The Needs of Virginia Tech Student Athletes During the Transfer Process

This project described the needs of student-athletes during the transfer process to Virginia Tech and helped provide recommendations for improvement in the University’s process of accepting student athlete transfers. Through literature review, NCAA student athletes, transfer students, transfer portal and process and psychological needs were all researched and discussed. The theoretical framework utilized in the development of the study was Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Study participants included five student athletes, of which were three females and two males; the sports represented included football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s lacrosse and women’s volleyball. The interviews were semi structured and pertained to personal experiences of the transfer experience to Virginia Tech. Through qualitative interviews, information was gathered and analyzed in unique codes that were grouped into categories revealing six emerging themes for recommendations to Virginia Tech support staff. The results indicated that the Virginia Tech support staff should focus on Establishing Communications, Building Relationships, Facilitating Early Introductions, Increasing Knowledge About Academics, Providing a Smooth Admissions Process and Displaying Authenticity and Transparency. The communication between support staff and transfer student athletes should be transparent, correct and remain constant throughout the transfer process. Relationships should begin early in the transfer process and focus on authenticity. The admissions process should be smooth due to receiving help and knowledge from support staff. This study can be used for other institutions that would like to enhance their process of accepting transfer students.