Student-Athletes at an Historically Black University (HBU): Examining the relationship between student-engagement on campus and career situation awareness

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the relationship between student-athletes’ engagement experiences on campus and their career situation awareness at a historically Black university (HBU) with NCAA Division I affiliation in the Southeastern United States. Data was obtained from a sample (n = 118) of female (n = 45) and male (n = 73) student-athletes using measures from the revised versions of the Student-Athlete Experiences Inventory (SAEI) and the Student-Athlete Career Situation Inventory (SACSI). One-way ANOVA, Pearson product-moment correlation tests, and t-tests were employed to analyze gender and race effects. Following data analysis, three key findings were identified. First, HBCUs are likely to provide socially enriching environments for minority student-athletes of both genders that promote career confidence, particularly for Black female student-athletes. Second, in an HBCU context, White student-athletes may not be as academically involved in university life when compared to their minority counterparts. Third, the use of the library for academic purposes and engagement in socially enriching experiences may have diminishing effects on female student-athletes’ sport identities. Implications and future research recommendations are discussed. To better validate and improve the generalizability, future research should conduct similar studies that employ data from multiple HBCUs.