McKinney, Michael C
(2022)
Becoming Their People: The Impact of a Faculty and Staff Mentor Program to Improve Sense of Belonging and Persistence Rates of DIII First-Year Football Student Athletes.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
Due to its emphasis on academics and exclusion of athletic scholarships, the NCAA’s Division III (DIII) is often praised by coaches, media, and higher education leaders for offering the purest form of collegiate athletics. However, the academics-first philosophy and higher graduation rates the NCAA celebrates for most of its sports are not reflected in outcomes for football, the division’s sport involving the most student athletes (SAs) and one in which Black men are overrepresented. Retention and graduation rates of DIII football SAs and Black football SAs in particular, have long trailed other student populations. This mixed-methods research study used Improvement Science to test the impact of a faculty or staff mentor program on first-year football SAs’ integration outcomes and sense of belonging at a small, private, DIII college located in Western, Pennsylvania. The sample for this study (n=47) was paired with a faculty or staff mentor as part of a PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act) cycle. Multiple data points were collected through pre- and post-intervention surveys, institutional records (e.g., fall semester GPA, involvement in organizations other that football, and first-to-second semester retention), and focus groups. Results of the study suggest the first-year football SAs who participated in the mentoring program benefited from the intervention, realizing higher sense of belonging at the institution, averaging higher GPAs and higher levels of engagement outside of football, and persisting at the institution at significantly higher rates than football SAs who did not participate. Black or African American participants also realized better integration outcomes than Black or African American football SAs who did not participate, but did not benefit to same degree as White football SA participants. Findings from this study will assist college leaders as they respond to the need for improving retention and graduation rates of football SAs and Black men. Strengths, limitations, implications, and suggested improvements to the intervention are included to strengthen the impact of the intervention for potential future iterations.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
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| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
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| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
31 August 2022 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
8 June 2022 |
| Approval Date: |
31 August 2022 |
| Submission Date: |
4 August 2022 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
110 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
School of Education > Administrative and Policy Studies |
| Degree: |
EdD - Doctor of Education |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
College Student Retention; DIII Student Athletes; Student Athlete Graduation Rates |
| Date Deposited: |
31 Aug 2022 18:17 |
| Last Modified: |
31 Aug 2022 18:17 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/43499 |
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