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In recent years, the academic standards of the collegiate student athlete have become a popular subject within the sociology of sport. In January 1983, the top competitive division of the NCAA voted to make more stringent the academic standards for participants in Division I intercollegiate sports. This was known as Proposal 48, and although the vote was 2 to 1 in favor of it, much criticism was also voiced. This study examines the relationship between the American College Testing Program (ACT) and actual grade point average (GPA) for 753 male and female athletes at the University of Utah during a 10-year period. A secondary purpose was to determine the predictive validity of a predicted GPA formula (PGPA) and high school grade point average (HSGPA) as estimates of actual GPA. Other purposes were to determine the correlation of ACT, PGPA, and HSGPA with regard to gender, race, and sport. Pearson product-moment correlations were utilized to establish relationships between ACT scores, PGPA, and HSGPA with actual GPA. A multiple correlation coefficient was computed and a regression equation was established. In addition, a cross-validation was performed on the existing data. Results indicated that an equation combining ACT and HSGPA is the best predictor for Caucasians, while HSGPA alone is the best predictor for non-Caucasians. Factors other than ACT scores appear to be better predictors of academic success for the student-athlete, thus casting doubt upon the validity of Proposal 48 for the NCAA.

The purpose of this study was to account for the process of socialization into physical activity among employees of large corporations. A conceptual frame-work that integrated a variety of variables within four dimensions was used: (a) an antecedent dimension, (b) a cultural dimension, (c) an attitudinal dimension, and (d) a situational dimension. Information was provided by 371 employees of two large corporations in Japan and 262 employees of two large corporations in Canada. The findings indicated that the degree of exercise involvement was greatly influenced by the situational dimension only, while sport involvement was strongly influenced by the antecedent, cultural, and situational dimensions. Such significant others as the peer group and instructors or coordinators were particularly important socializing agents for involvement in the major activities in each country (i.e., sport in Japan and exercise in Canada). In general, the hypothesized model accounted for an average 38% of the variance in explaining socialization into physical activity in corporate settings, though several cross-national differences were observed.

Previous findings of skewed birth date distributions among sports professionals have been interpreted as evidence for a systematic discrimination against children born shortly before the cut-off date for each age grouping. Alternative explanations for these findings exist, however. This research therefore attempted to replicate the effect in a cross-cultural comparison. A strong relative age effect in professional soccer was found in Germany, Japan, Brazil, and Australia, showing that the effect is independent of different cut-off dates and a variety of climatic and sociocultural factors. A shifted peak in the birth date distribution of Australian soccer professionals paralleling a corresponding change in the cut-off date in Australian soccer in 1989 was also established. This pattern of results provides strong evidence for the cut-off date in youth soccer as the main cause for the relative age effect in professional soccer.

This study examines the social and cross-cultural aspects of masculinity through an ethnographic assessment of a Mexican League baseball team. The institution and meaning of “machismo” are examined along three indices of emotion: expression of vulnerability and hurt, reactions to children, and expression of physicality. The view widely held by North Americans that Latino and Latin American men are one-dimensional machos is critiqued. It is argued that, rather than comprising a single category, machismo exists along a continuum of masculinity from more to less macho. Cross-cultural comparisons of masculinity between Mexican and Anglo baseball players were also observed, with Mexican players shown as more capable of exhibiting “tender” emotions than their North American teammates. Finally, the study of emotions is shown to also have social consequences for nationalism.

The following discussion and narrative are based on the past experiences of a white, middle class physical education teacher working with a Native Canadian student who was diagnosed as having severe emotional and behavior disorders. In presenting the evolving relationship of a teacher and her student as a form of “evocative representation” (Richardson, 2000), we attempt to locate examples of how young bodies are enabled and constrained through physical activity. In so doing, we also identify some of the tensions that accompany cross-cultural work with oppressed children and youth in schools as a means to illustrate how cycles of oppression are sustained through discourse and discursive practices.

The tension and excitement of competitive sport is created by the indeterminacy of the contest that is based on an approximate equity between the contestants. Yet players and teams vary in competence and prestige, and those with less competence are frequently labeled as the underdog. While winning is valued, cross-cutting values often create sentiments for the underdog, that is, the desire for the underdog to overcome the inferior status and upset the favored opponent. Social support for the underdog reflects a utilitarian perspective that helps maintain an emotional interest in a contest; additionally, underdogs receive support from the social value of equity. At a microlevel, the underdog status is often used to increase the level of motivation and performance. Data gathered from university students are used to support the positions taken in the paper.