Kayla Martinez - Research

Research Interests

My research agenda focuses on college athlete support services and holistic development. Through ethical, institutional, and critical lenses, I examine how professionals support college athletes and how athletes experience these services to inform and assess the effectiveness of athlete support. My work seeks to understand how professional practices, institutional structures, and the reasoning underlying support shape college athletes’ development, sense of belonging, and overall experience within intercollegiate athletics and higher education.

Notable Publications

• Fennell, M., Martinez, K., Griffin, W., and Harrison, C. K. (2025) Black scholar baller: Utilizing visual elicitation to examine White students’ perspective on the legitimacy of the Black college athlete. Whiteness and Education, 1-12.
• Fennell, M., Martinez, K., Young, C., Griffin, W., and Kopka, N. (2025). Do they belong? Inquiries into the perception of the Black male college athlete identity in higher education. Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics, 18(1), 255-277.

Student Research

• Martinez, K. and Copeland, D. (2025, February 13th). Learning to Market Student Athlete Development: Analysis of the Black Student Athlete Summit’s Social Media Presence. Applied Sport Management Association. Cincinnati, Ohio, United States.
• Freeman, K., Herrold, A., Kreinbrink, J., Canter, E., & Martinez, K. (2024, March 23rd ). Case Study Competition: The new model for NCAA distribution of financial resources. College Sport Research Institute, Columbia, South Carolina.
• Copeland, D., White, L., Adams, C., & Martinez, K. (2024, March 23rd ). Case Study Competition: The new governance model for NCAA. College Sport Research Institute, Columbia, South Carolina.