on the in¬ternational student-athlete adjustment framework developed by Ridinger and Pastore (2000a), the purpose of this paper is to (a) introduce scholarship examining the ad¬justment of international students (nonathletes) to higher education, and (b) review past studies that examined the antecedents and process of adjustment to college for in-ternational student-athletes in the United States. Implications for practice are given in an effort to better support international student-athletes’ adjustment. Recommendations for future research are also offered including: (1) more quantitative studies should be conducted, (2) international student-athletes’ satisfaction with adjustment deserves examination, (3) a few aspects of adjustment proposed by Ridinger and Pastore deserve more research attention, and (4) coaches’ and domestic student-athletes’ perspectives need to be included. Keywords: International Student-Athletes, College Adjustment, Cross-Cultural Adjustment, Athlete Experience, Athlete Support (148-172)

  • The Sporting History and Specialization Timelines of Canadian University Student-Athletes — Gareth Saunders, LeAnne Petherick — Historically, the dialogue about sport specialization or diversification is not well understood for high performance college athletes in Canada or elsewhere. Our study fo¬cuses on Canadian student-athletes’ sporting histories and specialization timelines to better understand how sporting excellence is advanced through specific or diverse sport participation. This quantitative study examines the development and specialization timeline patterns of 64 student-athletes participating in a western, Cana¬dian university setting. Participants were recruited from three sports: soccer, volleyball and basketball. Findings indicate that trends for both sport specialization and diversification can be found among student-athletes. Soccer players specialized at younger ages compared to basketball and volleyball and there were no gender differences among athletes who participated in the same sports. Volleyball and basketball players have much later specialization timelines and also play a diverse range of sports prior to committing to specialized practice and performance. This study suggests that the majority of university student-athletes in these three sports did not specialize early rather participated in diverse sports. (173-203

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