Using Team Culture and Peer Leadership to Understand and Reduce Hazing in College Athletics

Abstract

Amidst all of the prestige and tradition of college athletics, there exists an ugly underside of hazing. Hazing, generally defined as any forced act that may result in harm as a condition to become a part of a group, has been a part of colleges and universities, including college athletics, for decades. This qualitative study explores the ways in which peer leaders and team captains can impact their athletic team environment, especially within the context of hazing. Participants were swimmers and water polo players at two large west coast universities.

The findings of my study indicated that several factors were influential in understanding an athletic team's relationship to hazing. The dynamic of the team, the role and effectiveness of the team captain and the way in which formal and informal educational efforts are designed all emerged as significant. From these influential factors, several recommendations emerged to address hazing in athletics. Most notably, by harnessing the potential of peer leadership, especially the team captain position, educators can design an approach to significantly reduce hazing from college athletics.

Citation

Zacharda, C. (2024), "Using Team Culture and Peer Leadership to Understand and Reduce Hazing in College Athletics", johnson, j. and Chin, J.W. (Ed.) Cultures of Sport Hazing and Anti-Hazing Initiatives for the 21st Century (Research in the Sociology of Sport, Vol. 23), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 185-205. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1476-285420240000023011