United States Culture Regarding Sports
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Children cheer for favorite university team
Dreams of playing for favorite university
Dreams of intercollegiate sports as stepping
stone to professional sports
Athletic scholarship to earn college degree
Sport participation could lead to a job
Desire to play for a respected/successful
coach
International Culture Regarding Sports
In some countries the opportunity to play sports (in
schools, clubs, or recreationally) is available to all, in
other countries it is not
Many countries do not have university sports
Many children develop athletic skills in regional
or national sport systems which influence their views
of sports
Motivation for relocation to U.S. is access to better
coaching and
facilities (Bale, 1987), and attractiveness of
intercollegiate athletics (Jones, Koo, Kim, Andrew, &
Hardin, 2008)
Understanding National Sport Policies
(for countries with a club-based system)
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Sport systems stem from national sport policies
affecting the purpose for sport participation
Sport policy dictates participants access to sport
opportunities
Sport policy dictates which organizations have
access to limited resources
Sport policy affects national health issues
Sport policy fosters national pride
(Chalip, Johnson, & Stachura, 1996; Frey & Eitzen, 1991)
General Overview of International StudentAthletes
 Recruitment of Int’l S.A. has occurred since the 1950’s
(Ridinger & Pastore, 2001; Stidwill, 1984)
 Number of foreign-born athletes in U.S. universities is on
the rise (Popp, Hums, & Greenwell, 2009)
 Nearly 70% of Int’l S.A. are enrolled at NCAA Division I
schools (NCAA, 2008)
 Int’l S.A. demonstrated higher levels of confidence in ability
to achieve success (Stidwill, 1984)
 Int’l S.A. place higher importance on academic
achievement (Popp, 2006)
 Int’l S.A. place lower emphasis on mental preparation and
competitive aspect of sports than domestic teammates
(Popp, 2006)
 Int’l S.A. felt weight training was emphasized more heavily
in NCAA Div. I competition (Popp, 2006)
Seven Categories/Reasons for Sport Participation
(Duda, 1989)
1. Mastery/cooperation – sports should teach people to try
their best, teamwork, and sportsmanship
2. Physically active lifestyle – sports should teach individuals
to be physically fit
3. Good citizen – sports should help teach things like loyalty,
willingness to sacrifice for the good of the team, and
respecting authority
4. Competitiveness – sports should teach competition and
aggression
5. High-status career – sport participation would help lead to
a good career
6. Enhance self-esteem – sports would improve selfconfidence, make them feel important, make them feel like
a winner, help set high standards
7. Social status/getting ahead – sports would improve one’s
popularity and standing with peers
What Advisors and Administrators Need
to Know
 How to interact with student-athletes from
around the world
 How to help teammates interact with studentathletes from around the world
 How to facilitate success both in academics and
from a social perspective for Int’l S.A.
 Understand the U-Curve of transition into a
new culture and the phases of assimilation
(Adler, 1975; Befus, 1988; Chapdelaine and
Alextich, 2004)
 Contact
 Disintegration
 Reintegration
 Autonomy
 Independence
Helpful Suggestions for Advisors with International
Student-Athletes
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Create a balanced course load, especially during the first
semester, based
on academic abilities and athletic responsibilities
Encourage face-to-face contact with instructors at the
beginning of each semester
Assign tutors to assist with academics
Possible Resources for Assisting International
Student-Athletes
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Tutorial Services and programs
Learning Specialist (if available) – can help with
such things as reading comprehension, teach time
management skills for completing assignments,
address test/text anxiety,
understanding/deciphering directions for
assignments and exams
International Student Services Office
Campus ministries that focus outreach to the
international student body
References
Adler, P. (1975). The transitional experience: An alternative view of culture shock. The Journal
of Humanistic Psychology, 15, 13-23.
Bale, J. ( 1987). Alien student-athletes in American higher education: Locational decision
making and sojourn abroad. Physical Education Review, 10(2), 81-93.
Befus, C. P. (1988). A multilevel treatment approach for culture shock experienced by
sojourners. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 12, 381-400.
Chalip, L., Johnson, A., & Stachura, L. (1996). National sports policies. Westport, CT: Greenwood
Press.
Chapdelaine, R. F., & Alextich, L. R. (2004). Social skills difficulty: Model of culture shock for
international graduate students. Journal of College Student Development, 45, 167-184.
Duda, J. L. (1989). Relationship between task and ego orientation and the perceived purpose of
sport among high school athletes. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 11, 318-335.
Frey, J. H., & Eitzen, D. S. (1991). Sport and society. Annual Review of Sociology, 17, 503-522.
Jones, S. G., Koo, G., Kim, S., Andrew, D., & Hardin, Robin. (2008). Motivations of international
student-athletes to participate in intercollegiate athletics. Contemporary Athletics, 3(4),
295-314.
NCAA. (2008). 1999-00 – 2006-07 NCAA student-athlete race & ethnicity report. Indianapolis,
IN: NCAA.
Popp, N. (2006, September). International student-athlete adjustment to U.S. universities:
Testing the Ridinger and Pastore adjustment model. Paper presented at the 14th
European Association of Sport Management Congress, Nicosia, Cyprus.
Popp, N., Hums, M. A., Greenwell, T. C. (2009). Do international student-athletes view the
purpose of sport differently than united states student-athletes at NCAA division I
universities?. Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics, 2, 93-110.
Ridinger, L., & Pastore, D. (2001). Coaches perceptions of recruiting international studentathletes. Internatioal Council for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport, and
Dance Journal, 37, 19-25.
Stidwell, H. F. (1984). Motives toward track and field competition of foreign and domestic grantin-aid student-athletes in NCAA Division I colleges and universities. Unpublished
doctoral dissertation, Oregon State University, Eugene.