Abstract:
Athletes spend their whole lives training to make it to the college level. However,
many end up quitting before their senior year. This paper aims to understand motivational factors
in college athletics to help curb this problem. Five separate factors were looked at: perceived
ability, achievement, feedback, emotions, scholarships and their relation to motivation in sports.
Research shows that higher perceived ability leads to better self-esteem and performance and
task-oriented achievement gives athletes a better experience and leads to longer participation in
their sport. Feedback, both positive and negative, can have a positive effect on players
motivation and performance if it is not perceived as controlling. An athlete’s perception of
whether a scholarship validates their skill level or controls their level of participation is a factor
that impacts motivation. Finally, all types of emotions can be utilized to improve performance in
athletics. However, if the emotions negatively impact the athlete’s actions, then performance is
hindered. The final chapter of the paper lists major takeaways and some actionable
recommendations that coaches, and athletic departments can implement in their programs.
