The Winning Game: Analyzing the negative implications of the win-at-all-cost mentality on intercollegiate sports

The glorification of winning in intercollegiate sports over the years has taken an unhealthy turn. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has slowly shifted from a governance system based on enforcing its stance on amateurism to one that covertly endorses its slow shift into commercialism. This switch has directly affected the perception of collegiate sports, putting a significant amount of pressure on the coaches to produce winning seasons; thus creating a demand for athletes with high mental toughness. The objective of this study is to research the emphasis on mental toughness in athletes as the win-at-all-cost mentality continues to prevail within the intercollegiate sporting scene. Drawing from pre-existing literature to enhance our understanding of mental toughness. We will be able to determine what programs focused on supporting collegiate athletes will be beneficial, what should be included and how to properly tailor them to combat the negative implications established by a fixation on mental toughness.

Introduction:
When this research project began my goal was to analyze the negative implications of the win at all cost mentality in sport. I soon realized 2 months into my research that the effect of the win at all cost mentality was one that could not be dissected in a semester.

We will begin from where I started…… This is currently the world of intercollegiate sports

*Roll 16 second clip*

According to the Washingtons Posts review of thousands of pages of financial records from the athletic department of 48 schools the five wealthiest conferences in intercollegiate sports. In 2014 these 48 schools spent a combined amount of $772 million on athletic facilities, an 89-percent increase from $408 million spent in 2004. These lavish facilities are a result of a perpetual Arms Race between Division 1 institutions. The underlying purpose of this “race” is to attract Blue Chip athletes.

Transition slide: What is the Arms Race and what does it have to do with the win-at-all cost mentality?

*insert video explaining the Arms Race = Audio*

Top tier athletes boost attendance and create winning seasons.

* Edited clips addition *
Top Tier Athlete + School = boost in attendance +winning season (Show clip of Duke audience + show team holding NCAA championship)

Research regarding the win-at-all-cost mentality was getting overwhelming with so many unturned stones, questions and gray areas. From looking into the arms race to the D1 to JUCO to D1 cycle and the effects of that on athletes to reviewing surveys conducted by the NCAA from the years 2015 – 2022 gauging the mental health of athletes and the disappointing results that showed the mental health of male athletes slowly positively progressing while that of female athletes either stayed stagnant or saw little to no progression.
According to NCAA survey records, 26% of male athletes in the Spring of 2020 reported mental exhaustion, this number dropped to 21% in the Fall of 2020 and rose by 1% in the Fall of 2021. Among female athletes the number of student athletes that reported mental exhaustion was 39 % in Spring 2020 in Fall 2020 it stayed at 39% and dropped by 1% in Fall of 2021.

While I had lost my sense of direction these figures were ingrained in my memory. Pushing me onto the path of more specific research. I had an idea of what could possibly be causing our athletes these high levels of mental exhaustion and my new focused research was born. I was going to prove that our current idea of mental toughness is flawed and directly leading to the decline in the mental health of athletes as they reach their breaking points.

My research this semester did not go as I had planned it to but, I am excited for the new path it has created for my research in the upcoming Spring 2023 semester as well as my research in the summer. I will be able to do a more in depth analysis of the win at all cost mentality as well as the effects of our perception of mental toughness.