COVID-19, Black Lives Matter, and the Unique Characteristics of Gen Z

Global events that change the culture of student-athletes don’t happen very often. But COVID-19, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the growing distinctions between Gen Z and Millennials have made this year unlike any other. And we still have more than four months and a Presidential election to go!

To better understand the impact on student-athletes of these recent events, this summer I gathered and analyzed data from 45,000 current NCAA Division I, II, and III student-athletes. Representation aligned with the 2019 NCAA Demographic Database for all divisions: 55% male and 45% female, 64% white, 16% black, and 6% Hispanic/Latino. In addition, I studied nearly 4,000 high school prospects (those planning to play a college sport and/or already being recruited) and whose demographic profile mirrored the current college student-athletes in gender and ethnicity. 



COVID-19’s IMPACT ON STUDENT-ATHLETES

The loss of the unique connection with their teammates and the support they rely upon from Coaches, has resulted in unique challenges for student-athletes. What student-athletes say have been most difficult aspects of COVID-19:

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COVID-19: Mental Health

The emotional consequences of COVID-19 have gone far beyond suspended or delayed seasons. When asked to describe how they feel about the impact on their season/academic year, student-athletes most commonly use the words, “sad,” “disappointed,” and “stressed.” It’s important to remember that the personality characteristics of student-athletes tend to be different than the general student body. For example, as a cohort, they are more extraverted and are more focused on meeting outside expectations. Those kinds of characteristics play into how the pandemic is impacting their mental health.

  • Despite student-athletes’ ability to tolerate stress and have less negative emotions than the general student population (a personality characteristic called “neuroticism”), about 65% of student-athletes say that COVID-19 has negatively impacted their mental health; with graduation looming and an economy in shambles, Juniors and Seniors reported slightly more stress than younger student-athletes 

  • Of the student-athletes that reported a negative effect on their mental health, 82% reported general “anxiety.” About 80% of student-athletes indicated “disappointment” and nearly 50% felt the “stress of financial setback or potential for one”

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COVID-19: Teammates and Structure 

Student-athletes are missing all aspects of their team, from the social connection it provides to the structure it demands. 86% said they have had trouble maintaining a routine away from their team. They’d grown accustomed to their academic and team related schedule and have found that a lack of structure is difficult. 

  • 80% of student-athletes are finding it difficult to maintain a close connection with teammates and nearly half of them believe their friendships with teammates will suffer as long as their classes are fully/partially virtual

  • Student-athletes say that the most important thing their coaches can do - more crucial than planning for COVID-19 - is spending more time with them by phone or video, whether it’s one-on-one or in group settings

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COVID-19: Financial Impact 

90% of student-athletes say their life has changed as a result of the COVID-19 and 50% say their life has been altered in a major way. For many student-athletes, the most devastating impact has been financial. 

  • About 60% of student-athletes said they and their families’ finances have been negatively affected by COVID-19

  • Of the high school prospects studied, about 40% believe their parents have tapped into their college savings to help cover ordinary household expenses due to the pandemic

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COVID-19: What College Coaches Should Know About High School Prospects

The impact of the pandemic on the mindset of high school prospects is substantial. Some of the most important points - gathered from data of 4,000 high school prospects - are as follows: 

  • 65% of committed high school prospects say they are not receiving enough information - from the coach or the institution - about how COVID-19 may affect their status

  • About 20% of committed high school prospects say they may change their mind about the college they will attend as a result of COVID-19; for those prospects, they are leaning to schools closer to home, in-state, public, and in rural locations

  • 75% of high school prospects say that COVID-19 is now one of their primary considerations in their college decision process; this includes a wide range of issues ranging from the institution’s COVID-19 policies to how (or if) the coach has communicated a team COVID-19 plan

  • 60% of prospects say Covid-19 has impacted their ability to pay for college

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BLACK LIVE MATTER AND RACIAL JUSTICE: WHAT COACHES AND ATHLETIC DIRECTORS SHOULD UNDERSTAND ABOUT STUDENT-ATHLETES


84% of student-athletes support Black Lives Matter. By comparison, the movement is supported by about 68% of the general college student population. A recent study by Civiqs indicated the movement is supported by 53% of Americans overall.

The Experience of Today’s Black Student-Athletes

According to the latest NCAA data, 85% of Head Coaches and Athletic Directors are White, 10% are Black, and 2% are Hispanic/Latino. The race/ethnic makeup of student-athletes is as follows: 64% White, 16% Black, and 6% Hispanic/Latino. The data I gathered below is an important reminder of the experience of today’s Black student-athletes particularly when they are off-campus.

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The Change Student-Athletes Want to See

For student-athletes, the racial justice movement is not merely a public outcry against police brutality, but about changing cultural and campus norms. Despite student-athletes’ above average levels of “agreeableness” (a personality characteristic that desires social harmony), they don’t want to see their campuses “get back to normal.” They are embracing this moment and hoping for change. Ranked in order, the changes they’d like to see on their own campuses are:

  • Diversifying their campuses with more students, administrators, professors, and Coaches of color

  • Mandatory diversity training for all incoming students

  • Changing campus law enforcement, including cutting ties with local police or investing in trained mediation personnel

What Student-Athletes Think Will Bring About Change

  • Over half of student-athletes say protests are very effective in achieving equality

  • 86% say getting people of color into positions of power would be effective

  • 74% of student-athletes say they have had conversations with family or friends about race in the last few months


GEN Z: TODAY’S STUDENT-ATHLETES ARE NOT MILLENNIALS


Generations Defined 

Thought imperfect, choosing birth years and naming generations helps us to recognize how global events and experiences change people’s beliefs and impact their behavior. As a coach or AD, you may be lumping all young people together, maybe even calling them all “Millennials.” To be clear, your recent grads and young alumni are in fact “Millennials,” defined as today’s 24-39 year olds. Your current prospects and student-athletes are part of “Gen Z;” a generation now 8-23 years old. 

The events and experiences that shaped Millennials include the adoption of the internet, the Columbine mass shooting, and of course the 9/11 attacks. The events and experiences that have shaped Gen Z include the development of the smartphone, streaming media, and marriage equality. 

Why should a generational distinction be important to coaches and Athletic Directors? Because the differences in attitudes, preferences, and beliefs of Millennials and Gen Z result in dissimilar behavior. And the instinct that some coaches have - that today’s student-athletes are different than those they coached just 5 years ago - is supported by the data.

@mayalepa use TikTok to explain Gen Z vs. Millennials in under 10 seconds



A Different Kind of Social Media Use

  • 97% of Gen Z student-athletes say they are on at least one social media platform and in order of preference, they are Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok

  • While Millennial and Gen Z student-athletes may both love Instagram, Gen Z uses it differently; many of today’s student-athletes have “finsta” accounts (fake + Instagram) in addition to their real ("rinsta") account; Rinsta is their public peronsa, while finsta is an unfiltered account meant for a close circle of friends

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Technology Is Normal, If Not Always Healthy

  • While former Millennial student-athletes are likely to use words to describe technology as “innovative,” Gen Z student-athletes are most likely to use language that describes technology as “normal” (mobile phones, streaming, and social media were present since their birth)

  • 77% of Gen Z student-athletes say they think social media has negatively affected some aspect of their well being

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Even the Parents Are Changing

I’m not going to try to explain “parents of today’s student-athletes” in a handful of bullets 😅 . I promise I will dedicate much more time on that in the near future, but in the context of the differences between your former and current student-athletes, there are a few insights worth mentioning. 

The first Millennials were born in the early ‘80’s. That was the era of the “war on drugs,” the AIDS epidemic, the assassination attempt of President Reagan, and the Challenger disaster. And all of this was captured in detail on the new 24-hour Cable News Network (CNN.) For the parents of Millennials, the world seemed a treacherous place and stepping in to protect their kids was their job #1. 

The parents of Gen Z have lived through their share of global tragedies too.  But the mobile phone has made “protecting” their kids from news and information impossible. So the approach of parents of Gen Z has been to be highly transparent and communicative (behaviors we used to associate with friends and not necessarily with parents/children.) 

Again, this does not paint a whole picture, but it does begin to illustrate that we are seeing a change in behavior. Below are the percentage of student-athletes that agree with the following statements:

  • My parents emphasize(d) that I needed to learn to be independent

    • 44% of Millennials student-athletes

    • 58% Gen Z student-athletes

  • My parents supervise(d) everything I did when I was growing up

    • 66% of Millennials student-athletes

    • 54% Gen Z student-athletes

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PLEASE JOIN ME FOR A SPECIAL LIVE WEBINAR ENTITLED “STUDENT-ATHLETE INSIGHTS: BACK TO SCHOOL 2020.”

Bill Carter