The Visiting Team: Research On The Engagement Of Urban, Commuter Student-Athletes
type: CreativeWork
description: The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III mantra of “offering participation in a competitive athletic environment that pushes student-athletes to excel on the field and build upon their potential by tackling new challenges across campus” requires administrators to support and promote academic achievement, athletic success, and personal well-being. For Division III student-athletes who are also urban, commuter students, the path to engagement in those areas is not clearly defined. The intent of this two-phase, mixed methods study was to evaluate the priorities of urban, commuting student-athletes at a NCAA Division III institution in New York City. The following research questions supported the study: 1. How do urban commuter student-athletes characterize intercollegiate athletics as part of their campus experience? 2. How does personal and career programming offered by the athletic department influence urban commuter student-athlete behavior and choices? Fifty student-athletes participated in the quantitative portion of the study. An additional eleven student-athletes participated in the survey portion of the study. The REDCap platform was used to gather survey data, which was analyzed for themes on student-athlete engagement at the institution. Interview data was gathered using the Skype platform and the interview transcripts were coded to determine themes and trends among the student-athletes. Results from the study indicate that participation in intercollegiate athletics is not the top motivator for urban, commuter student-athletes. Ability to participate in athletics ranks third, behind ability to major in a chosen subject and cost of attendance. Student-athletes did not view athletics programming as a resource that could not be found in other departments on campus. Additional findings suggested that commuter student-athletes respond more strongly when programming is associated with teammates or coaching staff, rather than the athletics de…
abstract: The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III mantra of “offering participation in a competitive athletic environment that pushes student-athletes to excel on the field and build upon their potential by tackling new challenges across campus” requires administrators to support and promote academic achievement, athletic success, and personal well-being. For Division III student-athletes who are also urban, commuter students, the path to engagement in those areas is not clearly defined. The intent of this two-phase, mixed methods study was to evaluate the priorities of urban, commuting student-athletes at a NCAA Division III institution in New York City. The following research questions supported the study: 1. How do urban commuter student-athletes characterize intercollegiate athletics as part of their campus experience? 2. How does personal and career programming offered by the athletic department influence urban commuter student-athlete behavior and choices? Fifty student-athletes participated in the quantitative portion of the study. An additional eleven student-athletes participated in the survey portion of the study. The REDCap platform was used to gather survey data, which was analyzed for themes on student-athlete engagement at the institution. Interview data was gathered using the Skype platform and the interview transcripts were coded to determine themes and trends among the student-athletes. Results from the study indicate that participation in intercollegiate athletics is not the top motivator for urban, commuter student-athletes. Ability to participate in athletics ranks third, behind ability to major in a chosen subject and cost of attendance. Student-athletes did not view athletics programming as a resource that could not be found in other departments on campus. Additional findings suggested that commuter student-athletes respond more strongly when programming is associated with teammates or coaching staff, rather than the athletics de…
author: Berg, Corey Christine
keywords: Educational Leadership
date published: 2019-08-01T07:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:21:27Z
provider: University of New England
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of New England