Professors and Coaches Educational Approaches That Support the NCAA Division III Student Athlete Experience

While professors and coaches have the ability to enable or impede student athletes' educational success in college, studies that address the perspectives of coaches and professors about their interactions with student athletes are limited. This study aimed to understand (a) the ways in which professors and coaches who act as institutional agents on behalf of student athletes support them in their personal and academic development at NCAA Division III schools, (b) the ways professors and coaches work in collaboration to support student athletes, and (c) the institutional contexts and circumstances that affect their ability to support athletes. For this qualitative study, the researcher conducted phenomenological interviews with 3 coaches and 3 professors who were nominated through the use of intensity sampling by athletic directors at three universities. The findings revealed four themes: (a) relationship development; (b) understanding the student athlete experience; (c) building colleague collaboration: approaches that support student athletes; and (d) institution inner struggles: dealing with perceptions about athletes and athletics. The findings imply coaches and professors play a mutually critical role in support of Division III student athlete academic and personal development.