The Factor Structure and Reliability of the Student Athletes' Motivation toward Sports and Academics Questionnaire (SAMSAQ)

Predicting the academic performance of college athletes has been a topic of interest in the literature over the past few decades. Of particular importance to college administrators, the media, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is the rate at which college athletes graduate and make progress toward degree completion, as well as identifying what factors are related to and predict academic performance. Standardized test scores and high school grades are the most commonly used variables to predict academic performance in college and are used by the NCAA to determine initial eligibility to compete in college sports; however, these variables do not accurately predict academic performance for all groups of students (Tracey & Sedlacek, 1985). Bowen and Levin (2003) suggested that academic performance "depends on interests, motivation, time management skills, creativity, and other late-developing qualities that no battery of tests captures well" (p. 117). For the purpose of this study, I sought to examine motivation as a nontraditional measure through the development of a scale to assess academic and athletic motivation.

A number of early studies examined the usefulness of traditional variables (e.g., standardized test scores, high school grades, high school class rank, etc.) in predicting future academic performance. The weight of the evidence suggests that African American male athletes who participate in revenue producing sports enter college underprepared (Purdy, Eitzen, & Hufnagel, 1985; Sellers, 1992) and are less likely to achieve academic success compared to their athlete and nonathlete peers (Ervin, Saunders, Gillis, & Hogrebe, 1985; Purdy et al.). Other studies have focused on the predictability of nontraditional measures of academic success, particularly with regard to nontraditional populations (Tracey & Sedlacek, 1984, 1985). These studies focused on what factors, besides standardized test score, high school grades, and high school rank are related to academic performance. Tracey and Sedlacek (1984) introduced the Noncognitive Questionnaire (NCQ) to measure seven noncognitive variables and their influence on academic performance. In a follow-up study using the NCQ the authors found that noncognitive variables, in addition to SAT score, accounted for a greater portion of the explained variance in academic performance than just SAT score alone. They also found that predictors of academic performance vary in kind and over time for African American and White college students (Tracey & Sedlacek, 1985).

Student athletes are considered a nontraditional population of college students and several studies have examined the predictability of noncognitive variables for this population (Petrie & Stoever, 1997; Sedlacek & Adams-Gaston, 1992; Young & Sowa, 1992). Sedlacek and Adams-Gaston found that SAT score did not predict first semester grades for freshmen athletes at a Division I school. Rather, noncognitive variables, particularly having individual and community support, and a positive self-concept, were most meaningful in predicting academic performance. Moreover, the authors suggested that SAT score should not be used solely to predict future academic performance.

Studies examining the predictability of noncognitive variables for student athletes have also been done by race and gender. Young and Sowa (1992) found that traditional variables alone did not predict academic performance for African American athletes. In fact, only high school grades were related to academic performance for African American athletes. Moreover, the authors found goal setting, understanding racism, and community service to be significant predictors of academic performance for this population. Concerning female athletes, Petrie and Stoever (1997) found that the amount of variance in grades explained by SAT score decreased as the women matriculated through college, and that other factors came into play the longer women remained in school. The authors suggested examining other noncognitive variables that have the potential to predict academic performance.

Only a few studies have examined motivation in relation to academic performance. In 1988, the Center for the Study of Athletics found that athletes who aspired to play at the professional level also had a high desire to earn a college degree. In a study that examined predictors of academic performance for African American and White student athletes, Sellers (1992) included two motivation items in the analysis: (a) number of hours spent studying, and (b) desire to earn a college degree. The results...