Ivy League Athletic Performance: Do Brains Win?

[Excerpt] The Ivy League, which consists of Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale universities, is unique among the athletic conferences that compete at the Division I (major university) level in the NCAA. The Ivy League prohibits athletic scholarships and all undergraduate financial aid is awarded only on the basis of financial need. The league rigorously monitors the academic qualifications of the athletes that its coaches recruit and requires that the academic ability of its recruited athletes be close to that of the student body as a whole. The league also sets tight limits on the number of days that teams can be away from campus during the academic year and participation in varsity sports is not permitted during exam periods. Finally, the number of varsity athletic teams fielded by each academic institution in the league is among the largest in the nation. At our own institution, for example, there were 36 different varsity teams (18 male, 18 female) during the 1998-99 academic year. In the absence of being able to compete for student-athletes with athletic scholarships, it is natural to ask what the factors are that determine the athletic success of the different teams in the league when they compete head-to-head with each other. We argue in this paper that in the main it is the same factors that determine the enrollment decisions of the majority of the students who attend these institutions, namely the perceived academic quality of each institution and the generosity of the financial aid packages that each institution provides to students with financial need. We also show that the schools in the league differ in the extent to which their athletes\u27 average academic qualifications differ from the average academic qualifications of the student body as a whole. While such differences help to explain the number of female league titles won by each institution in a year, they prove to have no impact on the number of male titles won or on the numbers of victories won by a school within the league in the three major male sports basketball, football and hockey

Exposure to Sexualized Images of Athletes Negatively Affects Adolescent Male Athletes’ Appraisals of Self and Others

This study used a between-subjects experimental design to examine the effects of viewing sexualized versus performance images of male athletes on male adolescent athletes perceptions of self and other. Participants (n = 83, mean age = 15.4) viewed sexualized or performance images (n = 5) of male celebrity athletes and then completed explicit and implicit measures of self-perceptions. They also judged the athletic competence and respectability of the athletes in the images. Results indicated that viewing sexualized images resulted in lower self-esteem and lower ratings of the athletic competence and respectability of the athletes in the photos compared to viewing performance images. These findings are among the first to demonstrate the negative effects of viewing sexualized images of male athletes on adolescent males

Girls in The Boat: Sex Differences in Rowing Performance and Participation

Men outperform women in many athletic endeavors due to physiological and anatomical differences (e.g. larger and faster muscle); however, the observed sex differences in elite athletic performance are typically larger than expected, and may reflect sex-related differences in opportunity or incentives. As collegiate rowing in the United States has been largely incentivized for women over the last 20 years, but not men, the purpose of this study was to examine sex differences in elite rowing performance over that timeframe. Finishing times from grand finale races for collegiate championship on-water performances (n = 480) and junior indoor performances (n = 1,280) were compared between men and women across 20 years (1997–2016), weight classes (heavy vs. lightweight) and finishing place. Participation of the numbers of men and women rowers were also quantified across years. Men were faster than women across all finishing places, weight classes and years of competition and performance declined across finishing place for both men and women (P\u3c0.001). Interestingly, the reduction in performance time across finishing place was greater (P\u3c0.001) for collegiate men compared to women in the heavyweight division. This result is opposite to other sports (e.g. running and swimming), and to lightweight rowing in this study, which provides women fewer incentives than in heavyweight rowing. Correspondingly, participation in collegiate rowing has increased by ~113 women per year (P\u3c0.001), with no change (P = 0.899) for collegiate men. These results indicate that increased participation and incentives within collegiate rowing for women vs. men contribute to sex differences in athletic performance

Perfectionism, achievement motives, and attribution of success and failure in female soccer players

While some researchers have identified adaptive perfectionism as a key characteristic to achieving elite performance in sport, others see perfectionism as a maladaptive characteristic that undermines, rather than helps, athletic performance. Arguing that perfectionism in sport contains both adaptive and maladaptive facets, the present article presents a study of N 5 74 female soccer players investigating how two facets of perfectionism—perfectionistic strivings and negative reactions to imperfection (Stoeber, Otto, Pescheck, Becker, & Stoll, 2007)—are related to achievement motives and attributions of success and failure. Results show that striving for perfection was related to hope of success and self-serving attributions (internal attribution of success). Moreover, once overlap between the two facets of perfectionism was controlled for, striving for perfection was inversely related to fear of failure and self-depreciating attributions (internal attribution of failure). In contrast, negative reactions to imperfection were positively related to fear of failure and self-depreciating attributions (external attribution of success) and inversely related to self-serving attributions (internal attribution of success and external attribution of failure). It is concluded that striving for perfection in sport is associated with an adaptive pattern of positive motivational orientations and self-serving attributions of success and failure, which may help athletic performance. In contrast, negative reactions to imperfection are associated with a maladaptive pattern of negative motivational orientations and self-depreciating attributions, which is likely to undermine athletic performance. Consequently, perfectionism in sport may be adaptive in those athletes who strive for perfection, but can control their negative reactions when performance is less than perfect

An Examination of Differences in Division I FBS Student-Athlete Academic and Athletic Performance

The student-athlete literature if rife with studies that examine the factors that appear to improve or inhibit academic or athletic performance. However, internal characteristics that may influence variations in performance have been understudied, and athletic performance tends to be examined separately from academic performance. This study examined how different types of Division I FBS performers – high academic, high athletic; high academic, low athletic; low athletic, high academic; and low academic, low athletic – differ on three theoretical and conceptual frameworks representing internal factors. Each of the frameworks, Mindset, Personal Growth Initiative, and Student-Athlete Experiences, have positive attributes relative to performance, development, and well-being. Although not all variables were statistically significant, there were meaningful differences between high and low academic performers on academic experiences. Student-athletes in this sample also displayed a growth mindset towards academic and athletic abilities, as well as high levels of Personal Growth Initiative. In addition, student-athletes who performed at high levels athletically did not report fewer experiences academically. This study also contributed an athletic performance metric that can be used and improved upon to quantify individual athletic performance in higher education, irrespective of sport

The Academics Athletics Trade-off: Universities and Intercollegiate Athletics

This analysis focuses on several key issues in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The intrinsic benefits of athletic programs are discussed in the first section. Trends in graduation rates and academic performance among athletes and how they correlate with the general student body are discussed in the second section. Finally, an overview of the revenues and expenses of athletic department budgets are discussed in an effort to gain a better understanding of the allocation of funds to athletics. In spite of recent growth in revenues and expenses, the athletic department budget comprises on average only 5 percent of the entire university budget at an FBS school, though spending and revenues have increased dramatically in recent years. In the grand scheme of things, American higher education faces several other, arguably more pressing, areas of reform. However, athletics is a significant and growing dimension of higher education that warrants in-depth examination

Perceptions from Graduates of Professional Athletic Training Programs Involved in Peer-Assisted Learning

Context: Research has not explored how peer-assisted learning (PAL) impacts graduates once they are practicing as athletic trainers. Peer-assisted learning has been used in a variety of health education settings but there is a lack of data on its effects on the performance of graduates. Objective: To investigate professional graduates’ perceptions of PAL pedagogy in their athletic training education and the impact of that experience on their first job. Design: Qualitative study using a phenomenological approach. Setting: One-on-one phone interviews with athletic training graduates. Patients or Other Participants: Participants were from 8 accredited athletic training programs that varied in terms of the size of their institution, geographic location, number of graduates, and program directors’ willingness to promote the study. Thirteen (7 female, 6 male) 2010 (n ¼ 5) or 2011 (n ¼ 8) graduates volunteered for this study. Ten of the participants were from undergraduate baccalaureate athletic training programs, while 3 were from professional postbaccalaureate athletic training programs. Main Outcome Measure(s): One-on-one phone interviews were conducted with a structured interview protocol. Each participant was asked the same questions and allowed to clarify when needed. Interview data were analyzed inductively to uncover dominant themes, first by organizing the data, then by summarizing them into codes, and finally by interpreting them. Credibility was secured through a pilot study, member checking, triangulation, and peer debriefing. Results: Data were analyzed through a qualitative process; themes indicated graduates who have experienced PAL believe it led to improved communication and confidence, enhanced teaching skills, better clinical reasoning, improved socialization, and a deeper understanding that contributed to success on the Board of Certification examination. Conclusions: These findings are significant to the field of athletic training education as program directors investigate pedagogies that can assist students to think clinically as graduates. Evidence demonstrated that PAL does impact the students after graduation

What do Families and Teams Have in Common?

They both have built-in support groups, and they’re both subjects of interest to Brad Donohue. The UNLV psychology professor takes the principles of Family Behavior Therapy and applies them in a variety of contexts, including athletic performance

Nutrition Education and the Effects on Athletic Performance in Collegiate Athletes with Low Energy Availability

Current research suggests that collegiate athletes lack nutritional knowledge needed for optimal athletic performance. The absence of basic nutritional knowledge in college athletes puts them at an increased risk for RED-S and its sports performance consequences. The objective of this narrative review is to evaluate the literature on low energy availability in collegiate athletes and determine if nutrition education can improve athletic performance. Multiple studies concluded that nutrition education may improve dietary intake in collegiate athletes, while there was one contradicting study that found that athletes improved nutritional knowledge but did not improve dietary intake. 3 studies found that low energy availability results in negative effects on athletic performance. The research is limited on how nutrition education and knowledge influences athletic performance. It can be predicted that increased knowledge may improve low EA thus improving athletic performance in collegiate athletes. Future research should focus on the relationship between having a registered dietitian as part of the athletic team and nutrition knowledge, behaviors, and athletic performance in athletes. Additionally, interventions provided by a registered dietitian may fill the knowledge gap and improve health and performance in athletes

Importance of Vitamin D in Athletes and Exercise; A mini review

Vitamin D has an important role in the function of the cardiovascular, immune, and musculoskeletal systems. Regarding to this role there is a potential for vitamin D to affect the physical and athletic performance. To consider whether vitamin D is related to exercise, physical and athletic performance. We have examined a large number of literature related to the effect of vitamin D on exercise, physical and athletic performance. In elderly people with insufficient vitamin D levels, vitamin D supplementation improves muscle strength, balance and reduces falls. Furthermore, vitamin D supplementation to non-athletes and athletes with inadequate levels has helped to increase physical and athletic performance respectively. In contrast, in athletes or non-athletes where vitamin D levels are adequate, vitamin D supplementation is not correlated with improved athletic performance.Vitamin D levels have a very important role in physical and athletic performance. Increasing or decreasing levels of vitamin d is associated with levels of performance. Key Words: Vitamin D, Athletes, Performance, Sport