Student-Athlete Welfare Projects
CULTIVATING CHAMPIONS: EXPLORING LEADERSHIP PROGRAMMING AND ATHLETE DEVELOPMENT IN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS
2023-2024 Grant Project
Jessica Brougham, Ph.D., Texas Tech University
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Isabel Schwam, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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Elizabeth Taylor, Ph.D., Temple University
White Paper & Embedded Video Presentation
This study addresses leadership programming and athlete development initiatives within intercollegiate athletics by gathering data from athletic department employees. These employees filled a variety of roles from athletic directors and coaches to athletic training staff. Gathering data from a variety of staff within athletic departments (senior staff vs. other athletic department staff) allowed us to identify any disconnects in athletic department programming perceptions. Findings of the study indicate athletic department staff perceptions of programming appear to be relatively consistent, except across a few items.
MEAL: MEASURING ENERGY AVAILABILITY AND LIFESTYLE FACTORS AMONG FEMALE COLLEGIATE ATHLETES
2023-2024 Grant Project
Jessica L. Garay, Ph.D., RDN, CSSD, CSCS, Syracuse University
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Margaret Voss, Ph.D., Syracuse University
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Alyson Onyon, MS, RDN, CSSD, Syracuse University
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Study in progress intending to increase understanding the entangled relationship between dietary intake, lifestyle factors, and exercise performance. Current study is tracking lifestyle patterns and biomarkers of 75 physically active female college students (with a collegiate athlete subgroup of 51) to gather data. Findings will be reported and explored by target completion date of 4/1/2025. This study will allow for more grounded and effective management of female student-athlete energy, leading to improved experience.
UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF FAMILY MEMBERS IN RELATION TO ACC STUDENT-ATHLETE MENTAL HEALTH
2023-2024 Grant Project
Jonathan Casper, Ph.D., North Carolina State University
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Jason Bocarro, Ph.D., North Carolina State University
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Tony Patterson, Ph.D., University of North Carolina
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Chris Boyer, North Carolina State University
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Michelle Joshua, CMPC, North Carolina State University
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White Paper & Embedded Video Presentation
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Study sought to explore parents of college athletes’ perception and understanding of athlete mental health and services provided through the university through surveys and focus groups of parents at two ACC universities. Results found parent’s overarching concerns with athlete’s lack of privacy and confidentiality and concern over negative perceptions of seeking help. Additionally, focus groups found many parents emphasizing the strong pressures their athletes face from coaches, academic life, and new NIL culture with little knowledge of mental health resources for their children at the university. Recommendations include: including sports psychologist in recruiting process, creating mental health information sheet for parents, and enhanced communication with parents throughout athletes collegiate career.
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PAUSE-YOGA: AN 8-WEEK MINDFULNESS-BASED YOGA INTERVENTION FOR WOMEN’S SPORT STUDENT-ATHLETES TRANSITIONING INTO COLLEGE AND COLLEGIATE SPORT
2022-2023 Grant Project
Ling Beisecker, MS, LCMHC
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
J.D. DeFreese, Ph.D.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
White Paper & Embedded Video Presentation
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This study tested the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of PAUSE-Yoga, an 8-week mindfulness-based
yoga program to mitigate symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress among women’s sport student-
athletes transitioning into college and collegiate sport. Evidence supports yoga as an active recovery and
restorative activity to mitigate these prevalent mental health issues. Twenty-eight women’s sport
student-athletes from one ACC Division I collegiate athletic team were enrolled into the program.
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Transition Experiences of ACC Student-Athletes
2021-2022 Grant Project
J.D. DeFreese, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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Avinash Chandran, Ph.D. MS (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Datalys Center for Sports Injury Research and Prevention
White Paper & Embedded Video Presentation
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The NCAA requires exit interviews for all student-athletes as they leave (i.e., transition from) collegiate sport. However, there exists limited empirical evidence to inform the structure and content of these interviews, which restricts their impact on post-career health and well-being. This study adopts a two-phase research strategy to examine ACC student-athlete transition experiences including outcomes of mental, physical, social, and occupational functioning. Aim 1 examined student-athlete transition outcomes via an evidence-based, survey addendum to the standard of care exit interview in a sample of 57 ACC student-athletes. Aim 2 further probed these transition experiences via follow-up in a subsample of student-athletes (n=9). Results highlight the overall adaptive health-related quality of life outcomes of student-athletes sampled while highlighting key barriers and facilitators to the transition experience. Project deliverables include 1) a detailed analysis of ACC student-athlete transition outcomes and 2) evidence-based recommendations for ACC athletics exit survey procedures and transition resources.
Concluding College Careers: Athlete Transitions in the ACC
2021-2022 Grant Project
Eric Sabin, M.S., Clemson University
Brennan Burg, Ph.D., University of Mississippi
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Michael Hutchinson, Ph.D., University of Memphis
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Sarah Stokowski, Ph.D., Clemson University
White Paper & Embedded Video Presentation
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Many student-athletes are not prepared to adapt to a life beyond sport; however, those who are prepared for sport retirement report an easier experience. Although research has focused on the experiences of athletes adapting to transition, few studies have been dedicated to understanding how institutions support athletes’ transition out of intercollegiate sport. This study strived to understand how the ACC and ACC member institutions are preparing college athletes to transitioning out of their competitive careers. Through qualitative inquiry, 9 ACC institutions (as well as the ACC conference office) took part in semi-structured interviews. A multi-coder constant comparison analysis identified several themes related to policies and programming offered by ACC institutions as well as recommendations from individual career development staff. Throughout the interviews, athletic department staff emphasized student-athlete programming efforts at different development levels, but effectiveness in assisting student-athlete transition was found most commonly in the relationships built by student-athlete development staff and continual touch-points through the developmental phases that student-athletes follow in their path to finding their self and identity beyond sport. The results of this study may assist the ACC in providing resources and refining practices to ensure student-athletes experience an efficient transition out of sport.
2020-2021 Grant Project
Carter Floyd, Doctoral Student, College of Education, Department of Sport Management, Florida State University
Susmit Gulavani, Doctoral Student, College of Education, Department of Sport Management, Florida State University
James Du, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Sport Marketing, College of Education, Department of Sport Management, Florida State University
Jason Pappas, Ph.D., Associate Teaching Professor, College of Education, Department of Sport Management, Florida State University
A Tale of Two Cities: COVID-19 and the Emotional Well-Being of Student-Athletes Using Natural Language Processing
Whitepaper & Embedded Video Presentation
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Using data collected from players from four major ACC sports, we analyzed the user-generated content posted on the Twitter accounts of student-athletes to study changes in their sentiment as it relates to the COVID-19 crisis, major societal events, and policy decisions. The most commonly expressed emotions by these athletes were joy, trust, anticipation, and fear, suggesting that student-athletes used social media as an outlet to share primarily optimistic sentiments, while still publicly expressing strong negative sentiments like fear and trepidation about the pandemic and other important contemporary events.
Perceptions of ACC Sport Psychologists and Athletics Trainers on Mental Health Strageties for Student-Athletes
Whitepaper & Embedded Video Presentation
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The NCAA, along with the ACC, has recognized the growing concerns of mental health among student-athletes. Despite the increased mental health awareness, there is a concern that institutional resources devoted to supporting the clinical and psychological needs of student-athletes are lacking. This was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study conducted focus groups with 20 sport psychologists and athletic trainers across ACC schools to provide some context of current issues facing student-athletes, understanding of mental health resources, and insight into current and future mental health programs and initiatives.
2020-2021 Grant Project
Chris Boyer, MS – Ph.D. Student and Assistant Vice Chancellor, Strategic Brand Management, NC State University.
Virginia Blake - Undergraduate Student and Women’s Basketball Team Manager, NC State University.
Jason N. Bocarro, Ph.D. - Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Mgt, NC State University
Jonathan M. Casper, Ph.D. - Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Mgt, NC State University
Kimberly Bush, Ph.D. - Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Mgt, NC State University
Michael B. Edwards, Ph.D. - Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Mgt, NC State University
Joel Pawlak, Ph.D. - Department of Forest Biomaterials and NC State Faculty Athletic Representative
Danielle Smith, M.S. Teaching Assistant Professor - Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Michelle Joshua, Ph.D. - Sports Psychologist, NC State University
Dietary Intake and Diet Quality Across a Competitive Season in Female and Male Cross Country Student-Athletes
Whitepaper & Embedded Video Presentation
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Cross country student-athletes have increased dietary needs due to the high training demands of the sport. Across a competitive season, 63% of females and 37% of males from a single ACC cross country team did not consume enough calories to meet training needs, likely due to carbohydrate intakes below sport-specific recommendations. Furthermore, diet quality assessed by the Healthy Eating Index was below U.S. Government guidelines but provides insight on food groups to target to improve adherence to U.S. Government and sport-specific recommendations.
2020-2021 Grant Project
David E. Barney, MS, Nutrition Sciences PhD Candidate, Department of Nutrition, Food, & Exercise Sciences, Florida State University
Stephen R. Hennigar, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Nutrition, Food, & Exercise Sciences, Florida State University
2020-2021 Grant Project
John Lalor, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of IT, Analytics, and Operations, The University of Notre Dame
Scott Nestler, Ph.D., Associate Teaching Professor, Department of IT, Analytics, & Operations, The University of Notre Dame
Martin Barron, Ph.D., Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of IT, Analytics, & Operations, The University of Notre Dame
Seth Berry, Ph.D., Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of IT, Analytics, & Operations, The University of Notre Dame
Development and Validation of a Multidimensional Mental Health Screening Instrument
Whitepaper & Embedded Video Presentation
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As the ACC has committed to student-athlete health and safety, particularly around mental health, consistent screening is an important step in a conference-wide approach to student-athlete mental health. We proposed a multidimensional mental health screener that will cover multiple mental health issues so that athletic departments can identify student-athletes needing mental health assistance across several dimensions. Here we report preliminary results on item collection, subject recruitment, and initial analyses on data collected from ACC student-athletes during the summer and fall of 2021.