Division I College Athletes’ Self-Perception: Investigating the Impact of Race and Discrimination

Self-perception is the level of competency at which individuals evaluate themselves in certain areas or domains (Marsh & Shavelson, 1985). An individual’s self-perceptions contribute to their global self-worth and even predicts performance (Cuellar, 2014; Harter & Neemann, 2012). This study measures self-perception scores, as well as experiences with racial discrimination, of 306 NCAA Division I college athletes using the Self-Perception Profile for College Students (Harter & Neemann, 2012). Scores are compared across race. Findings suggest that White college athletes have significantly higher self-perception scores than college athletes of color - with recent discrimination (within the last year) as a significant predictor of multiple areas of self-perception. The implications of this study suggest that faculty and other campus stakeholders should pursue positive relationships with the college athletes they encounter. Positive relationships between college athletes and faculty may help raise college athlete self-perceptions, and in turn, performance in a variety of areas.

Extracellular circular RNA profiles in plasma and urine of healthy, male college athletes

Circular RNA (circRNA) are a recently discovered class of RNA characterized by a covalently-bonded back-splice junction. As circRNAs are inherently more stable than other RNA species, they may be detected extracellularly in peripheral biofluids and provide novel biomarkers. While circRNA have been identified previously in peripheral biofluids, there are few datasets for circRNA junctions from healthy controls. We collected 134 plasma and 114 urine samples from 54 healthy, male college athlete volunteers, and used RNASeq to determine circRNA content. The intersection of six bioinformatic tools identified 965 high-confidence, characteristic circRNA junctions in plasma and 72 in urine. Highly-expressed circRNA junctions were validated by qRT-PCR. Longitudinal samples were collected from a subset, demonstrating circRNA expression was stable over time. Lastly, the ratio of circular to linear transcripts was higher in plasma than urine. This study provides a valuable resource for characterization of circRNA in plasma and urine from healthy volunteers, one that can be developed and reassessed as researchers probe the circRNA contents of biofluids across physiological changes and disease states.

The Application of Human–Computer Interaction Technology Fused With Artificial Intelligence in Sports Moving Target Detection Education for College Athlete

The purposes are to digitalize and intellectualize current professional sports training and enrich the application scenarios of motion capture technology of moving targets based on artificial intelligence (AI) and human–computer interaction (HCI) in sports training. From an educational psychology perspective, sport techniques are a cognitive ability of sports, and a tacit knowledge. However, sports technology, language, image, and other methods play an auxiliary role in sports training. Here, a General Framework of Knowledge-Based Coaching System (KBCS) is proposed using the HCI technology and sports knowledge to accomplish autonomous and intelligent sports training. Then, the KBCS is applied to table tennis training. The athletic performance is evaluated quantitatively through the calculation of the sports features, motion recognition, and the hitting stage division in table tennis. Results demonstrate that the speed calculated by the position after mosaicking has better continuity after the initial frame of the unmarked segment is compared with the end frame of the market segment. The typical serve and return trajectories in three serving modes of slight-spin, top-spin, and back-spin, as well as the trajectories of common services and return errors, are obtained through the judgment of the serving and receiving of table tennis. Comparison results prove that the serving accuracy of slight-spin and back-spin is better than that of top-spin, and a lower serve speed has higher accuracy. Experimental results show that the level distribution of the three participants calculated by the system is consistent with the actual situation in terms of the quality of the ball returned and the standard of the motion, proving that the proposed KBCS and algorithm are useful in a small sample, thereby further improving the accuracy of pose restoration of athletes in sports training.

An Examination of Campus Engagement and GPA for Latinx College Athlete

Despite the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s focus on improving outcomes among college athletes, research has overlooked Latinx college athletes. This paper focuses on how campus engagement with peers, faculty, administrators, and athletic staff are positively related to GPA among Latinx college athletes. I used an ordinary least square (OLS) regression model to examine the relationships between engagement and Latinx college athletes' GPA. The findings suggest that high school GPA, participation in class, and faculty-student interactions were significant for Latina/o college athletes' GPA. Additionally, interactions with teammates and coach were both significant predictors, but team interactions had a slight negative effect on GPA. Lastly, identifying as a Latina college athlete had a positive association on GPA when compared to Latino college athletes.

NCAA Exit Interviews and Surveys: Academic Experiences of College Athletes

Institutions are required to conduct exit interviews and surveys (EIS) with departing athletes, however, these instruments are currently an untapped data source for further understanding the college athlete experience. This study examined 17 FBS institutions’ exit interviews and surveys with 528 athletes, focusing on athletes’ academic experiences. Analyses revealed that EIS questions pertaining to educational experiences focused on the following areas: academic services, overall academic experiences, time demands, coach support of academics, and faculty support. Athletes in this sample expressed overall positive academic experiences and gratitude for the academic services provided. Additionally, the majority of athletes noted few issues with time demands, strong coach support for their academic progress, and positive faculty interactions. These findings challenge some of the current literature noting negative educational experiences and opportunities for college athletes. Implications and recommendations for the field are discussed.

The relationship between flourishing, injury status, and resilience in collegiate athletes

Background Flourishing is a multi-dimensional construct that encompasses physical, psychological and social well-being. A proposed positive attribute of flourishing is resilience, which is the ability to bounce back despite the presence of stressors. A common stressor among athletes is overuse injuries, which may negatively affect well-being. Objective To examine the relationships of resilience and overuse injury with flourishing in collegiate athletes. Materials and methods 253 college athletes participated. The Flourishing Scale, Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center Overuse Injury Questionnaire (OSTRC), and Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) were administered via online questionnaire. For OSTRC scores, athletes were classified into injury and participation status groups. For BRS scores, athletes were classified into low resilience (LR), normal resilience (NR), and high resilience (HR) groups. Results Median flourishing score was 50.0 (46.5–53.5); mean BRS score was 21.6 (SD 4.3). Overuse injury and substantial overuse injury incidence proportion (IP) were 25.4 (95% CI: 20.3, 30.5) and 9.1 (95% CI: 7.0, 11.2). The IP for participants unable to play was 15.1 (95% CI: 12.9, 17.2). Significant differences were found in flourishing among resilience groups (p = 0.002) but not among overuse injury groups (p = 0.140) or participation variables (p = 0.205). Conclusion College athletes demonstrated high flourishing scores. Flourishing demonstrated a significant relationship with resilience across all groups but not among overuse injury or participation status. This finding indicates that college athlete well-being is strongly associated with resilience. Future longitudinal studies are needed to determine if resilience can be modified to positively influence athlete well-being.

The Making of a College Athlete: High School Experiences, Socioeconomic Advantages, and the Likelihood of Playing College Sports

Understandings of who plays college sports are dominated by assumptions that lack academic scrutiny. Using the Education Longitudinal Study (N = 7,810) and multilevel modeling, this study examines the extent to which high school indicators of family socioeconomic statuses, athletic development and merit, academic expectations and knowledge, and school contexts predict the likelihood of becoming a college athlete. The authors find evidence that supports our understanding of the process of becoming a college athlete being shaped by family socioeconomic status. Still, high school sport participation characteristics, academic expectations and knowledge, and school contexts also seem to offer independent contributions to the odds of becoming a college athlete. Overall, these results suggest that college athletic opportunities are not simply a function of athletic merit, based on unique analyses of quantitative empirical evidence from a large national sample of high school students.

Setting the Edge: How the NCAA Can Defend Amateurism by Allowing Third-Party Compensation

Part I of this Note describes the NCAA’s formation and its contemporary model. It also discusses the antitrust and labor law challenges the NCAA has faced inlitigation over its existing approach. Part II explores the twin challenges posed by the Fair Pay to Play Act, which cannot be sufficiently addressed through a unilateral NCAA response. The first challenge is the inconsistency in state laws, which undermines any NCAA response that seeks to impose a uniform set of rules across the country. The second is that the Fair Pay to Play Act fails to address existing legal challenges to the NCAA’s amateur model. Therefore, even if the NCAA accepts a change in the status quo, it misses an opportunity to address the increasingly uncertain broader legal status of its restrictions on college athlete compensation. In response to these challenges, Part III contends that the NCAA should more urgently pursue a comprehensive federal legislative compromise that sacrificesrestrictions on NIL compensation in return for statutory protections from further labor and antitrust litigation. This type of federal legislation would have theadditional benefit of preempting state laws on the subject, thus maintaining a uniform system of rules. By losing the battle to win the war, the NCAA will be well positioned for continued viability in the coming decades