Search Results

1. Latessa, Michael Overwhelmed by the Stress and Frustration to Perform to Expectations: Exploring this Phenomena within Student-Athletes

Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership), Youngstown State University, 2024, Department of Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

This mixed methods study examines current issues related to mental health, performance anxiety, and stigma among collegiate student-athletes. A targeted review of the literature examines studies on how stigma around mental health prevents collegiate student-athletes from seeking treatment, how demands from sports and academics affect mental health, how performance anxiety and related cognitive factors are involved, and how the new name, image, and likeness (NIL) era may affect the experience of student-athletes. An ecological cognitive-behavioral paradigm is put forth as a lens through which to view and manage mental health issues in the complex environment of collegiate athletics. The summary of a hypothetical Q-technique study is also given, which may be used to systematically sample student-athletes' subjective opinions regarding NIL, mental health, and performance pressure. By integrating quantitative factor analysis with qualitative insights from participant responses, the study identifies the diverse perspectives of student-athletes regarding mental health and performance, revealing the complexity of their experiences and the necessity for targeted support systems within collegiate athletics. Through the research, readers may not only confirm issues of agreement and controversy, but also use this secure data to establish the right policies, a first-rate education, and adequate support for this population as college sports continue to transform. A multi-dimensional approach, including individual, interpersonal, institutional, and socio-cultural actions, will be necessary to learn about the mental health of student-athletes and enhance their quality of life.

Committee: Karen Larwin PhD (Committee Chair); Jake Protivnak PhD (Committee Member); Mara Banfield EdD (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Psychology; Counseling Psychology; Social Psychology; Sports Management; Sports Medicine

2. Line, Joanna Challenging the Leadership Narrative in Sport: An Exploration of NCAA Division I Women Student-Athletes' Understandings of Leadership

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2021, American Culture Studies

Leadership discourse in U.S. sport tends to privilege White, masculine, heterosexual, individual, men (Anderson, 2009; Chin, 2007; Liu, 2019; Suyemoto & Ballou, 2007). The persistent lack of representation of women administrators and coaches in collegiate sport is demonstrative of this exclusionary discourse (Acosta & Carpenter, 2014; Burton, 2015). Student-athletes are emerging leaders in the field of sport and therefore how they develop an understanding of leadership and their leadership capacity should be considered. This ethnographic study explores the perceptions NCAA Division I women student-athletes of how leaders develop, who can lead, and which values and behaviors are characteristic of leadership. My exploration was guided by Batliwala's (2011) feminist leadership diamond which includes five components: the self, power, principles and values, purpose, and practices. I also applied Foucault (1995), VeneKlasen and Miller (2007), and Batliwala's (2011) conceptualizations of power to examine how power operates in interactions among people within an organization to influence who is perceived as a leader and how leadership is enacted. Crenshaw's (1989) concept of intersectionality provided an analytical lens (Bowleg, 2008) to examine how inequitable distribution of power functions along multiple, intersecting axes of oppression (Collins & Bilge, 2016) and shapes the experiences of student-athletes with multiple minoritized identities. The results offered four major findings. First, the student-athletes' definition of leadership offers an alternative to the traditional conceptualization of leadership in sport. According to these student-athletes, leaders are invested in the ongoing process of supporting team members' personal and athletic growth. However, they negotiate this understanding of leadership with dominant cultural ideology within NCAA Division I athletics. This negotiation is also shaped by their postfeminist (Gill, 2007) and post-Title IX (Barak et al (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Vikki Krane Ph.D. (Advisor); Andy Garcia Ph.D. (Other); Sandra Faulkner Ph.D. (Committee Member); V Rosser Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; Gender; Gender Studies; Sports Management; Womens Studies

3. Read, Zachary The Eagle Way: The Path Taken through History for Ashland University Athletics

Bachelor of Arts, Ashland University, 2020, Journalism & Digital Media

Ashland University has a rich history of athletics which dates back to 1920 when collegiate athletics officially started at what was then Ashland College. As the athletic program now embarks on its 100th year, this documentary depicts a journey through the 100 years of Ashland University athletics. Through deep historical research, the documentary uncovers stories and memories that have been hidden for decades. It will explain how the mascot of the eagle became the Eagles, coaches that have been hired, stellar athletes who have made their mark at Ashland, and many other stories that impacted the athletic program for 100 years. This documentary also displays the crafting of a creative piece by showcasing video and editing skills, as well as audio, storytelling and other post production skills. A number of former coaches, administrators and athletes will tell their story of their time at Ashland, and how they will always remember what has made Ashland University athletics so successful. The full documentary can be found by going to Youtube.com and searching "The Eagle Way Documentary" or by following this link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtZUYa9gMXo&t=1s.

Committee: David McCoy Dr. (Advisor); Dan O'Rourke Dr. (Committee Member); Jeffrey Weidenhamer Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Film Studies; History; Journalism; Multimedia Communications

4. Grant, Scott A Multiple Case Study Analysis of Ohio Interscholastic Extracurricular Pay to Participate Policies

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2017, Leadership Studies

Due to the increasingly widespread utilization of interscholastic athletic pay to participate policies within the state of Ohio, this study focused on analyzing specific pay to participate policies within Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) member school districts through a qualitative, multiple case study methodology. This study aimed to contribute to the overall gap in research regarding pay to participate policies from a policy analysis perspective. Utilizing the policy process model outlined by Kraft and Furlong (2015) as a framework, policy document and interview data analysis assisted in the development of key elements such as contributing factors and goals of the specific policies, implementation methods and procedures unique and different among districts, as well as evaluation processes and criterion utilized to define success. This study did not intend to generalize pay to participate policies that implement the most evident fee typology within the state of Ohio, but rather provide depth within the stories of specific districts, intending to add value to district discussions surrounding pay to participate policy utilization. The study results described key policy elements from district contextual perspectives regarding their development, implementation, and evaluation methods. These key components provided unique perspectives based upon perceptions of athletic administrators, and actions of the policies themselves, as well as resulted in the development of a pay to participate discussion guide (Appendix C) that can be utilized by districts during policy discussions.

Committee: Paul Willis Ed.D. (Advisor); Christopher Kluse PhD (Other); Tracey Huziak-Clark PhD (Committee Member); Paul Johnson PhD (Committee Member); John Marschhausen PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Sports Management

5. Hartman, Betty An exploratory method for determining ethical standards in sports and athletics /

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1958, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

6. Bursuc, Vlad Amateurism and Professionalism in the National Collegiate Athletic Association

BA, Oberlin College, 2013, Politics

The popularity of intercollegiate football and men's basketball at the NCAA Division I level has become comparable to that of professional sports during the period between 1960 and 2013. This league, which is comprised of unpaid, amateur athletes enrolled as students at the various member universities, has undergone a number of changes since its formation in 1906. Although holding amateurism to be its core governing principle, the Association has changed the definition of the term from its original construct in 19th century English institutions of higher learning. The first portion of this research concerns the history of the league's definition of this term, as well as the league's relation to its athletes. Further research regarding the legal definition of the NCAA as a national governing body, its relationship to member schools and individual athletes is explored to compliment the understanding of its historical evolution. Jurisprudence and legal precedent is analyzed to describe the amateur ideal in the conception of the American public. Financial figures as well as budgeting for the Association and the university athletic departments are used to compliment the understanding of rising revenue from television and sponsor contracts. General misappropriation of funds, along with corrupt internal investigation practices are identified in conjunction with incongruences in the stated definition of student-athletes and actual practices, strongly suggesting need for reform. Finally, the Sherman Anti-trust Act and the National Labor Relations Act are used to identify avenues of reform to rectify the treatment of athletes as primarily employees, instead of students, of their universities. An alternative format for this pre-professional league is laid out in the final portion of this thesis, realigning this major portion of American labor, entertainment, and education with proper conceptions of propriety and justice.

Committee: Harry Hirsch (Advisor); Eve Sandberg (Committee Chair); Michael Parkin (Committee Member); Michael Traugott (Committee Member) Subjects: African Americans; Curricula; Economics; Higher Education; History; Intellectual Property; Labor Economics; Law; Mass Media; Modern History; Political Science; Recreation; Sports Management

7. Rivera, Christina The identification of key factors student-athletes perceived to be important to the college student-athlete retention process

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2004, Educational Policy and Leadership

The purpose of this study was to identify the key factors student-athletes perceived to be important in their decision-making to stay in school. To accomplish this purpose, it was necessary to: 1) construct a conceptual model of student-athlete retention based upon the literature associated with traditional student retention and the college student-athlete experience, 2) utilize the conceptual model of student-athlete retention to guide the creation of an instrument that captures student-athlete perceptions of factors important to the retention process, and 3) use exploratory factor analysis to extract meaningful factors underlying the items of the instrument. Participants in this study consisted of 330 NCAA Division I student-athletes attending a large west coast university. Using the Understanding College Student-Athlete Retention Questionnaire developed for this study, data were collected in person during a team meeting for each participating sport. A total of 42 items, one question regarding intent to leave, and 17 demographic questions were included in the questionnaire. The Likert-scaled items were measured on a six-point scale ranging from Not Important (1) to Very Important (6) with the Importance scale referring to how important each statement is to the participant's decision to stay in school. Principal components analysis with VARIMAX rotation extracted a four-factor model. Cronbach's alpha and split-half (Spearman-Brown) reliability coefficients were calculated for the instrument and for each extracted factor. The questionnaire had a reliability coefficient of .930, whereas each factor had a reliability coefficient greater than or equal to .784. Forty-one of the 42 items included in the questionnaire loaded onto one of four factors: Quality of Academic Experience, Quality of Athletic Experience, In-Network Support, and Out-Of-Network Support. These four factors reflect what student-athletes perceived to be important to the student-athlete retention proce (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ada Demb (Advisor) Subjects:

8. Bravo, Gonzalo An investigation of stakeholder influence and institutional pressures on budget strategies of high school athletic departments

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2004, Physical Activity and Educational Services

This study investigated the salience of selected stakeholders on budgetary decisions in high school athletics, the rationale for athletics in education, strategies adopted by schools in balancing their budgets, perceptions of the fairness of various distributive principles, and patterns of institutional isomorphism among schools. A random sample of 450 high school administrators (principals and athletic directors) completed a survey drawn from Mitchell, Agle and Wood (1997), Hums and Chelladurai (1994) and Townley (2002). Instrument included items eliciting: stakeholder attributes, rationale for athletics in education, choice of budget strategies, and perceived fairness of principles of distributive justice. Two hundred and forty three (54%) useful responses were returned and used. Item-to-total correlations indicated that items in each scale were correlated higher with their own totals. Cronbach's alpha were .70 or higher in each subscale. Results showed that groups defined by position (principals and athletic directors) and school division indicated similar perceptions for stakeholder salience, choice of budget strategies, preferences for principles of distributive justice, and endorsement of rationale for athletics in education. In three instances they showed differences: principals' and athletic directors' perceptions of stakeholders' utilitarian power, effects of school division on budget strategies, and principal' and athletic directors' perception of the value of athletics in education. Effects sizes of these differences were rather small (< 7.7%). It was argued that high school athletics evolve in similar environmental conditions in which most stakeholders hold similar values, beliefs and myths regarding these programs. These socially constructed forces are greatly responsible for the isomorphic tendency shown by the schools administrators sampled in this study. Repeated measures ANOVA and Tukey' HSD showed that salience of utilitarian power of the board and (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Packianathan Chelladurai (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Social Sciences

9. Winbush, Zenobia Examining The Challenges Associated With Collegiate Student-Athletes As They Transition Out Of Sport-To-Career: A Systematic Literature Review, An Autoethnography, And A Design Intervention

Master of Fine Arts, Miami University, 2024, Art

Collegiate student-athletes can often be unprepared for a career after graduation. Some of the challenges lie in not knowing what careers are available to them, having no career-focused degree, or lack of time to look for a career because they are competing. This thesis will examine the challenges associated with collegiate student-athletes as they transition out of sport-to-career. This will be accomplished through a personal narrative, self-analysis, and a systematic literature review. This research aims to identify the challenges and develop career-readiness tools and resources to support collegiate student-athletes in their transition. This research will, thus, ensure that future student-athletes encounter fewer obstacles during this critical stage of their lives. The study offers actionable insights for universities to better support athletes' career development by contributing to both design education and higher education career services.

Committee: Zack Tucker (Advisor); Heidi McKee (Committee Member); Dennis Cheatham (Committee Member) Subjects: Design