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Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0009-0004-7040-3734
Date Available
4-6-2027
Year of Publication
2026
Document Type
Doctoral Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
College
Education
Department/School/Program
Educational Policy Studies and Eval
Faculty
Shannon Sampson
Faculty
Eric Weber
Abstract
College and university athletics departments have long been highly functional subunits of higher education institutions, often operating with a certain degree of autonomy. The employment demographics of athletics departments at Predominantly White Institutions (PWI), in ways, mirror those of the institutions, typically comprising a low percentage of Black employees. Historical literature has shown that the disproportionate representation of minorities, more specifically Black women, on PWI campuses creates a unique set of challenges concerning individual employee experiences. Because athletics departments are typically physically situated away from the main campus and athletics department staff members have minimal interaction with campus faculty and administrators, this raises the question of whether working in athletics shapes the experiences of Black females differently.
Collegiate athletics for both student-athletes and athletics department staff and employees are male-dominated, more specifically by White males. While Title IX was responsible for creating more opportunities for Black and White females in collegiate athletics by prohibiting discrimination based on sex, Black females still constitute an extreme minority, which can understandably create complexities within their work environments. These complexities can often lead to negative experiences for Black females, many of which mirror those of their Black female faculty (BFF) member counterparts, who experience dynamics reflective of the historical marginalization of Black women in the United States.
This qualitative study utilized Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to gain a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of Black female professionals in college/university athletics departments. Fundamentally, this research is grounded in the theoretical frameworks of Intersectionality and Black Feminist Thought (BFT). This study consisted of six Black female athletics department professionals with backgrounds in both academic roles and recruiting. The use of in-depth interviews facilitated deep, meaningful conversations, allowing the research participants to share their unique perspectives on an under-researched topic.
The research findings revealed five themes: Overlapping Identities That Unfavorably Affect Narratives, Images, Ideas, & Beliefs; Strong Black Woman; Ambivalence of Blackness; and We All Need Somebody to Lean On. The themes' meanings reflect participants' descriptions of how they experience and navigate racism and sexism in their professional roles within collegiate athletics departments at PWIs. Definably, the experiences described by the participants align in large part with the documented experiences of BFF in existing literature. The results of this study will reinforce the challenges articulated by Black female professionals and faculty in higher education and contribute to related research.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2026.14
Archival?
Archival
Recommended Citation
Hill, Markieus M. Sr., "INTERSECTIONAL REALITIES: AN INTERPRETATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF BLACK FEMALE COLLEGE ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT STAFF MEMBERS" (2026). Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation. 123.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/epe_etds/123
