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

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1980, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1987, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1983, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

BA, Oberlin College, 1992, History

Over two years ago, I read an article written in 1973 entitled "Sport is Unfair to Women." While researching possible honors topics, I remembered that article. Preliminary research uncovered a wealth of information on women's athletics, Title IX, and the continuing problems faced by female athletes. By sheer coincidence, I learned that Oberlin College was investigated for possible Title IX violations. Further inquiry revealed that little if any research existed concerning the history of Oberlin's young women's athletic program. Before I could say "Jack Scott," the topic entranced me, and I remain under its spell to this day. If ever I have experienced love with an academic project, this thesis embodies those feelings. I became fascinated with how the program evolved to its present state. Working with the premise that Title IX provided a subtle impetus behind the growth of the women's athletic program at Oberlin College, I began my research. Many of the law's effects were hidden by the overwhelming personality of Jack Scott, the director of athletics in the early 1970s. Yet, I wanted to trace the major developments in the program to ascertain the causes behind these changes. I wanted to examine Oberlin College's response to a specific gender issue in light of federal legislation and a vocal constituency in favor of women's athletics.

Committee: Carol Lasser (Advisor) Subjects: Education; History; Sports Management

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:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1922, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1960, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2024, Psychology/Clinical

Body dissatisfaction and maladaptive eating behaviors are common and associated with poor outcomes in young women, whereas the reverse is true for positive body image. Women in sports report better body image and less disordered eating than their non- athletic peers (Chapa et al., 2022; Varnes et al., 2013), but the literature has noteworthy deficits regarding positive body image and adaptive outcomes. Furthermore, the current literature is marked by significant heterogeneity (Chapa et al., 2022; Smolak et al., 2000; Rice et al., 2016) indicating collegiate female athletes may be better understood as a collection of distinct groups rather than a homogenous population. Thus, the present study employed a person-centered approach to identify subpopulations of female athletes based on body image and eating behavior variables using cluster analysis. Undergraduate women (N = 175) on college and university athletic teams completed an online survey. A k-means clustering algorithm examined solutions ranging from two to five clusters. The selected and replicated solution revealed four groups: 1) low disordered eating and positive body image (n = 71), 2) low disordered eating and negative body image (n = 59), 3) restricting (n = 32), and 4) binge eating and purging (n = 11). One-way ANOVAs found that cluster 1 reported lower self-objectification, greater embodiment, and more intuitive eating compared to clusters 2, 3, and 4. Cluster 4 exhibited poorer outcomes than other clusters, including greater negative body talk, muscularity talk, and cognitive restraint. Engaging in, but not hearing, positive body talk was associated with positive outcomes.

Committee: Dara Musher-Eizenman Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Jessica Kiss Ph.D. (Other); Joshua Grubbs Ph.D. (Committee Member); Abby Braden Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2024, Antioch New England: Clinical Psychology

The mental health and well-being of college student-athletes has recently come to the attention of the general public with the increase in current and past athletes speaking out about the stressors they faced during their collegiate careers. With this increase in attention, higher education institutions and larger athletic associations have turned towards research to identify factors that are contributing to the struggles of student-athletes. One factor that has consistently been identified as a barrier for athletes seeking help for mental health concerns is stigma. For male student-athletes in particular, perception of the stigma associated with receiving psychological help due to conformity to masculine norms has consistently been found to be a deterrent for help-seeking behaviors. While many studies have drawn this conclusion, they have failed to separate the student-athlete from their athletic environment and explore how an athlete's values and attitudes may differ and interact with that of their sport. This exploratory study aimed to examine if there was a difference between the strength of the relationship between a male athlete's personal value versus perceived value of masculinity of their sport with their attitudes towards mental health help-seeking. Additionally, the ability for personal value of masculinity and perception of sport's value of masculinity to predict male student-athletes' attitudes toward mental health help-seeking were explored. Through the use of an online survey, participants completed demographic questions, as well as questions from the Attitudes Towards Seeking Professional Psychological Help-Short Form (ATSPPH-SF), Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory (CMNI), and an adapted version of the CMNI that was specifically tailored to ask questions regarding athletes' experience in their sport. Results indicated a negative relationship between male student-athletes' personal value of masculinity and attitudes towards mental health help-se (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kathi Borden Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Karen Meteyer Ph.D. (Committee Member); Rachel Chickerella Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Psychology; Behavioral Sciences; Mental Health; Psychology; Social Psychology; Social Research; Sociology

Master of Education (MEd), Bowling Green State University, 1965, Human Movement, Sport and Leisure Studies

Committee: J. Russell Coffey (Advisor) Subjects: Higher Education; Physical Education

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 1958, Human Movement, Sport and Leisure Studies

Committee: Robert J. Keefe (Advisor) Subjects: Higher Education

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 1957, Human Movement, Sport and Leisure Studies

Committee: J. Russell Coffey (Advisor) Subjects: Higher Education

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 1957, Human Movement, Sport and Leisure Studies

Committee: Robert J. Keefe (Advisor) Subjects: Higher Education

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1943, Higher Education Administration

Committee: Walter A. Zaugg (Advisor) Subjects: Higher Education

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 1958, Human Movement, Sport and Leisure Studies

Committee: Robert J. Keefe (Advisor) Subjects: Higher Education

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 1957, Human Movement, Sport and Leisure Studies

Committee: J. Russell Coffey (Advisor) Subjects: Higher Education

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 1957, Human Movement, Sport and Leisure Studies

Committee: Robert J. Keefe (Advisor) Subjects: Higher Education

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2022, Economics

Many American universities have a football program that operates at a financial deficit. This deficit is made up for with revenue from other university operations. Athletic scholarships are a large portion of the expenses, and thus deficits of the program. In this paper I study the impact of offering football scholarships on institutional outcomes. I leverage a policy change by the Patriot League to analyze outcomes related to university finances, diversity, and admissions selectivity. I find no significant positive effect on any outcome and find a strong negative effect on net tuition revenue.

Committee: Peter Nencka (Advisor); Mark Tremblay (Committee Member); Riley Acton (Committee Member) Subjects: Economics

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2021, History

The focus of this thesis encompasses a developing history of collegiate women's sports at a single institution. I trace the history of the University of Michigan's women's sports from women as participants to achieving equality as amateurs. Female students began participating in sport in the 1890s. This was a result of many factors including European influences, sporting organizations, and the sport of basketball. This was followed by a second wave of collegiate women's sports resulting from local, regional, and national sporting organizations. These institutions organized equality through advancing women's sport to include intersocial and intersorority sporting activity. Furthermore, these developments culminated in a transition to women's intercollegiate sporting competition. I emphasize national sporting organizations and Title IX as tools for institutionalizing equality for collegiate women's sports. The AIAW (Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women) and the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) both provided structure for collegiate sport. I recount each organizations' impact on women's sporting equality. I also emphasize the legal implications of these organizations' stance on women's competition. This harmonizes with the passing of Title IX in 1972. This legislation, an education amendment banning sex discrimination, was defined by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1975. The HEW required schools to adhere to their interpretation of the amendment. I recount the impact of this call for compliance by urging consideration of legal exogeneity for institutions' adherence. Women's teams received more funding and resources as schools complied with the HEW and NCAA's vision for women's sport. The main conclusion is women achieved sporting equality through both legal endogeneity and changing ideals for amateurism from 1898 to 1978. I recount this progress at a single institution, the University of Michigan.

Committee: Michael Stauch (Advisor); Kim Nielsen (Committee Member); Roberto Padilla II (Committee Member) Subjects: History