From Student-Athlete to Researcher: Sociology Student Explores Life in the NIL Era
When Isaac Shabay’s college football career took an unexpected turn, the TCU sociology major found a new way to explore the student-athlete experience: through research.
Working with Amina Zarrugh, associate professor of sociology, through the Ronald E. McNair Summer Research Experience, Shabay completed his first independent undergraduate research project examining identity, pressure and mental health among college football players in the name, image and likeness (NIL) era.
Drawing from his own experiences and those of other athletes, Shabay is using sociology to ask timely questions about how a changing college athletics landscape affects the people competing within it.