Graduate(d) Student Athletes in Division I Football: Redefining Archetypes and Disrupting Stereotypes or Invisible?

Abstract

This article foregrounds the experiences of graduate(d) student athletes, defined as college athletes who earn a bachelor’s degree before exhausting their athletic eligibility and take postbaccalaureate or graduate coursework. Findings from semistructured phone interviews with 11 graduate(d) student athletes in Division I football suggest participants are able to marshal their academic credentials to negotiate stereotypes. Examining how simultaneously being a graduate(d) student and a football player impacted participants’ vulnerability to stereotyping, I find that despite the ability to disrupt stereotypes, obstacles both systemic and individual may inhibit this effect. In particular, I explore the themes: stereotyping, disrupting/disproving stereotyping, trailblazer/role model, and invisibility. I also attend to the factors contributing to this subpopulation of college athletes’ continued invisibility and offer implications and suggestions for practice.