Gaining Access to Providing Medical Care to Male Sport Teams: The Female Athletic Trainer Perspective

Context: Female athletic trainers (ATs) can face barriers to employment within the profession. Although there is evidence for an increasing percentage of women in athletic training, the portion providing medical care to male sport teams within the professional sport and collegiate settings continues to be small. Objective: To investigate the experiences of female ATs when seeking employment with male sport teams within the Division I setting. Design: Qualitative study. Setting: National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Patients or Other Participants: A total of 15 NCAA Division I female ATs providing medical care to a male sport team participated in our study. Their mean age was 33 ± 9 years, and they had a mean of 11 ± 9 years of overall clinical experience. Data Collection and Analysis: All participants completed one-on-one phone interviews, which were recorded and transcribed. Analysis of the data followed thematic analysis using a phenomenologic approach. Credibility was established through credibility checks, peer review, and researcher triangulation. Results: Factors that played a role in women gaining employment with male sport teams were (1) preexisting professional relationships, (2) prior experience with a male sport, and (3) perseverance. Participants in our study were most attracted to their current positions because of (1) the environment of the collegiate setting and (2) the location of the university. Conclusions: Job access for female ATs in this study was not viewed as a challenge. Familiarity through previous connections with the university and staff and commitment to career goals helped these women obtain the positions they held. The desire to work in male sports was not a primary contributing factor to the decision-making process. Progress continues for women in athletic training, as evidenced by the reported ease of job access with male sport teams.

Download Full-text

Exploring Summer Medical Care Within the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Setting: A Perspective From the Athletic Trainer

Journal of Athletic Training ◽

10.4085/1062-6050-51.3.03 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 51 (2) ◽

pp. 175-183 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Stephanie M. Mazerolle ◽

Christianne M. Eason ◽

Ashley Goodman

Keyword(s):

Medical Care ◽

Athletic Training ◽

National Collegiate Athletic Association ◽

Athletic Trainers ◽

Negative Influence ◽

Division I ◽

Athletic Trainer ◽

Full Time ◽

Frequency Distributions ◽

Training Services

Over the last few decades, the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) has made changes related to the increase in sanctioned team activities during summer athletics. These changes may affect how athletic training services are provided.Context: To investigate the methods by which athletic training departments of NCAA institutions manage expectations regarding athletic training services during the summer.Objective: Mixed-methods qualitative and quantitative study.Design: The NCAA Division I.Setting: Twenty-two athletic trainers (13 men, 9 women) participated. All were employed full time within the NCAA Division I setting. Participants were 35 ± 8 years of age (range, 26−52 years), with 12 ± 7 years (range, 3−29 years) of athletic training experience.Patients or Other Participants: All participants completed a series of questions online that consisted of closed- (demographic and Likert-scale 5-point) and open-ended items that addressed the research questions. Descriptive statistics, frequency distributions, and phenomenologic analyses were completed with the data. Peer review and multiple-analyst triangulation established credibility.Data Collection and Analysis: Summer athletic training services included 3 primary mechanisms: individual medical care, shared medical care, or a combination of the 2. Participants reported working 40 ± 10 hours during the summer. Likert-item analysis showed that participants were moderately satisfied with their summer medical care structure (3.3 ± 1.0) and with the flexibility of summer schedules (3.0 ± 1.2). Yet the qualitative analysis revealed that perceptions of summer medical care were more positive for shared-care participants than for individual- or combination-care participants. The perceived effect on the athletic trainer included increased workload and expectations and a negative influence on work-life balance, particularly in terms of decreased schedule flexibility and opportunities for rejuvenation. For many, the summer season mimicked the hours, workload, and expectations of the nontraditional season.Results: The NCAA rule changes and medical care expectations affected the summer workload of athletic trainers, but job sharing seemed to help them manage conflict associated with providing summer athletic training services.Conclusions:

Download Full-text

Decision-Making Process Associated with Adding NCAA Division I Sports Programs

Journal of Intercollegiate Sport ◽

10.17161/jis.v14i1.13750 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sloane Milstein ◽

Zack Damon

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Intercollegiate Athletics ◽

Ncaa Division I ◽

Ice Hockey ◽

Division I ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Economic Climate ◽

Sports Programs ◽

Sport Teams ◽

The University

Recent college sport headlines highlight the decision to cut teams during the COVID-19 pandemic. Citing the expected budgetary impact, Old Dominion announced it was cutting its wrestling program. St. Edward’s University is cutting the men and women’s tennis, men and women’s golf, and men’s soccer. The University of Cincinnati eliminated its men’s soccer program with more programs to follow. Yet, a number of institutions are charging forward and have announced the addition of a team(s) to their athletic offerings. Plymouth State will add men’s swimming, Indiana Tech is adding women’s ice hockey, and Augustana College just added men and women’s water polo. Such additions are somewhat surprising given the difficult economic climate currently facing higher education and intercollegiate athletics. This study sought to identify a structure that NCAA Division I decision-makers took part in when adding a team in previous years. Accordingly, the authors conducted expert-based, in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 15 Division I athletic administrators representing 23 sport teams. The following decision-making phases were identified: Identification, Justification, Evaluation, Acceptance (or Interruptions), and Authorization. Theoretical and practical implications for institutions seeking to grow their sport offerings are provided.

Download Full-text

Changes in Maximal Strength and Home Run Performance in NCAA Division I Baseball Players Across 3 Competitive Seasons: A Descriptive Study

Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology ◽

10.3390/jfmk6010004 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 4

Author(s):

W. Guy Hornsby ◽

Abigail L. Tice ◽

Jason D. Stone ◽

Justin J. Merrigan ◽

Joshua Hagen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ncaa Division I ◽

Repeated Measures ◽

National Collegiate Athletic Association ◽

Descriptive Study ◽

Peak Force ◽

Division I ◽

Maximal Strength ◽

Baseball Players ◽

Repeated Measures Analysis ◽

Division 1

The purpose of this longitudinal, descriptive study was to observe changes in maximal strength measured via isometric clean grip mid-thigh pull and home runs (total and home runs per game) across three years of training and three competitive seasons for four National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 baseball players. A one-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed, revealing significant univariate effects of time for peak force (PF) (p = 0.003) and peak force allometrically scaled (PFa) (p = 0.002). Increases in PF were noted from season 1 to season 2 (p = 0.031) and season 3 (p = 0.004), but season 2 was not significantly different than season 3 (p = 0.232). Additionally, increases in PFa were noted from season 1 to season 2 (p = 0.010) and season 3 (p < 0.001), but season 2 was not significantly different than season 3 (p = 0.052). Home runs per game rose from the 2009 (0.32) to 2010 season (1.35) and dropped during the 2011 season (1.07). A unique aspect of the study involves 2010 being the season in which ball-bat coefficient of restitution (BBCOR) bats were introduced to the NCAA competition.

Download Full-text

Effect of Achilles Tendon Repair on Performance Outcomes After Return to Play in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Basketball Athletes

Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1177/23259671211015239 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (6) ◽

pp. 232596712110152

Author(s):

Rafael Sanchez ◽

Blake H. Hodgens ◽

Joseph S. Geller ◽

Samuel Huntley ◽

Jonathan Kaplan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ncaa Division I ◽

National Collegiate Athletic Association ◽

Performance Metrics ◽

Female Athletes ◽

Surgical Repair ◽

National Basketball Association ◽

Division I ◽

Return To Play ◽

Basketball Players ◽

Significant Drop

Background: Achilles tendon (AT) ruptures are devastating injuries that are highly prevalent among athletes. Despite our understanding of the effect of AT rupture and in particular its relationship to basketball, no study has examined the effects of AT rupture and repair on performance metrics in collegiate basketball players. Purpose: To evaluate the effect of AT rupture and subsequent surgical repair on performance metrics in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I basketball players who return to play after injury. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods: NCAA Division I basketball players who sustained an AT rupture and underwent subsequent surgical repair between 2000 and 2019 were identified by systematically evaluating individual injury reports from databases comprising NCAA career statistics and individual school statistics; 65 male and 41 female players were identified. Athletes were included if they participated in at least one-half of the games of 1 collegiate season before tearing the AT and at least 1 season after operative repair. A total of 50 male and 30 female athletes were included. Each injured athlete was matched to a healthy control by conference, position, starter status at time of injury, class year, and number of games played. Matched controls were healthy players and experienced no significant injuries during their NCAA careers. Results: After AT repair, male athletes had significantly more minutes per game, points per game, and compared with before injury. Total blocks significantly decreased after injury. Female athletes scored significantly more points per game but demonstrated a significantly lower 3-point shooting percentage after return to play. Despite undergoing AT rupture and repair, 14% of male players played in the National Basketball Association, and 20% of injured female athletes played in the Women’s National Basketball Association. Conclusion: After returning to play, men demonstrated a significant drop-off in performance only in regard to total blocks. Female athletes after AT repair demonstrated a significant improvement in points per game but had a significant drop-off in 3-point shooting percentage.

Download Full-text

Not Going Pro: On Seeking Lasting Returns from College Sports

Journal of Amateur Sport ◽

10.17161/jas.v2i1.5017 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 188 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Matthew Horner ◽

Neal Ternes ◽

Christopher McLeod

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Ncaa Division I ◽

Capital Investment ◽

Student Athletes ◽

Sport Participation ◽

National Collegiate Athletic Association ◽

Collegiate Athletics ◽

Division I ◽

Personal Investment

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) clearly states there are many favorable qualities derived from participation that benefit those “who go pro in something other than sports.” However, the ability of collegiate athletics to deliver on the promise of attributable long-term vocational value is rarely questioned. Instead, student-athletes are encouraged to think of their participation as a personal investment with enduring rewards for the investor. In this study involving former NCAA Division I student-athletes, the authors examined whether participation can be regarded as an investment and how student-athletes perceive the returns thus derived. Extending Becker’s (1962) theory of human capital investment to sport participation, the authors probed participants’ experiences for evidence of investment thinking and lasting benefits in corporeal, economic, social, and cultural varieties. The findings support the notion that participation in collegiate athletics can be broadly defined as an investment, but not in accordance with the long-term utility maximizing rationale described by neoclassical economists. Furthermore, the high cost of participation, inherent uncertainty, and unreliable information confound the athlete’s decision-making and blur the distinction between consumption in the present and investing for the future.

Download Full-text

NCAA Expenditure and Efficiency: Analyzing Generated and Allocated Revenue in the Football Bowl Subdivision

Journal of Sports Economics ◽

10.1177/1527002520906530 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (4) ◽

pp. 363-390

Author(s):

R. Todd Jewell

Keyword(s):

Ncaa Division I ◽

Dynamic Panel Data ◽

Division I ◽

Athletic Programs ◽

Athletic Departments ◽

Football Bowl Subdivision ◽

Production Function Approach ◽

Student Fees ◽

Division I Football ◽

The University

Using a stochastic production function approach and a dynamic panel data estimator, this study creates estimates of time-varying efficiency in the production of generated revenues for NCAA Division I football bowl subdivision athletic programs. These efficiency estimates are then compared to the use of allocated revenues—fees from students and direct payments from the university budget—by college athletic departments. While all schools that are less efficient in the production of generated revenue are shown to use allocated revenue more intensively, a major finding is power-conference schools that are less efficient in their use of expenditure inputs tend to rely more heavily on allocated revenue in the form of student fees to support the activities of the program.

Download Full-text

Fulfillment of Work–Life Balance From the Organizational Perspective: A Case Study

Journal of Athletic Training ◽

10.4085/1062-6050-48.3.24 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 48 (5) ◽

pp. 668-677 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Stephanie M. Mazerolle ◽

Ashley Goodman

Keyword(s):

Work Environment ◽

Athletic Training ◽

Ncaa Division I ◽

Clinical Setting ◽

Work Life ◽

Division I ◽

Work Life Balance ◽

Theory Approach ◽

Life Balance ◽

Family Friendly

Context: Researchers studying work–life balance have examined policy development and implementation to create a family-friendly work environment from an individualistic perspective rather than from a cohort of employees working under the same supervisor. Objective: To investigate what factors influence work–life balance within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I clinical setting from the perspective of an athletic training staff. Design: Qualitative study. Setting: Web-based management system. Patients or Other Participants: Eight athletic trainers (5 men, 3 women; age = 38 ± 7 years) in the NCAA Division I setting. Data Collection and Analysis: Participants responded to a series of questions by journaling their thoughts and experiences. We included data-source triangulation, multiple-analyst triangulation, and peer review to establish data credibility. We analyzed the data via a grounded theory approach. Results: Three themes emerged from the data. Family-oriented and supportive work environment was described as a workplace that fosters and encourages work–life balance through professionally and personally shared goals. Nonwork outlets included activities, such as exercise and personal hobbies, that provide time away from the role of the athletic trainer. Individualistic strategies reflected that although the athletic training staff must work together and support one another, each staff member must have his or her own personal strategies to manage personal and professional responsibilities. Conclusions: The foundation for a successful work environment in the NCAA Division I clinical setting potentially can center on the management style of the supervisor, especially one who promotes teamwork among his or her staff members. Although a family-friendly work environment is necessary for work–life balance, each member of the athletic training staff must have personal strategies in place to fully achieve a balance.

Download Full-text

Athletes’ Perceptions of Their Team Motivational Climate, Career Exploration and Engagement, and Athletic Identity

Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology ◽

10.1123/jcsp.2014-0050 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 360-372 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Kiira N. Poux ◽

Mary D. Fry

Keyword(s):

Self Efficacy ◽

National Collegiate Athletic Association ◽

Athletic Identity ◽

Career Exploration ◽

Motivational Climate ◽

Division I ◽

Sport Teams ◽

High Level ◽

Division I Athletes ◽

The Relationship

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between studentathletes’ perceptions of the motivational climate on their sport teams and their own career exploration and engagement and athletic identity. Student-athletes (N = 101) from various National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I institutions were administered online surveys. Canonical correlation analysis was used to examine the relationship between the climate variables (i.e., caring, task, and ego) and athletic identity, career self-efficacy, and career exploration/engagement. One significant function emerged: Perceptions of a high task-involving climate and moderate caring climate were positively associated with athletes’ reporting higher athletic identity, career self-efficacy, and career exploration/engagement. Results suggest that Division I athletes may benefit from having coaches who foster a caring and task-involving team climate with regard to the athletes’ development as holistic individuals who spend their college years performing at a high level of sport and also preparing for their lives after college and sports.

Download Full-text

National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Athletic Trainers' Concussion-Management Practice Patterns

Journal of Athletic Training ◽

10.4085/1062-6050-49.3.25 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 49 (5) ◽

pp. 665-673 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

Kassandra C. Kelly ◽

Erin M. Jordan ◽

A. Barry Joyner ◽

G. Trey Burdette ◽

Thomas A. Buckley

Keyword(s):

Clinical Examination ◽

Ncaa Division I ◽

Sports Medicine ◽

National Collegiate Athletic Association ◽

Practice Patterns ◽

Management Practice ◽

Athletic Trainers ◽

Division I ◽

Concussion Management ◽

Consensus Statements

Context: A cornerstone of the recent consensus statements on concussion is a multifaceted concussion-assessment program at baseline and postinjury and when tracking recovery. Earlier studies of athletic trainers' (ATs') practice patterns found limited use of multifaceted protocols; however, these authors typically grouped diverse athletic training settings together. Objective: To (1) describe the concussion-management practice patterns of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ATs, (2) compare these practice patterns to earlier studies, and (3) objectively characterize the clinical examination. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Online survey. Patients or Other Participants: A total of 610 ATs from NCAA Division I institutions, for a response rate of 34.4%. Main Outcome Measure(s): The survey had 3 subsections: demographic questions related to the participant's experiences, concussion-assessment practice patterns, and concussion-recovery and return-to-participation practice patterns. Specific practice-pattern questions addressed balance, cognitive and mental status, neuropsychological testing, and self-reported symptoms. Finally, specific components of the clinical examination were examined. Results: We identified high rates of multifaceted assessments (ie, assessments using at least 3 techniques) during testing at baseline (71.2%), acute concussion assessment (79.2%), and return to participation (66.9%). The specific techniques used are provided along with their adherence with evidence-based practice findings. Respondents endorsed a diverse array of clinical examination techniques that often overlapped objective concussion-assessment protocols or were likely used to rule out associated potential conditions. Respondents were cognizant of the Third International Consensus Statement, the National Athletic Trainers' Association position statement, and the revised NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook recommendations. Conclusions: Athletic trainers in NCAA Division I demonstrated widespread use of multifaceted concussion-assessment techniques and appeared compliant with recent consensus statements and the NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook.

Download Full-text

“Do Not Question Authority”: Examining Team Rules in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Women’s Basketball

International Sport Coaching Journal ◽

10.1123/iscj.2019-0077 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 317-325

Author(s):

Leslie K. Larsen ◽

Leslee A. Fisher ◽

Terilyn C. Shigeno ◽

Matthew P. Bejar ◽

Melissa N. Madeson

Keyword(s):

Best Practices ◽

Ncaa Division I ◽

Student Athletes ◽

National Collegiate Athletic Association ◽

Division I ◽

Consensual Qualitative Research ◽

Athletic Departments ◽

Organizational Loyalty ◽

Supportive Environment ◽

Women's Basketball

While the policies National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletic departments have in place regarding social media and drug abuse have been empirically investigated, research on the full battery of rules implemented by NCAA teams is scant. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the written team rules of 41 NCAA Division I women’s basketball teams to better understand the types of rules that are in place and to hypothesize the effects these rules might have on the development of an autonomy-supportive environment. Using Consensual Qualitative Research, the research team constructed seven domains with multiple categories to represent the data. The domains included the following: (a) program expectations, (b) controlled communication, (c) controlled relationships, (d) controlled appearance/attire, (e) controlled social behavior, (f) recommendations for optimal physical performance, and (g) academic expectation. Based on the results of this study, we conclude that NCAA Division I women’s basketball coaches use team rules as a tool for domination rather than a strategy for developing the autonomy of student-athletes. We offer practical suggestions for coach educators, coach developers, and coaches on best practices when creating team rules to develop an autonomy-supportive environment that strengthens organizational loyalty and improves the experiences of student-athletes.

Download Full-text