Career Maturity of Division III Athletes

NCAA student-athletes often become engulfed in their athletic role. While athletic role engulfment positively correlates to salient athletic identity, Division III student-athletes tend to identify with a diverse role set. Extant research has found that the prevalence of salient athletic identity among Division I student- athletes poses as a structural limitation to educational attainment and professional development. Given the unique philosophy of Division III athletics, such athletic identity formation is mitigated. Accordingly, the present study sought to examine demographic and psychographic factors of Division III student-athletes in relation to career maturity. Division III targeted populations that this information can greatly assist are university administration and intercollegiate athletic staff, including athletic directors and student-athlete support areas. Analysis of responses from a representative sample of more than 300 student-athletes (n = 301) indicates that psychometric factors are better indicators of career maturity than demographic factors. Given the emphasis on holistic athletic development in Division III and the corresponding mitigation of salient athletic identity formation, such findings are indicative of the importance of holistic athlete development on the career maturity of student-athletes.