Date

8-20-2026

Department

Graduate School of Business

Degree

Master of Science in Sport Management (MS)

Chair

Judy Sandlin

Keywords

lmhatfield@liberty.edu

Disciplines

Sports Management

Abstract

This thesis sought to explore the feasibility of using graduated collegiate athletes to supplement teaching populations to mitigate the teaching shortage in America. The researcher interviewed five professionals in education and five current college athletes to assist in answering two research questions. What are the perceptions of school administrators regarding the employment of former collegiate athletes as public-school teachers, in comparison to educators with formal academic training in education, and what are the attitudes of current and former collegiate athletes on the prospects of pursuing careers in public school teaching relative to employment opportunities aligned with their academic major were the two questions guiding this research. Additional questions pertaining to skills transfer from athletics to classroom, as well as traits of successful teachers were also asked. A qualitative thematic analysis was applied to the answers to the questions using Dawis’s Theory of Work Adjustment. Education professionals showed great interest in the skills that collegiate athletes develop through their career as athletes. However, this study’s limited scope and findings should encourage further research as much about this pursuit is still left to be discovered both qualitatively and quantitatively.

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