Hope, Trust, and Dreaming Big: Student-Athlete Identity and Athletic Divisional Reclassification

Intercollegiate athletics are an indelible aspect of American higher education, and many collegiate athletes, particularly those at the Division I level, view their college careers as an extension of and springboard toward a professional sports career. This study is based on a series of semi-structured interviews with men's athletic administrators and male student-athletes at an institution seeking to reclassify from Division II to Division I status. Results suggest athletic identity, or the degree to which one's self-identity had considerable bearing on their reasoning for choosing to accept an athletic scholarship at the school, the focus of their attention while enrolled, and their career aspirations following the end of their collegiate playing careers. Results further showed a clear focus on sport over school despite a language supporting the idea of learning.