Members of California State University, Northridge’s athletics teams will soon be part of a study that spans three campuses and asks: how successful overall are women and students of color who participate in athletics at CSUN?

That’s the question researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s Study of Race and Equity in Education have tapped researchers at CSUN to help answer. In particular, the study will see how successful African American, Latino and female student-athletes are when it comes to campus engagement, athletics and managing academic success. The answers will help create what CSUN’s Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Brandon E. Martin, Ed.D., hopes is a way to form a more “complete Matador.”

“Our most important pursuit is the academic success of CSUN’s student-athletes,” Martin said. “Gaining in-depth insights into the experiences of student-athletes who represent diverse backgrounds is consistent with the athletics department and the university’s commitment to student success.”

Frank Harris, an associate professor of post-secondary education at San Diego State University and one of the leaders of the project, hailed CSUN’s participation in the study.

“I commend Dr. Martin and his colleagues for their commitment to ensuring that women, Latino and African American student-athletes at CSUN have rewarding and well-rounded undergraduate experiences,” Harris said. “The insights that emerge from this project will not only help to strengthen the student-athlete experience at CSUN but may also result in a set of promising practices that can be incorporated at other athletics programs across the country.”

For more: CSUN Athletics Partners with Penn’s Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education to Examine Student-Athlete Experiences and Success (GoMatadors.com)