Sport Type Influence on Physical Activity and Perceived Health among Retired Collegiate Athletes

Abstract

With the recent growth in the number of professional and collegiate sports, there has been an increased concern for athletes after retirement from sport. With a potential loss of identity, new barriers to accessing physical activity, and/or no team to elevate motivation, retired athletes can fall into a negative mental state and altered physical well-being1. Even though Division III athletics house a large population of collegiate athletes, no research has been done pertaining to their transition out of competitive sports; therefore, our research aims to explore the retired individuals’ current physical activity levels, current perception of their health, and the kinds of adjustments they had to make when retiring. A survey was sent out to alumni of the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, a Division III institution. Information collected from these athletes included demographics, experience in athletics, past injury, health related quality of life, transition from sport, and current habitual exercise activity. We aimed to collect data from at least 500 alumni during the spring 2020 semester. We expected to find that athletes participating in sports that are cardiovascular based (running) or individual in nature will report less struggles experienced during the transition into retirement and will self-report greater amount of current physical activity and exercise.