Student and Varsity Athlete Hazing at NCAA Division III Institutions: Predictive Factors and Implications for Prevention

Hazing is a concern throughout postsecondary education and beyond, with students participating in a range of groups experiencing psychological, emotional, and physical harm that undermines the value and benefits of their participation. Scholars have identified college athletes as an at-risk group, with varsity athletes more likely than their peers to experience hazing. NCAA Division III, the largest division of the NCAA, has not been a focus of scholarly inquiry on hazing, despite media and institutional reports documenting hazing experiences for Division III athletes and the outsized impact varsity athlete hazing can have on campus climate, given the high percentage of the student body that may be at risk. This investigation begins to fill this gap by examining factors predictive of hazing for all students and varsity athletes at five Division III institutions. The development of a tested, reliable, and valid scale to assess student and varsity athlete attitudes and perceptions of hazing that is predictive of individuals’ hazing experiences is a contribution to the literature. Logistic regression results illuminate factors predictive of student and varsity athlete hazing at both the individual and campus levels and suggest—using the Spectrum of Hazing as a framework—that students and athletes who experience humiliation hazing are more likely than their peers to experience harassment and violence hazing. Implications of this research underscore opportunities for bolstering research-based hazing prevention at Division III institutions to support varsity athlete well-being and development.