Intercollegiate Athletes and Sexual Violence

The 1990s saw the development of research on violence against women perpetrated by intercollegiate student-athletes. Research in this field stagnated during the last 15 years, despite the fact that this time period has evidenced multiple high-profile, even fatal, cases of violence against women at the hands of male student-athletes. These events prompted the Office of Civil Rights to call upon universities to more appropriately investigate and sanction perpetrators of sexual assault. The ensuing actions by universities are expected to bring a renewed focus on male student-athletes, requiring further research to explore student-athletes sexually abusing women. This article outlines the pertinent literature on violence against women by male student-athletes, and suggests future research using new institutionalism as a theoretical framework.