Doing, Undoing, and Redoing Collegiate Athletics: Conceptual Tales of Marginality and Mattering
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by The University of North Carolina at Greensboro DOING, UNDOING, AND REDOING COLLEGIATE ATHLETICS: CONCEPTUAL TALES OF MARGINALITY AND MATTERING A Dissertation by STAR P. BROWN Submitted to the Graduate School at Appalachian State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION May 2017 Educational Leadership Doctoral Program Reich College of Education DOING, UNDOING, AND REDOING COLLEGIATE ATHLETICS: CONCEPTUAL TALES OF MARGINALITY AND MATTERING A Dissertation by STAR P. BROWN May 2017 APPROVED BY: Alecia Y. Jackson, Ph.D. Chairperson, Dissertation Committee Kim Q. Hall, Ph.D. Member, Dissertation Committee Chris Osmond, Ph.D. Member, Dissertation Committee Audrey Dentith, Ph.D. Director, Educational Leadership Doctoral Program Max C. Poole, Ph.D. Dean, Cratis D. Williams School of Graduate Studies Copyright by Star P. Brown 2017 All Rights Reserved Abstract DOING, UNDOING, AND REDOING COLLEGIATE ATHLETICS: CONCEPTUAL TALES OF MARGINALITY AND MATTERING Star P. Brown B.S.B.A., Appalachian State University M.S., Appalachian State University Ed.S., Appalachian State University Ed.D., Appalachian State University Dissertation Committee Chairperson: Alecia Y. Jackson, Ph.D. This work disrupts the normalization of athletics (big-time sports programs) in higher education and problematizes status-quo issues related to collegiate athletics such as: amateurism, sports careerism, the admission of academically underprepared athletes, academic and athletic rivalry, and escalating athletic expenditures. Primary poststructural theories of language, subjectivity, and power are used, alongside specific textual resources, to interrogate different aspects of the recent academic scandal at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). The theoretical analysis puts to work the poststructural concepts of marginality (Spivak, 1993) and mattering (Butler, 1993) to create a different critique of academics and athletics in higher education. Using writing as a form of analysis, this study is crafted in the form of different tales. The first part of the analysis shows how individuals are marginalized by the operations of the athletic machine and its desire to achieve both notoriety and financial gain. The second analytical tale highlights the critical role race plays in the ways some bodies matter more than others and how the central drive to iv achieve financial success marginalizes and exploits individuals. This theoretical analysis draws attention to the marginalization of individuals, the exploitation of student athletes, especially Black male athletes, and the prevalence of racism in collegiate athletics. Ultimately, poststructural theory and post-qualitative methodology work together to undo the ways collegiate athletics is currently done. Through this theoretical and methodological undoing of collegiate athletics, recommendations are presented as ways of redoing collegiate athletics from structural, operational, and socio-cultural standpoints. This study also informs reform efforts related to collegiate athletics including: revised admissions standards, improved developmental education programs, and increased time for degree completion. v Acknowledgments The love of my husband, Michael Brown, and my children, Parker and Mason Brown, has inspired me and sustained me throughout this academic pursuit. My husband’s enduring faith in me and support of my constant projects has given me the strength and space to complete this dissertation. Thank you for being my biggest fan! I hope the realization of this lifelong dream and goal will always help my children to see the value and possibilities offered by education. Education has forever changed my life and I trust education will also positively shape their futures. The stacks of books and papers and the laptop can be put aside, because Mom is finally finished with “the paper.” I can now come outside and play! I express appreciation to my committee members for walking beside me with their support and encouragement during this academic journey. I will always be grateful for my dissertation committee chair, Dr. Alecia Jackson, for showing me new ways of seeing myself and the world around me. She has taught me to write and think in a way I never thought possible. Thank you for seeing something in me that I did not see in myself. I recognize Dr. Chris Osmond for being the first person to introduce me to the words and thinking of Foucault and opening the door for this philosophical endeavor. I am thankful that my path crossed with Dr. Kim Hall when we shared an unforgettable encounter with Spivak during her visit to the Appalachian campus in 2015, which also helped provide an impetus for this work. vi I acknowledge the invaluable daily support and encouragement of my friends and colleagues during the course of this dissertation process. I extend special gratitude to Dr. Leslie McKesson for her intellectual partnership during this educational exploration. Lastly, I am grateful for the lifelong relationships I have built with my fellow members of Hickory Cohort #3. vii Dedication This work is dedicated in memory of my mother, Kathy Parker, who did not live to read these words, yet, made each one possible. viii Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. vi Dedication ........................................................................................................................ viii Chapter 1: A Tale of Many Tales ........................................................................................1 The Status Quo of Collegiate Athletics ...................................................................6 Summary and Rationale for a Poststructural Theoretical Framework .....................8 The Appropriateness of a Post-Qualitative Methodology .......................................9 Analysis and Representation Overview .................................................................10 Significance of this Study ......................................................................................12 Chapter 2: A Critical Tale: The Paradoxes of Academics and Athletics in Higher Education .....................................15 The Evolution of Collegiate Athletics ...................................................................16 The Rise of the NCAA ...............................................................................20 The Influence of Title IX ...........................................................................22 Current Issues in Collegiate Athletics....................................................................24 Models of Collegiate Athletics ..................................................................25 Academic Frauds and Scandals .................................................................27 Structural Aspects of Collegiate Athletics .............................................................28 Eurocentrism and Normalization in Collegiate Athletics ......................................31 ix The Violence of the Athletic Machine ...................................................................32 Critique of Current Literature ................................................................................34 Strengths of the Literature .........................................................................34 Weaknesses in the Literature .....................................................................35 Dissertation Goals ..................................................................................................36 Chapter 3: A Poststructural Tale ........................................................................................38 The Origins of Poststructuralism ...........................................................................39 Brief History of Poststructuralism .............................................................39 The Concept of the Sign ............................................................................40 Primary Ideas of Poststructural Theory .................................................................42 Language ....................................................................................................42 Subjectivity ................................................................................................47 Power .........................................................................................................49 Critiques of Poststructuralism ................................................................................51 Language ....................................................................................................51 Power .........................................................................................................52 Subjectivity ................................................................................................53 Poststructural Concepts Related to Dissertation ....................................................55 Marginality .................................................................................................56 Mattering ....................................................................................................57 Analytical Questions