Safety of college football student-athletes: Playing guarantee games against superior opponents

ABSTRACT

Powerhouse college football teams have historically scheduled lesser opponents to start a new season. Universities competing at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) make up the highest level, while universities competing at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) are the level below. The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine if student-athletes from FCS schools had an increased potential for injury when competing against teams from the FBS level. A qualitative methodology was used while collecting data from eight FCS athletic trainers consistently involved in guarantee games. Because athletic trainers work to prevent injuries, the opportunity to hear rich, qualitative narratives was the foundation for this study. The findings indicated that a majority of FCS athletic trainers (N = 7) said their student-athletes suffered from increased soreness and in-game injuries following games against FBS schools.

KEYWORDS:

• Bowl games
• college athletics
• student-athletes
• football
• injuries
• athletic trainers
• NCAA
• FBS

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors

Dr. Daniel E. Ballou is an Assistant Professor at Central Michigan University. He has spent his entire career in the athletics industry working in collegiate athletics and destination sport marketing prior to his transition to full-time academe.

Dr. Heidi E. Nordstrom is an adjunct professor at Gonzaga University in the Masters of Sport and Athletic Administration online program. She is also currently an athletic’s academic advisor at the University of Mexico (UNM). Prior to her position at UNM, she was an assistant professor in the School of Education Sport Management Program for six years.