‘Sport is Not Why I’m Here’: A Case Study of Cultural Transition among American Postgraduate Dual-Career Athletes

Abstract

Although athlete labor migration has been extensively studied, little research has examined its effect on postgraduate dual-career athletes. This study examined how labor migration influenced the dual-career identities of sixteen American postgraduate athletes at one British university through a cultural transition model (CTM). This three-phase model profiles the developmental tracks athletes’ experience during migration. Data were collected primarily through semi-structured interviews and interpreted using thematic analysis. Results indicated that proceeding through CTM’s phases affected migrants’ dual-career identities. Participants developed more parallel dual-career identities due to differences in the British college sport culture and having time to pursue alternate interests. These results contrast with existing college athlete migration literature which suggests that athlete identities converge on sport at the expense of other pursuits. Conversely, these migrants used the sport migration experience to detach from liner identities and prepare for subsequent phases of life.