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In Australia, student-athletes accounted for approximately 60% of the medals won in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. Despite this success, little research has looked into how student-athlete pathway programs are communicated to support student-athletes. Drawing from the contemporary marketing lens of transformative-services research (TSR), this study explored how universities can communicate student-athlete pathway programs as a transformative service with a focus on student-athlete well-being. To achieve the aim, a content analysis of universities’ sport Web pages (N = 38) was conducted. Triangulation of findings with extant literature from the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia indicated considerable scope for advancing communication of student-athlete pathway programs focused on well-being underpinned by TSR. Specifically, the theoretical TSR lens provides a foundation for focusing communication on attributes and services associated with well-being established as important in supporting student-athlete programs in higher education, providing novel practical insight to establish a pathway in sport systems of Australia and other countries.

Wheelchair basketball (WCBB) often includes reverse integration (RI), defined as the inclusion of athletes without impairment in a sport traditionally aimed at athletes with an impairment. This study explored how RI in WCBB was understood by internal stakeholders. Data were gathered from athletes, coaches, and administrators at an Australian club competition and at a Canadian elite training center. Analysis of semistructured interviews with 29 participants led to the identification of eight themes. Collectively, the findings showed that RI was embedded within WCBB, RI was considered to be a way to advance the growth and improve the quality of WCBB as well as a way to increase awareness of WCBB and disability. There were some concerns that RI may not be equitable, as WCBB is a “disability sport.” Stakeholders’ perspectives on RI could provide useful information for sport policymakers, managers, administrators, sports organizations, and athletes interested in further developing WCBB.

Talent transfer has enabled elite athletes to be successful in another sport, with great potential in para-sport. Previous research suggests that similarities between donor and recipient sports may facilitate talent transfer; however, this remains unclear in para-sport. This study investigated patterns between donor and recipient sports’ characteristics, identifying the impact on talent transfer in para-sport. An Australian case study utilizing secondary data of 38 Australian Paralympians who competed at the Paralympic Games from 2000 through 2020 was analyzed. Results demonstrated that similarities between sports were not significantly associated with successful talent transfers between Paralympic sports. Understanding patterns associated with successful Paralympic talent transfers offers a foundation of knowledge for designing and developing future talent-transfer pathways and research. Based on this study, it is recommended that sport administrators and practitioners explore greater opportunity for talent transfer in para-sport, rather than limiting talent-transfer opportunities based on athletes’ donor sports.