FACILITATING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH IN STUDENT ATHLETICS THROUGH A FACULTY-STUDENT PARTNERSHIP: BUILDING SUPPORT STRUCTURES TO FOSTER TEACHING AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Abstract

This study overviews a two-year effort collaborative mentoring project at a regional university involving 3 faculty members partnered with 3 undergraduate student-athletes and an academic advisor. The study, which focused the perceptions of student-athletes across university athletic teams through the lens of communication, yields insights on the “high impact practice” of student-faculty research. In this effort, a mentoring relationship was formed over a two-year period where faculty and undergraduate students worked as partners in seeking to better understand the needs of student-athletes across all varsity athletic teams. The faculty partnered with the student-athletes to plan, execute, and analyze a qualitative research study involving 28 student-athletes with at least one student representative from each of the 18 athletic teams. This two-year effort allowed collaborative, interdisciplinary structures to provide a framework for mentoring, research, and dissemination, and allowed the university Faculty Athletic Council to better understand student-athletes’ perspective on on-campus support systems.