High Profile Football Players' Reading at a Research University: ACT Scores, Interview Responses, and Personal Preferences.

Abstract

This qualitative case study examines the reading acumen of a cohort of 26 senior football players at a Mid-western public research university. Data related to three indices—ACT scores, interview responses, and personal preferences—were collected as part of a larger IRB-approved study aimed at determining the factors that led to the entire cohort graduating within their NCAA eligibility period. In general, the players’ interview responses and their preferences for recreational reading reveal more about their reading habits than do the ACT data. This feedback, coupled with objective ACT scores, portrays a rich, complex picture of scholarship athletes’ literate lives, a picture that defies easy explanation. Overall, the study suggests that college reading and writing instructors may want to reconsider the overwhelmingly negative stereotypes often held about high-profile athletes.