The NCAA Research Committee has selected five research proposals to fund as part of the 2015 cycle of the NCAA Graduate Student Research Grant Program.
Now in its 10th year, the program is aimed at stimulating research on college sports by providing financial support to graduate students. Their work will help inform NCAA member schools and the general public on key topics by introducing new studies to the field. Awards for these grants are set at a maximum of $7,500 for one-year projects. Recipients are expected to culminate their project in an article suitable for publication in a scholarly journal or in a completed thesis or dissertation. They will present their final projects to the NCAA Research Committee members in fall 2016.
Funds were awarded to these graduate students:
- Matthew Bird (Florida State University): “Student Athletes’ Attitudes Toward Seeking Online Counseling.”
- Megan Byrd (West Virginia University): “Experiences of Impulsivity, Anxiety and Anger in Concussed Collegiate Athletes: A Mixed Methods Study.”
- Leslie Larsen (University of Tennessee, Knoxville): “More Than Recruiters: The Experiences of African American Female Assistant Coaches in NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball.”
- Claire Schaeperkoetter (University of Kansas): “Alternative Success Theory: An Examination of What Athletic Department Success Means for Small Colleges.”
- Lisa van Raalte (Arizona State University): “Evaluating Student-Athletes’ Stress Coping Experiences in Their Academic and Athletic Lives: A Test of the Stress-Buffering Model.”
The 2016 call for proposals will be released in the spring, with proposals due in early August. The NCAA Research Committee invites research proposals within the general topic areas of student-athlete well-being and college athletics participation. Topics may include, but are not limited to, the impact of participation in athletics on the academic or social experiences of student-athletes; best practices for academic advisement of student-athletes; the relationship between athletics’ time demands and academic success; student-athlete integration into the campus community; the relationship between athletics department finances and on-field success; student-athlete satisfaction with the college experience; and student-athlete mental health and well-being.