Masters Thesis

Underrepresented retired high school athletes transition to college

Approximately eight million teenagers participate in high school athletics across the United States, while only 480,000 have the opportunity to play collegiate level sports, and the rest are forced into early athletic retirement (NCAA Research, 2020). The literature shows that participation in a high school sport increases the chances of a student being accepted into college (Barron et al., 2000). As the nation, and in particular, the state of California become increasingly more diverse (U.S. Census Bureau, 2019) it is important that underrepresented students are successfully transitioning and completing college. Previous research examined athletic retirement but only in collegiate and professional athletes (Grove et al., 1997; Stephan et al., 2010). The current study sought to understand retired student-athletes' transitional experience into a public university in Southern California. The study compared different groups of retired athletes by measuring if their type of retirement (i.e., willing retirement versus forced retirement) played a role in athletic identity post-retirement. The results revealed that retirement type predicted athletic identity scores. Specifically, student-athletes who voluntarily retired reported higher scores on athletic identity than athletes forced into retirement. Interviews were conducted to better understand how participation in high school sports may facilitate the transition into college, and how underrepresented students appraise their early athletic retirement. The qualitative data showed that the type of school (e.g., public, private) and the effectiveness of administration of the institution influence how prepared a student feels for their transition into college. In addition, retired-student athletes often stated that they cherished their experience as high school athletes, but also understood the importance of preparing for college.

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