Myles Brand’s Philosophy of the Value of Intercollegiate Athletics: A Collaborative Effort and the Perspective of Two Black Males on Educational Achievement at the NCAA

The value of intercollegiate athletics in universities has increased since Dr. Myles Brand’s presidency. Brand believed strongly in the integrated view of education and sport. This paper follows the emergence and value of the personal narrative by two African American males working together within the structural forces of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), higher education, and intercollegiate athletics. The personal narrative collaborative effort occurred in the early stages of the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate movement during Brand’s leadership decision to harmonize education and sport. The personal narrative structure focuses on one of Brand’s major initiatives: improving academic standards. One culturally relevant program that resulted in a collaborative moment during Brand’s leadership tenure will be the focus of this paper, as well as the potential contributions to theory and practice.

Rivalry, revelry, and retention : an exploration into the relationship between the academic progress rate and institution, athletic department, and team characteristics

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Academic Progress Rate and team, athletic department, and institutional characteristics. The conceptual foundation for this study was the Model for Team Academic Progress Rate, which was adapted from the Comeaux and Harrison (2011) Model for College Student Athlete Academic Success. Multiple data sources were compiled to create the athletic team data set. The dependent variables of Academic Progress Rate, team eligibility rate, and team retention rate were correlated against a set of 20 independent variables at the athletic team, athletic department, and institutional levels. The analytic sample consisted of 12,616 NCAA Division I, Football Bowl Subdivision athletic teams participating in 121 public institutions between the academic years of 2005-2006 and 2011-2012. Pearson correlations and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted at each level of inquiry and for each dependent variable. The results of the regressions revealed that gender, sport profile, and athletic aid spending, per student-athlete, had relatively weak relationships with APR and the fully specified model accounted for 14.3% of the variance observed in APR scores. The results of the study could inform future research about the importance of team level characteristics in predicting APR and the variations between the eligibility and retention aspects of APR. This study could also inform academic support programming and policy making for student-athletes and aid in understanding the conditions that lead to greater academic success.