Abstract
This study sought to explore the ways in which athletics departments within high-revenue National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I universities established institutional policies and practices aligned with providing key science, technology, engineering, and mathematics career development resources. These resources were derived from an earlier study focused on Black male student-athletes in high-revenue Division I athletics. The athletics department websites of a sample of high-revenue Atlantic Coast Conference institutions were reviewed seeking evidence of such policy and practice alignment with STEM career development. The resources identified from this review included explicit programming and student-athlete experiences for career, personal, and cultural identity development; designated institutional support personnel, including academic advisers, career counselors, and learning specialists, with the potential to provide personalized social support and academic support; and tutoring and study hall as additional academic support practices. The need for equity and student-centeredness is discussed in light of the implementation of each of these resources, as well as considerations of the impact of athletics departments demonstrating leadership and accountability in administering these resources, as compared to university-wide departments of academic and student affairs.
Highlights
Driven by efforts to support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career development among Black male college athletes, this study sought to explore the ways in which athletics departments within high-revenue National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I universities established institutional policies and practices that aligned with key STEM career development resources
The athletics departments of the various institutions reviewed provided STEM career development resources that included: (a) explicit programming and experiences to support college athletes’ career, personal, and cultural identity development; (b) institutional personnel assigned to work with college athletes who had the potential to provide personalized social support; and (c) tutoring and study hall
To seek evidence of this institutional leadership in athletics, websites for the seven highest revenue-earning Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) institutions were reviewed for policies and practices that aligned with key resources that can support Black male college athletes’ STEM career development
Summary
Driven by efforts to support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career development among Black male college athletes, this study sought to explore the ways in which athletics departments within high-revenue National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I universities established institutional policies and practices that aligned with key STEM career development resources. A sample of seven athletics department websites in high-revenue Atlantic Coast Conference institutions were reviewed for evidence of policy and practice alignment with STEM career development. The resources identified from this review included: explicit programming and college athlete experiences for career, personal, and cultural identity development; designated institutional support personnel with the potential to provide personalized social and academic support, including academic advisers, career counselors, and learning specialists; and tutoring and study hall as additional academic support practices. Considered in the discussion is the impact of athletics departments that demonstrate leadership, collaboration, and accountability in administering these resources, as compared to university-wide departments of academic and student affairs
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