Ferrara’s Research Proposal Earns NCAA Funding
9/30/2022 12:59:00 PM | Soccer
Former Houston coach, current Doctoral student among four nationally to receive backing
HOUSTON – Former University of Houston Soccer coach and current Doctoral student Morgan Ferrara has been selected by the NCAA Research Committee as one of four individuals whose research proposals will be funded by the NCAA Graduate Student Research Grant Program.
The announcement, made by the NCAA on Monday, comes as the program enters its 16th year of stimulating research on college sports by providing financial support for graduate students in social and behavioral sciences fields.
Awards for the one-time grants are set at a maximum of $7,500. Ferrara, who is pursuing her PhD in Kinesiology from the University of Houston with an expected graduation date of May 2025, built her proposal around the development and validation of student-athlete resource inventory.
"I was very involved with SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee) when I was in college so meeting other athletes from other schools when we graduated, we were like 'Wow I don't know what to do with myself," Ferrara said. "'It's difficult to make friends when you don't have teammates. I'm trying to buy a car, but I have no credit score.' All these things that you would've liked to learn in college, you didn't learn. So originally, that's what started my interest in it."
Ferrara's inspiration came from her variety of experiences as a student-athlete, professional player and coach while her ultimate goal is to support as many student-athletes as possible by easing their transition to adulthood and through the early stages of their post-athletics lives.
"We took a model that has been used in older adults when they retire and tested it on student-athletes to see if it would fit for that population," Ferrara said. "It turns out it didn't which was good and bad. It was good because now it leaves this gap where there's no current survey, model or inventory that measures student-athlete perceptions of the resources provided by the university. The reason that's important is because we want our scale to be used in athletic departments across the country so student-athletes arrive as a freshman and can take this inventory and the university can see where they're starting. By senior year, you hope those resources have improved and that they've made social connections, they're more financial literate, they have access to mental health care and so on."
She then plans to create a course student-athletes will have to take before they graduate, addressing and preparing them for life-after sports transitions. The course would cover items such as how to purchase a house or car, how to build friendships, how to deal with identity loss as well as how to seek medical care after spending 4+ years with a sports medicine professional at your side.
Ferrara, who learned about the grant and received support and guidance from Clinical Associate Professional David Walsh, Ph.D., submitted her proposal last May and learned of the selection on Sept. 21.
"The NCAA backing and funding your research immediately gives you credibility, but it also enables you to do research even to a higher level because you have a little bit of money to help the process," Ferrara said. "We were so excited as a research team to get the money but, more importantly, just the fact that the NCAA believes in our studies so much and its ability to help student-athletes, that was the biggest excitement for me."
The Tampa, Fla., native who helped Houston's Soccer program to a record-setting 2021 season and recently became a mother says her goal is to be a professor and use her skillsets to help as many young people as possible. She credits Dr. Walsh, Dr. Craig Johnston, former Coach Diego Bocanegra and the University of Houston for helping put her on the path to accomplishing those goals.
"I love the University of Houston," Ferrara said. "The opportunities that they have presented me with – to get a PhD paid for and getting to coach last year … I love UH. I'll always be the biggest supporter of Athletics and the Soccer team. They've provided me with so many opportunities to reach my goal, and it's going to be the coolest thing getting my PhD from the University of Houston."
The announcement, made by the NCAA on Monday, comes as the program enters its 16th year of stimulating research on college sports by providing financial support for graduate students in social and behavioral sciences fields.
Awards for the one-time grants are set at a maximum of $7,500. Ferrara, who is pursuing her PhD in Kinesiology from the University of Houston with an expected graduation date of May 2025, built her proposal around the development and validation of student-athlete resource inventory.
"I was very involved with SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee) when I was in college so meeting other athletes from other schools when we graduated, we were like 'Wow I don't know what to do with myself," Ferrara said. "'It's difficult to make friends when you don't have teammates. I'm trying to buy a car, but I have no credit score.' All these things that you would've liked to learn in college, you didn't learn. So originally, that's what started my interest in it."
Ferrara's inspiration came from her variety of experiences as a student-athlete, professional player and coach while her ultimate goal is to support as many student-athletes as possible by easing their transition to adulthood and through the early stages of their post-athletics lives.
"We took a model that has been used in older adults when they retire and tested it on student-athletes to see if it would fit for that population," Ferrara said. "It turns out it didn't which was good and bad. It was good because now it leaves this gap where there's no current survey, model or inventory that measures student-athlete perceptions of the resources provided by the university. The reason that's important is because we want our scale to be used in athletic departments across the country so student-athletes arrive as a freshman and can take this inventory and the university can see where they're starting. By senior year, you hope those resources have improved and that they've made social connections, they're more financial literate, they have access to mental health care and so on."
She then plans to create a course student-athletes will have to take before they graduate, addressing and preparing them for life-after sports transitions. The course would cover items such as how to purchase a house or car, how to build friendships, how to deal with identity loss as well as how to seek medical care after spending 4+ years with a sports medicine professional at your side.
Ferrara, who learned about the grant and received support and guidance from Clinical Associate Professional David Walsh, Ph.D., submitted her proposal last May and learned of the selection on Sept. 21.
"The NCAA backing and funding your research immediately gives you credibility, but it also enables you to do research even to a higher level because you have a little bit of money to help the process," Ferrara said. "We were so excited as a research team to get the money but, more importantly, just the fact that the NCAA believes in our studies so much and its ability to help student-athletes, that was the biggest excitement for me."
The Tampa, Fla., native who helped Houston's Soccer program to a record-setting 2021 season and recently became a mother says her goal is to be a professor and use her skillsets to help as many young people as possible. She credits Dr. Walsh, Dr. Craig Johnston, former Coach Diego Bocanegra and the University of Houston for helping put her on the path to accomplishing those goals.
"I love the University of Houston," Ferrara said. "The opportunities that they have presented me with – to get a PhD paid for and getting to coach last year … I love UH. I'll always be the biggest supporter of Athletics and the Soccer team. They've provided me with so many opportunities to reach my goal, and it's going to be the coolest thing getting my PhD from the University of Houston."
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