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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NCAA,2014NationalCollegeFootballAttendanceReport.2014.NCAA,2015NCAAMen’sBasketballAttendanceReport.2015.NCAAResearch,EstimatedProbabilityofCompetinginProfessionalAthletics.2015.O'Shaughnessy,Lynn."WhyAthletesHaveanEdgeatEliteColleges."CBSNews.CBSInteractive,2June2009.Web.25Mar.2015.http://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-athletes-have-an-edge-at-elite-colleges/Paule,AmandaL.,andToddA.Gilson."Currentcollegiateexperiencesofbig-time,non-revenue,NCAAathletes."JournalofIntercollegiateSport3.2(2010):333-347.Potuto,JosephineR.,andJamesO'Hanlon."NationalStudyofStudent-AthletesregardingTheirExperiencesasCollegeStudents(1)."CollegeStudentJournal41.4(2007):947.Rampell,Catherine."GradingCollegeAthletes."Economix.NewYorkTimes,15Oct.2010.Web.1Apr.2015.http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/15/grading-college-athletes/?_r=0"RemainingEligible:Academics."NCAAHomePage.NCAA,25Nov.2013.Web.3Apr.2015.http://www.ncaa.org/remaining-eligible-academicsSexton,Megan,andRichardSouthall."2013-14AdjustedGraduationGapReport:NCAAD-IBasketball."CollegeSportResearchInstitute,12Mar.2014.Web.18Apr.2015.Sexton,Megan,RichardSouthall,andBenWaring."2014AdjustedGraduationGapReport:NCAAFBSFootball."CollegeSportResearchInstitute,5Oct.2014.Web.18Apr.2015.Simons,HerbertD.,DerekVanRheenen,andMartinV.Covington."Academicmotivationandthestudentathlete."JournalofCollegeStudentDevelopment40(1999):151-162."Student-Athletes."NCAAHomePage.NCAA,1Jan.2015.Web.10Mar.2015.http://www.ncaa.org/student-athletes"StudentAthleteAcademicSupportServices."GoDuke.DukeAthletics,20July2005.Web.1Apr.2015.http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=157556&SPID=2805&SPSID=35565Thamel,Pete."AthletesGetNewCollegePitch:CheckOutOurTutoringCenter."TheNewYorkTimes.TheNewYorkTimes,3Nov.2006.Web.1Apr.2015.

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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?