Tammy Crawford, Ph.D., a Clinical Assistant Professor of the Sport Management Program at WSU, will speak in the first Sport Management Research Meeting of the Spring 2019 semester. Her presentation, “Female international student-athletes at American universities: Reasons to attend and experiences that followed,” will occur 4-5 p.m. on Wednesday, February 13, in Cleveland Hall 255 in Pullman.
The number of international female student-athletes who compete at the Division-I level has increased by 58% from 2010 to 2017. This study examines their experiences from the time they begin to investigate American universities, through the acclimation process of life as an intercollegiate student and athlete. Qualitative, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted in small-group settings with participants (n = 22) from five public Division-I institutions, representing four athletic conferences and eight different NCAA-sponsored sports. International student-athletes show independence and determination, but also a lack of information regarding the breadth of opportunities available across NCAA institutions. They identify areas of adjustment associated with social, athletic, linguistic, and cultural differences, and a sense of gratitude for both academic and athletic opportunities.
Sport Management Research Meetings are organized by the Sport Management program at Washington State University. They occur monthly and feature faculty and student presentations of ongoing and completed research projects. Students and faculty from all programs are welcome to attend.
The next research meetings this semester will occur on March 6 and April 10.
Those who miss the presentations but are interested in the topic can access the video archive of past presentations.
