College Student Development within the Context of Formalized Sport in American Higher Education

Abstract

Those providing and managing sport in primary, secondary and post-secondary educational settings must be cognizant of the need for sport programs to enhance, rather than detract from, the educational environment. American post-secondary education provides an important context for inquiry in sport for two primary reasons. First, college enrollment marks a significant period of transition for individuals who are at a developmentally impressionable stage of their lives. Second, roughly 80% of all college students participate in some form of physical activity during their time on a college or university campus, with roughly half of them participating in formal sport. Two bodies of literature provide guidance for sport managers in US higher education: 1) sport development theory and 2) student development theory. This paper aims to provide a road map to facilitate the conversation between these two bodies of theory to unpack the potential contribution of sport to the individual development of sport participants at American colleges and universities.

Support to Classify Intercollegiate Athletics Participation as a High Impact Practice

“…Athletic competition at other levels and their potential design as a HIP should be explored in the future, including at the recreation and club sport levels. Springer and Dixon (2021) argued that extracurricular programs, unlike intercollegiate sports, tend to be more "philosophically driven by a mixture of educational, accessibility, and competitive considerations" that allow for more inclusivity for the often diverse student population" (p. 192). Thus, recreational sport participation may already be closely aligned with HIPs (Kuh, 2008).…”

“…This lack of collaboration is problematic as athletes are not considered in greater institutional design and programming, which may limit their growth and preparation and their ability to capitalize on both traditional HIPs and the developmental ben-efits of sport participation (Berardino, 2021;Brand, 2006;Comeaux & Grummert, 2021;Jolly et al, 2020;Kuh & O'Donnell, 2013;Springer & Dixon, 2021). As Ishaq and Bass (2019) stated: "When HIPs are unsystematic, it becomes very difficult to reap the positive outcomes associated with their implementation" (p. 189).…”

“…While the academic arms of the universities may control the current 11 HIPs, leaders in the athletics department can control how sports are structured to either hinder or enhance athletes' growth and development. If the design of college sport further emphasized the educational triad of teaching, research, and service, the academic arms of campuses may be more inclined to devote enhanced financial support to athletics and collaborate to further center the educational components of participation in athletics (Clotfelter, 2019;Springer & Dixon, 2021;Weight et al, 2015). This would also allow for a stronger Integrated View (Brand, 2006;Weight et al, 2020a).…”

“…First, this work further ties education and athletics by extending higher education perspectives and practices into athletics spaces. Such research was recommended by Springer and Dixon (2021), who noted there is minimal consideration of student development through intercollegiate athletics. Similarly, expanding HIPs into athletics can improve understanding of athletes' experiences and find ways in which their opportunities align or do not align with education and how to make improvements to adjust misalignment (Springer & Dixon, 2021).…”

“…Such research was recommended by Springer and Dixon (2021), who noted there is minimal consideration of student development through intercollegiate athletics. Similarly, expanding HIPs into athletics can improve understanding of athletes' experiences and find ways in which their opportunities align or do not align with education and how to make improvements to adjust misalignment (Springer & Dixon, 2021). Second, such shifts in perspective may change the way scholars and practitioners conceptualize intercollegiate athletics and its role within higher education.…”