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Abstract
Currently, there is a dearth of knowledge of Black mothers roles in key sport and education decisions. While popular media outlets have been the primary platform in which society has been informed about the role of Black mothers throughout the athletic recruitment process; the seemingly absent perspective of Black mothers is further evidence that recruiting stories are a distorted and incomplete representation of Black mothers experiences. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the personal narratives of Black mothers who have navigated the college football recruitment process with their sons. Using Black Feminist Thought as the guiding framework this study expands upon current literature on the intercollegiate athletic recruitment process by giving attention to the narratives of Black mothers. Six Black mothers shared stories of their experiences throughout their sons football recruitment process. Each of their sons was recruited to and accepted a scholarship to a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I football program in the United States. Through an exploration of common themes across the data the following three themes emerged: This is My Child: Mothering Responsibilities, This was all about relationships: Establishing and Developing Relationships, and This was overwhelming: The Business of Recruiting. Overall, three conclusions were drawn from this study: 1) Black mothers are highly involved, active participants in their sons college football recruitment process, with a felt obligation to support their sons; 2) Black mothers develop and maintain relationships that are instrumental in helping theme obtain knowledge to successfully navigate the recruitment process; and 3) Black mothers view the college football recruitment process as a business, which seeks to recruit the kid who will best serve the needs of the football team as quickly as possible.