College overmatch: privilege and the rules of the athletic admissions game

Abstract

Applying Bordieuan cultural reproduction theory to life-history interviews with 47 college athletes, this study examines the field of athletic admissions as a prominent place for class conflicts. Utilizing interview data and document analysis, I examine how parents from white suburban communities learn the rules of the game of athletic admissions and use their capital to advantage their offspring in navigating the field. Growing up in affluent communities immersed in high-resource sporting environments primed participants to develop an athletic habitus to better navigate the gatekept and barrier-ridden field of athletic admissions. Part of this habitus included learning to deprioritize academic achievement in favor of athletic achievement as the latter held greater admission advantages. It also meant learning to best package their athletic skills for admission. In the process, some talented athletes may be excluded because their habitus misaligns with fields constraints. Combined these processes lead to an overmatch contributing to the overrepresentation of white suburban athletes in preferential admission.