Date of Award
1-23-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Educational Leadership, Ed.D.
First Advisor
Michael Wesolek
Second Advisor
Jacques Singleton
Committee Members
Mahauganee Bonds; Rene Couture
Abstract
The purpose of this case study is to determine what collegiate student-athletes believe contributes to their motivation to persist and achieve their goals as a student-athlete. In-person and virtual interviews were conducted using four student-athlete participants and four athletic staff participants. The data was then transcribed and evaluated using McClelland’s Need Theory (1961) for theme development. For student-athletes this included the importance of community, supports, and student-athlete identity. For athletic staff members this also included student-athlete community, supports, and unpreparedness. Overall, the findings of this study depict that there are supports, services, and athletic staff members that can impact student-athletes’ motivation to persist. Results of this study can contribute to modifications to policy, procedure, and approaches taken to assist Division III student-athletes.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
McGaha, MaKenzie Brooke, "The Role of Athletic Department Staff and the Effects on Student-Athlete Persistence" (2026). Student Theses and Dissertations. 1150.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/1150
