A study of the impact of athletic scholarship on football achievement motivation of university students

Vividly, it is not an overstatement to say that football game is the most prominent sport in the recent world. The present study is about the impact of athletic scholarship on football achievement motivation of university students. Athletic type of scholarship helps students to discover, improve and exhibit their football talent and skills. It makes effective contributions to the development of sport within the campus and prepares ambitious and hardworking college or university athletes for the challenges of actualizing their long-term ambitions to become professional footballers. Considering both empirical cum theoretical contributions of this study, the finding practically provides the following suggestions. 1- the finding pinpoints the insights and importance of athletic scholarship and encourage the stakeholders of the university to cultivate the idea of athletic scholarships by extending their scholarship schemes beyond merit and needy bases. 2- It gives an insight that athletic scholarship enables the students to study any academic program and have tendency of becoming professional footballers. 3- importantly, it adds to the literature by investigating the impact of athletic scholarship on football achievement motivation of the students and how the stardoms of being a footballer in the campus affect the students' football interest.

COVID-19 pandemic: Challenges among rising high school seniors, Class of 2021 and effect on stress regarding college admissions

The high school Class of 2021, already facing challenges of their stressful junior year has had multiple changes to their academic routines, athletic & extracurricular opportunities and standardized testing amid the COVID-19 pandemic. With the lockdown, it is also facing unprecedented changes in the college admissions process. This study was undertaken as a survey of rising seniors in US high schools to understand handling of academic challenges, students’ stress regarding college admissions, changing landscape of the application cycle and attitudes towards strength of applications due to the pandemic. Survey was designed on google forms and was circulated among rising seniors through social media and snowballing methods. The data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. A total of 331 students responded, majority were females, white and from public schools. Significant stress regarding college admissions was reported by students (63.6%) before pandemic and increase in stress (72.3%) afterwards. About 75% had already taken ACT/SAT, the majority was not satisfied with their scores but 90% planned to re(take) despite colleges declaring a test optional process. 60% of participants with change in summer plans and 70% of students unable to visit colleges reported increase in stress. Level of access correlated with perceived support from college counselors (r=0.677) and uncertainty regarding financial aid and athletic scholarships contributed to stress. Two broad themes emerged while studying COVID-19 related increase in stress levels and factors contributing to that change: uncertainty about one’s own application strength and stress due to changes in institutional policies.

“Dead but Standing Erect”: Why Southern Conference Members Left to Form the Southeastern Conference

Thirteen institutions left the Southern Conference to form the Southeastern Conference during 1932. Why did these schools leave the Southern Conference? Previous historical research portrays the large size of the Southern Conference and the desire to pass academic reforms as reasons for the Southeastern Conference’s formation. This article argues that the university presidents and other administrators at Southeastern Conference institutions formed it to enhance the legitimacy of their member institutions. Throughout the Great Depression, the conference’s administrators pursued increased legitimacy by attempting to reform academic eligibility rules, allowing football games to be broadcast over the radio, awarding athletic scholarships, allowing member institutions to compete in emerging postseason football bowl games, and hiring a commissioner. This instance of conference realignment is historically significant because some of the policies implemented by the Southeastern Conference contributed to its rise as one of the top revenue-generating conferences in college athletics.

Athletic scholarships are negatively associated with intrinsic motivation for sports, even decades later: Evidence for long-term undermining

In the U.S., many colleges offer some student athletes scholarships contingent on maintaining high-level performance at a particular sport. Consistent with the well-supported “undermining effect,” studies have demonstrated that such scholarships can reduce athletes’ intrinsic motivation for their sport during their college playing career. The present study examines what happens to former college athletes’ intrinsic motivation after college, even decades later. 348 former Division I college athletes completed an on-line survey (67.5% men, M age = 49.2, 76% formerly on scholarship). Even after controlling for time elapsed since college, scholarship (versus no scholarship) status was positively related to felt external motivation during college, and negatively related to present-day enjoyment of the target sport. Our findings suggest that undermining effects may persist much longer than previously documented (i.e., for decades, as opposed to hours, weeks, or months).