Copyright by Alvin Dequanta Logan, Jr. 2017
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Copyright By Alvin DeQuanta Logan, Jr. 2017 The Dissertation Committee for Alvin DeQuanta Logan, Jr. certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: The One Dimensional Black College Football Player: A Mixed Methods Approach to Understanding Racial and Athletic Identity Committee: __________________________________________ Louis Harrison, Supervisor __________________________________________ Leonard Moore __________________________________________ Anthony Brown __________________________________________ Noah De Lissovoy __________________________________________ Kevin Cokley The One Dimensional Black College Football Player: A Mixed Methods Approach to Understanding Racial and Athletic Identity by Alvin DeQuanta Logan, Jr., B.A.; M.Ed. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2017 Acknowledgements Thanks be to the Almighty! My list is plentiful and I do apologize if in this moment in time I do not mention a name or allude to a person who has helped me get this degree. This degree isn’t for me, it’s for everyone who told me I could do it, believed in my abilities, and pushed me to do something I may have never thought was actually possible. It is through your courage, wisdom, passion, guidance, and pestering that I am able to submit my dissertation and walk across the stage to receive a terminal degree in education. To my wife, Jayde, it has been a long time coming but you have been there through the hardest times and I appreciate your sacrifice, your support and your love through all of these trying times. It couldn’t be easy dealing with someone who is dead set on completing this goal but you managed to make it look easy and I appreciate you and love you even more for everything you have done to help me get the letters added to my name. To my mom, dad and Alex: you all have been my support system since birth (well technically not Alex, but you get the point) and it has shaped and sharpened me to be the best person I know how to be. Alvin Logan, Sr.: Dad, I still remember those long drives to Virginia and us listening to Martin Luther King Jr. speeches and Gil Scott-Heron. Those drives empowered me beyond belief and it manifested when I began to speak and fight for myself. The strength and vision you gave me is wrapped up in this degree. I remember for the Beautillion, I asked you what should I write for my future goals. Naively I said I was just going to go to college, get a job and live life there after. The words that came from you that day projected my path beyond the moon, in my eyes. You told me that going to college is great but you can do so much more, what about graduate school? Knowing that you have master’s degrees and you just extended my goals, you suggested getting a PhD in my chosen field. I wrote that senior year of high school and almost didn’t believe it one bit. It actually took me a while to realize how you pushed me wasn’t you telling me I’m not good enough, but actually you making sure I reach everything you saw in me and more. Your love and faith in me, even as a high school senior (Corporate Thuggin’) never waivered and that was what gave me chills to think about during my college and graduate years. It almost brings tears to my eyes the way you have supported me through stuff that may have seemed menial to you but it was life changing to me. I love you with everything I have and am Dad and thank you for always being the person to tell me I can do more because you believed in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself. Your love has no bounds and it surely shows. Dana-Logan Walker & Alonzo Walker: Madre, where do I start? The hardest part about telling you have you made this degree possible is figuring out which part to talk about. It might be easier to tell you what ways you wanted to help but I wouldn’t let you. But I think about all the times when you let Alex and I explore and figure stuff out for ourselves. Of course you were there if we were about to fall, or to make sure we know how much we meant to you even after we were late coming back from the dirt hills. But the part that stood out the most to me as I write this is when you let us pick the paint color in our rooms. I know this may be like, huh? Why that. But in the larger picture of things you let me know that it was okay to be different and to express what I love. I have taken tat message with me through high school, college, graduate school and even now in “regular life” if you iv will. I am forever thankful for your openness to allow me to express myself and you showing me how it’s done. You are a great role model and I watch how you do things all the time just to emulate them in my life. Here to 28 years of showing me how to be myself and not be afraid to be different. Thank you Mom. Al, man oh man. The years fly by, I still remember when you gave us those popsicles when we first met you at the old house off elk. The great part about having you as a step dad is that I learned how to problem solve. Whether its changing the brakes on car, putting in a stereo, building a shed, or learning how to train a dog I truly appreciate how you taught me to problem solve. The point of a doctoral degree is a card to get amongst people who solve some of the greatest problem in history. I plan to be one of those people by finding out how to get ALL Black college football players that want to graduate, to graduate. You have shown me the fundamental skills to find out how to solve this problem and I am forever grateful for that. Alex Logan: My partner in crime and thought. I could write another dissertation on how you have encouraged me. I look at everything you have done and I am in awe of your abilities. You truly are the smartest person I know. The way you put things together in your mind and how you can read and watch documentaries for fun is astonishing to me. Your independent and I have always been envious of that. Since we were kids I begged you to play with me because I know you had a lot to offer our relationship. This is just a manifestation of our interactions and I know great things are to come since we have not begun to reach the boundaries of your influence and my learning. I appreciate your input on all things academic for me, and truly this degree is for you and everything you have poured into me. Jayde Logan: So I finally get to catch you, kind of. It’s a great race trying to keep up with you and that’s one of the many reasons why I appreciate you. You have shown me how to be adaptive to almost any situation. How to channel my frustrations into my craft and how to live a blissful life. I thank you for being there in the daily pursuit of this degree and I thank you for all the years to come where we build what can never be torn down. This degree is yours just as much as mine (literally and figuratively- common law) and I have learned so much about how to bridge disciplines because of your thinking. You helped me see and expand into places I still don’t know where I’m going as a scholar and I am forever thankful for that. In all the efforts I begin and end my day with you so thank you for making the time pleasant and productive. Alvin Logan, III: This is to show you that you can do anything. The sky can even limit you and I want you to change the world. You’re smile alone lets us know that you will be a person that will bring much needed good and change to our reality. You have been with me every step of writing this dissertation, whether in your mothers stomach or actually in my arms of on the floor trying to crawl while I write. You’re name and mark are on this paper. Alvin see, Alvin do, but if that’s the case watch your mother she has a lot to teach both of us about goals and grinding. To much success for you, and thank you for walking me into new understandings of myself and how to be a father. Stand up and stand out, be bold and be different. To my extended family, Grandma & Grandpa, Auntie Tammy, Uncle Derrek, Grandma V, George, Jevon, Derrek Jr, Amayiah, Trysten, Martha, Leonard, Farrard, Beverly, Jasmine, Monya, Aunt Charlotte & Uncle Iz, Jennifer, Jaime, Robin, Uncle Paul, Uncle Timothy & Aunt Valarie, William, Alfred, ella Mae Willie Herbert Logan, my many other cousins, uncles, aunts and loved ones. v To my Committee, Dr. Louis Harrison, Dr. Leonard Moore, Dr. Anthony Brown, Dr. Noah De Lissovoy, and Dr.