Graduate(d) Student Athletes in Division I Football: Redefining Archetypes and Disrupting Stereotypes or Invisible?

This article foregrounds the experiences of graduate(d) student athletes , defined as college athletes who earn a bachelor’s degree before exhausting their athletic eligibility and take postbaccalaureate or graduate coursework. Findings from semistructured phone interviews with 11 graduate(d) studen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sociology of sport journal 2017-12, Vol.34 (4), p.329-343
Main Author: Haslerig, Siduri J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic departments
Athletes
College students
Football
Stereotypes
Student athletes
Vulnerability
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Summary:This article foregrounds the experiences of graduate(d) student athletes , defined as college athletes who earn a bachelor’s degree before exhausting their athletic eligibility and take postbaccalaureate or graduate coursework. Findings from semistructured phone interviews with 11 graduate(d) student athletes in Division I football suggest participants are able to marshal their academic credentials to negotiate stereotypes. Examining how simultaneously being a graduate(d) student and a football player impacted participants’ vulnerability to stereotyping, I find that despite the ability to disrupt stereotypes, obstacles both systemic and individual may inhibit this effect. In particular, I explore the themes: stereotyping, disrupting/disproving stereotyping, trailblazer/role model , and invisibility . I also attend to the factors contributing to this subpopulation of college athletes’ continued invisibility and offer implications and suggestions for practice.
ISSN:0741-1235
1543-2785
DOI:10.1123/ssj.2017-0003