California community colleges are facing serious obstacles in relation to students of color achieving academic success. African American men see the community college as a pathway toward economic and social mobility; however, collectively they have disparate outcomes in every conceivable marker of success; persistence, achievement, transfer, completion. The live experiences of academically successful community college student athletes may hold key factors that can assist all African American males in their journey toward academic success. Even though research is limited, it is suggested that student athletes at the community college achieve their academic goals at higher rates than their nonathlete peers. Rebuking the deficit model that often drives research pertaining to students of color, the purpose of this study was to (a) explore the perceptions of successful African American male community college student athletes and their sense of campus culture (i.e., environment/belonging) as it pertains to academic success, and (b) to explore the successful African American male community college student athletes' perspective of support services factors that influenced completion of their academic goal. A total of 11 African American male student athletes were sampled from community colleges in northern and southern California. This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews to explore each participants' perceptions of factors of success. The data was categorized into three overarching themes; (a) perceived factors of success, (b) the role of student support services; and (c) campus culture and environment. This study provides key insight on the key factors that influence successful completion of a certificate, associate's degree, or transfer to a 4 year college for African American male student athletes enrolled in community college. This research study was designed to honor the lived experiences of African American male student athletes who have persisted and were successful at the California community college. Their journey towards academic success is valued as legitimate knowledge.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of African American male former community college student-athletes who succeeded on their educational pathway. The study also sought to identify the supportive services African American male former student-athletes reported as contributing to their academic success. For the purpose of this study, educational pathway success meant the student earned either a certificate, an associate degree, or transferred to a four-year educational institution. Tinto's theory of retention served as the study's theoretical framework. A qualitative methodological approach was used involving a set of 11 interview questions with 16 African American male student-athletes, all of whom graduated from Michigan community colleges. Community colleges were chosen because the literature review showed high percentages of African American male student-athletes enrolled in community colleges are a vastly understudied population. Nine themes emerged from the analysis of the data. The data revealed the academic barriers participants endured while enrolled in community college, and the influence of family, teammates, coaches, faculty, and staff on their academic success. It is believed that, by understanding those factors that most influence an African American male student-athletes success in community college, both administrators and others who have a stake in this population's understand the persistence that leads to the participants' completion. Future research might include interviews with both student-athletes, coaches, and academic advisors. Further, a study that employs a mixed-methods approach may be conducted to provide more additional information pertaining to factors of success and perceptions of belonging within this important and unique population.

This qualitative exploratory case study is focused on two small cohorts of African American male football-student athletes at the College of San Mateo participating in the Writing In The End Zone learning community. The participants who were students in remedial English and divided into academically "On-Track" and "Off-Track" cohort groups, were asked to identify what they believed were the facilitators and/or impediments to their academic success. The constant comparison methodology was utilized to determine similarities and dissimilarities in the perceptions of these two cohort groups. This research was critical because African American male community college student-athletes make up a large portion of the very vulnerable African American male community college population. African American male community college students in general have been consistently identified as having the lowest matriculation and graduation rates in the country. This study discovered that regardless of the cohorts' status academically, all of the participants identified themselves as football players first and students second. They all agreed that football was the reason they were even enrolled in college and both cohorts chose the same impediments and facilitators. They identified the impediments to their academic success as economic distress, poor academic preparation, difficulty balancing academics, football and other personal and family responsibilities, the perception of football as the way out of poverty, and consciousness of the negative stereotypes of African American males. The facilitators were identified as a strong dependency on support of coaches, teammates and teachers and family (mothers in particular), basic economic support, determination to succeed against all odds, and perceptions of football as the way out. This research was designed to tap into a previously unexplored area in community college research that revealed the rarely heard voice and perspectives of the African American male community college football-student athlete. This qualitative exploratory research serves as the foundation for the much needed future research on the African American community college student-athlete in general and African American male football-student athletes in particular.

Background: African American males' experience in higher education is often categorized with negative terminology that does not reflect notions of success. Most research addressing the success of African American males in higher education illuminates factors that impede access to success and is often situated in university settings. Very little research is dedicated to examining the experiences of African American males in community colleges and even less research is published on their perceptions of success Purpose: To examine and understand the concept of success from the perspective of African American males enrolled in community college and identify how institutional and non-institutional factors affect their concept of success. Setting: Interviews were conducted at community colleges in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Subjects: Seven African American males enrolled in at least 6 credits at a community college in were interviewed. Research Design: Qualitative interviews using a semi-structured question matrix; the question matrix was designed to elicit responses related to defining a personal concept of success. Data Collection and Analysis: Face- to- face interviews were conducted on college campuses. Audio recordings were collected, transcribed, and then coded using computer- assisted qualitative data analysis software. Coded excerpts were grouped into prominent themes. Findings: Six primary themes were identified from the interview data. • Almost all participants stated that academic success had nothing to do with academic performance. Academic success was situated in overcoming challenges in an academic environment. • Success in general is more important than academic success. • The concept of success changes based on life experiences. • Feeling isolated, positive and negative interactions with faculty and peers contributed to the concept of success. • Negative imagery, stereotypes, financial status, and family support contribute to how African American males perceive themselves as successful. • Overcoming daily challenges based on race is indicative to how African American males equate success. Conclusions: While persistence and completion are important, academic success as defined by African American males in community college does not pertain to academic performance. Deeply rooted issues of race and racism influence a general definition of success. Concepts of success change overtime as significant life events occur and as more encounters with racism are realized. Overcoming challenges that affect the intersections of race, class and gender are more accurate descriptions of success. African American males in community college are very aware of how fragile their lives are as targets of racial profiling. Avoiding situations where others may not feel safe in their presence and continuously compensating for racial barriers that must be overcome in order to succeed is burden that is carried daily. For African American males, the only concept of success that matters is surviving the daily challenges of being an African American male for example, not losing their life at the hands of police officers.

The purpose of this study was to identify the most helpful to least helpful experiences of successful African American college sophomores that were perceived by them to be related to their academic success. Success is defined by a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.00. These African American students were attending a predominantly white institution; one having an enrollment of at least 88% white students (Jackson, 2002). Most helpful to least helpful experiences were developed into a concourse of university experiences based on interviews of African American college sophomores each with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.00. Statements that were obtained from these participants were used to conduct the second phase of the dissertation research. The participants in this study were 40 African American college sophomores attending a predominantly white institution. These participants sorted items (statements) from the interviews using Q methodology. Then follow-up interviews were used when appropriate to provide some participants with an opportunity to explain their sorting of statements from most helpful to least helpful in order to clear up any vagueness. Three factors emerged; they were named: (a) Making Use of Supportive People (b) Making the Best Use of Time and Funds, and (c) Being Committed to Academic Success. The three factor descriptions were presented along with selected demographics of participants within those factors. Based on the distinguishing and important statements, the rankings of their statements, and the data gleaned from interviews, participants on Factor 1 seemed to embrace perceptions of the university experiences that focused on faculty-student and peer relationships, participants on Factor 2 seemed to embrace perceptions of the university experiences that focused on financial aid and timely graduation, and participants on Factor 3 seemed to be committed to academic success.

African American male student athletes enrolled in community colleges have not been adequately investigated in the empirical literature for factors related to academic experiences, success, and departure. This research study extends the literature on African American male student athletes by examines factors that influence academic success. Specifically, this study explores factors that shape the educational experiences and outcomes of African-American male student athletes from a community college in an institutional environment setting where African American male student athletes constitute a significant population. In this study, I evaluate the following research questions: What are the experiences of African American male student athletes in a large urban public community college? What factors influence educational outcomes, including persistence and completion, for the African American male student athletes in a large urban public community college? The data source for the study is African American male student athletes who attend a California community college in Southern California. The data collection procedure consisted of interviews with African American male student athletes. Data analysis consisted of the following steps: transcription of interviews from the digital audio recordings, code transcript interviews and the identification of patterns in coded data for thematic analysis. Results indicated that for a majority of the African American male students, whom I interviewed, specialized academic and cultural programs, family and mentor support, and a desire to improve the lives of their family members were the principal reasons for persisting. By contrast, results that emerged from interviews with staff members showed a concern about factors that affect African American male student retention, the lack of social integration skills, and existing cultural barriers, all of which negatively affected the persistence of African American athletes at the community college.

A critical look at the tension between the larger role of the university and the commercialization of college sports Unwinding Madness is the most comprehensive examination to date of how the NCAA has lost its way in the governance of intercollegiate athletics—and why it is incapable of achieving reform and must be replaced. The NCAA has placed commercial success above its responsibilities to protect the academic primacy, health and well-being of college athletes and fallen into an educational, ethical, and economic crisis. As long as intercollegiate athletics reside in the higher education environment, these programs must be academically compatible with their larger institutions, subordinate to their educational mission, and defensible from a not-for-profit organizational standpoint. The issue has never been a matter of whether intercollegiate athletics belongs in higher education as an extracurricular offering. Rather, the perennial challenge has been how these programs have been governed and conducted. The authors propose detailed solutions, starting with the creation of a new national governance organization to replace the NCAA. At the college level, these proposals will not diminish the revenue production capacity of sports programs but will restore academic integrity to the enterprise, provide fairer treatment of college athletes with better health protections, and restore the rights and freedoms of athletes, which have been taken away by a professionalized athletics mentality that controls the cost of its athlete labor force and overpays coaches and athletic directors. Unwinding Madness recognizes that there is no easy fix to the problems now facing college athletics. But the book does offer common sense, doable solutions that respect the rights of athletes, protects their health and well-being while delivering on the promise of a bona fide educational degree program.