Program focuses on graduate students in social, behavioral sciences
Now in its 20th year, the NCAA Graduate Student Research Grant Program aims to stimulate research on college sports by providing financial support to graduate students in the social and behavioral sciences.
A review panel comprising nine athletics administrators and faculty from NCAA member schools selected five research projects to fund in the 2026 cycle of the program.
“These awards will fund research on issues that affect the day-to-day experience of our student-athletes: harassment, body image, mental health and equity. These projects have the potential to generate evidence-based tools and practices that will improve the health and experiences of student-athletes,” said Rebecca Spencer, who chairs the panel and is a professor in the department of psychological and brain sciences and the faculty athletics representative at Massachusetts. “The NCAA research awards also have a positive impact on the graduate students conducting the research, allowing them to pursue questions they might not otherwise have had the resources to tackle and the opportunity to present their work at a research conference. This also facilitates the career development of the awardees, supporting their transition to careers where they may continue to contribute to these research topics.”
Awards for these one-time grants are set at a maximum of $7,500. Recipients’ projects are expected to culminate in an article written for publication in a scholarly journal or in a completed master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation.
Grants were awarded to the following graduate students:
- Malaika Bigirindavyi, Illinois, Reimagining Belonging and Community Building for Black Women Student-Athletes at NCAA Division III Predominantly White Institutions.
- Mackenzie Cox, Northeastern, The Female Athlete Embody Project: A Single-Session Intervention To Improve College Athletes’ Relationships With Food, Bodies, and Social Media.
- Ann Caroline Danielsen, Harvard, Measuring Gender Equality in Collegiate Sporting Environments and Its Impact on Performance and Career Outcomes.
- Joycelyn Kennedy, Georgia State, Beyond the Practices: An Analysis of Mental Health Best Practice Implementation at NCAA Division I Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
- Alex Taewoong Yoo, Florida, When the Spread Turns Personal: Sports Betting Markets and the Online Harassment of NCAA Division I Student-Athletes.
The 2027 NCAA Graduate Student Research Grant call for proposals is expected to be released in February, with proposals due in May.
Other members of the external review panel that selected the grant recipients:
- Sheri Boyle, faculty athletics representative, professor of social work, sociology and human services, California (Pennsylvania).
- Richard Loosbrock, faculty athletics representative, professor of history, Adams State.
- Dominique Ross, faculty athletics representative, associate professor of athletic training, Southern Maine.
- Heather Ryan, deputy director of athletics/student-athlete experience and senior woman administrator, Duke.
- Rene Salinas, faculty athletics representative, professor of mathematical sciences, Appalachian State University.
- Jacob Tingle, faculty athletics representative, associate professor of business administration, Trinity (Texas).
- Karen Tompson-Wolfe, faculty athletics representative, associate dean of student success and chief retention officer, Westminster (Missouri).
- Khirey Walker, associate professor of sport management, Elon.
