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Abstract
The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the educational and co-curricularexperiences of former student-athletes who competed in the sport of mensbasketball or football at a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division Iinstitution. Participants in this study shared their personal experiences through semi-structured interviews. Six themes emerged from the thematic analysis: I used sport to build relationships, accomplish goals, and leverage a better future; my educational and co-curricular experiences were limited because of the time constraints of the sport; we had some of the best academic resources available for us to be successful in the classroom; certain classes and majors were pushed in our direction to keep us eligible; we had very accommodating and supportive faculty; and co-curricular experiences need to be mandated for student-athletes in basketball and football. Implications for practice include reducing the amount of time permitted for college student-athletes to engage in the demands of their sport, requiring all student-athletes to meet regularly with their major-specific academic advisor, and requiring all student-athletes to complete at least one non-sport-related co-curricular engagement activity/experience while enrolled at their respective institution. Further research into the academic and co-curricular experiences of student-athletes should focus on female-only intercollegiate athletic teams, non-revenue-generating sports participants, and the experiences of student-athletes at differing types of colleges and universities (i.e., private, metropolitan, small, etc.)