"They Live in Another World": Inequalities in the Experiences of College Athletes and Nonathletes

• In Event: Collegiate Inequities and Insecurities From COVID-19 and Among Student Athletes

Abstract

College athletes and non-athletes have distinct experiences; however limited scholarship has framed these differences as perpetuating inequalities between these groups. Using Comeaux and Harrison’s (2011) Model of Academic Success for Student-Athletes this research examined how a sample of athletes and non-athletes understood these disparate experiences. Through athlete and non-athlete interviews four themes emerged concerning unequal experiences: athlete time demands, athletics commercialization, specialized academic support for athletes, and the “dumb jock” stereotype. Implications center decreasing disparate academic and social experiences for athletes and non-athletes and include (1) enhanced policies to limit athlete time demands which would assist in decreasing some commercialization and allow athletes to get more involved outside of sports and (2) providing similar academic support for athletes and non-athletes.

Author

• Molly P. Harry, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
  Presenting Author