SE: K-State One of Five Schools to Receive NCAA Innovations in Research and Practice Grant, to Focus on Enhancing Financial Literacy Among Student-Athletes

By Corbin McGuire

Dr. Lisa Rubin, assistant professor for K-State's College of Education, never has issues getting support from K-State Athletics. She's had many Wildcat head coaches and senior staff members speak in her classes, while access for research has always been made available.

One day in February, however, she had trouble getting in contact with K-State Director of Student-Athlete Development Arin Dunn to share some "good news," partly made possible by KSA's support.

The good news? K-State, in partnership with the University of Texas, received $10,000 from the NCAA Innovations in Research and Practice Grant. Out of 84 proposals, only five research teams were given the grant this year.

Dr. Rubin, who led K-State's grant proposal process on the topic of enhancing financial literacy among student-athletes, found out a few days before the NCAA announced it and immediately attempted to inform Dunn.

"I tried reaching Arin on both cell phones, email… the guy was unreachable. I was so frustrated," she said, laughing at the moment. "I left a voice mail on his office phone. I finally got him to call me back so I could tell him the good news."

"I know she was going crazy because she couldn't get ahold of me," Dunn added, also laughing at the story before recalling his immense excitement. "When Dr. Rubin shared the news, I was kind of in shock for a minute."

Once the shock wore off, it was time to get to work.

While K-State's grant will ultimately go toward enhancing financial literacy among student-athletes, the plan is three-fold.

First, research will be done to understand what student-athletes know about personal finances and the financial decisions that they make. Also, research will be conducted to figure out the best method to present financial education to student-athletes, be it an app, videos, speakers, online courses or something else entirely. Finally, the research will be used to create a pilot program applicable at all NCAA levels.

"This one is obviously important to the NCAA, so we wanted to make sure it was a fresh topic that will help students," Dr. Rubin said. "I think it'll be adding a piece to the puzzle."

Two other key players are also involved with this research.

One is Daron Roberts, a former NFL and college football coach who now serves as the founding director of the Center for Sports Leadership and Innovation at the University of Texas. The best-selling author and motivational speaker actually approached Dr. Rubin with the idea of researching financial literacy among student-athletes last July.

Dr. Rubin then spoke with Dr. Sonya Britt-Lutter, an associate professor of personal financial planning at K-State. Once Dr. Britt-Lutter jumped on board, Dr. Rubin approached Dunn with the idea, where, to no surprise, it was met with an enthusiastic green light.

"In the end, what I think is cool is, asking for letters of support, no big deal. Collaborating across colleges, fine," Dr. Rubin said, adding that K-State Director of Athletics Gene Taylor wrote a letter of support for the grant proposal, "no questions asked."

The research, some of which has already begun, will include focus groups, surveys, pre- and post-testing on financial education, monthly spending logs and senior exit interviews.

The partnership with Texas not only increases the research pool, it also serves as a comparison for K-State to see where similarities and differences lie in a number of areas.

"I think it's just a huge honor that the NCAA has given us this opportunity because 84 grant applicants were submitted and we were one of five teams to get selected," Dr. Rubin said. "So we want to do a good job with high quality work and actually make something useful that will help all of the athletes in the NCAA at every division. That's the plan this year."

The pilot program will be implemented in the fall at both K-State and Texas. In January, the research team will present its findings at the NCAA Convention. Hopefully, in the years to come, student-athletes across the country will be better equipped with financial knowledge.

"At that age we don't always practice responsible habits, especially when it comes to money, so we're trying to tackle that early. And if we can give them the knowledge and understanding and tools now, they'll be able to use it for the rest of their lives and create good habits going forward. I think that's why it's such an important topic," Dunn said. "It's one of those things that gives you not only pride but it gives you so much energy and passion because it gives you that boost you need to keep working on different ideas and different ways that we can better support our student-athletes, especially on a topic like this that's so important.

"It's a huge sense of pride but, that being said, it's the tip of the iceberg. We're going to continue to be aggressive with pursuing grant opportunities to provide opportunities for our student-athletes."

Kansas State University Athletics

SE: K-State One of Five Schools to Receive NCAA Innovations in Research and Practice Grant, to Focus on Enhancing Financial Literacy Among Student-Athletes

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