Author

Chris Corr

Date of Award

Spring 2021

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management

First Advisor

Richard M. Southall

Abstract

In big-time college football, successful recruiting is the foundation on which winning programs stand. Power-5 football and men’s basketball operate under a dominant institutional logic that values generating revenue above all else. Winning generates revenue and, accordingly, Power-5 stakeholders are often engulfed in their unique athletic roles. The system propagates adherence to a singular focus that emphasizes winning and revenue generation. This dominant institutional logic governing big-time college football has been dubbed jock capitalism (Southall & Nagel, 2009). While prominent theorists have analyzed college sports through an institutional logic perspective, a systematic examination of the Power-5 football recruiting process has not been conducted to this point. The three parts of this dissertation aimed to examine components of the college football recruiting process through the primary framework of Power-5 football’s dominant institutional logic. Findings reveal that athletic role engulfment and racially tasked disparate roles have been institutionalized within Southeastern Conference (SEC) football; proliferated by institutional actors (e.g. recruiters and coaches) and adhered to by recruits and players. In the SEC, the emphasis placed on winning football games directly reflects an institutional jock capitalism logic.

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