NCAA Division I student athlete characteristics as indicators of academic achievement and graduation from college

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if NCAA Division I student athlete characteristics of graduation, presented in the literature and previous research, can be generalized to student athletes in the Mid-American Conference using research based conclusions developed from this study. The study identified seven characteristics prominent in the literature and made conclusions to ascertain if information provided on the characteristics, as presented in the literature, can be generalized to the Mid-American Conference. The research population for this study was N=1430. The population represented student athletes at the 13 schools of the Mid-American Conference. All student athletes represented in the selected population were seniors by NCAA eligibility standards and were within one academic year of receiving a baccalaureate degree. The researcher selected a proportional stratified sample (25%) of the population (n=358) and mailed a research-developed survey instrument, inspired by previous survey instruments and research, to the selected proportion of the population. Data were stored securely and complete anonymity was guaranteed. The analysis of the data indicated that information gleaned from the literature can be applied to student athletes in the Mid-American Conference based upon the research conclusions presented in this study. The characteristics of graduation prominently identified in the literature that formed the basis for this study were student athletes' perception of college coaches' emphasis on academics, the extent of use of specialized academic support services for student athletes, specific sport played in college, ethnicity, gender, NCAA high school core course grade point average, and score attained on SAT or ACT test. The analysis of the data specific to the student athletes in the Mid-American Conference revealed, as in the literature, that the constructs of gender, ethnicity, and sport played can have a significant impact on the academic achievement in the other listed categories and on potential for graduation. Ancillary findings were related to the academic achievement of Caucasian females and women basketball players in the conference. This dissertation is dedicated to Jacqueline, Chiara, and Bradley Ridpath II. vi

Does Gender Significantly Predict Academic, Athletic Career Motivation among NCAA Division I College Athletes

“…Similar to the current findings, Carter's (2012) examination of student-athlete motivations toward both academics and athletics at a Division I university demonstrated that motivational orientations of athletes differed when accounting for gender. Shuman (2009) also found that female student-athletes were more likely to be academically motivated than male athletes, which was also similar to Simons et al's (1999) and Ridpath's (2002; findings that female studentathletes were better able to balance athletics and academics than male student-athletes.…”

“…Some of the aforementioned reforms include the Academic Progress Rate (APR), increased satisfactory progress, and percentage-toward-degree requirements (Meyer, 2005). Academic performance of college athletes in the last ten years has been under a microscope in both the media and the popular literature (Amorose, 2003;Benford, 2007;Meyer, 2005;Pappano, 2012;Ridpath, 2002;. Even with the controversy and challenges, the NCAA touts recent athlete graduation rates of 60%, which is higher than the national average for the nonathletic population at 58% (NCAA, 2002).…”

Factors that Influence the Academic Success of College Athletes Participating in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics

“…Previous research examining the relationship between athlete academic success and GPA found variations across sport type and season of competition (Dilley-Knoles et al, 2010). Female athletes were found to have higher grade point averages (LeCrom et al, 2009;Staurowsky et al, 2020), and a coach, athletic department, and institution emphasizing high academic importance influences college athlete academic success (Ridpath, 2002;Tudor & Ridpath, 2018). While the 2.0 standard is the minimum for athletic eligibility, communicating a higher target of 3.0 and connecting students to support services may facilitate more athlete academic success and increase retention.…”

Shaping Policy and Practice in Intercollegiate Athletics: A Study of Student Perceptions of Resource Allocation for Athletics and its Effect on Affordability of Higher Education

“…In the MAC there are 13 member institutions split into an Eastern and Western division with a total student enrollment of more than 275,000, including more than 5,200 athletes in 23 sports (Table 4). Mid-American Conference institutions are considered peers athletically due to competitive equity, number of sports sponsored, athletic budgets, academic profile of prospective college athletes, and many other areas, such as demographics and size of institution (Ridpath, 2002).…”