Student Spotlight July 2014

Jason Rice

Jason Rice has earned a B.A. in Business Administration from Transylvania University, a M.S. in Sport Administration from the University of Louisville, and is now working towards a PhD in Sport Administration from the University of Louisville.

"It's been a pleasure working with Jason during his doctoral program. He is a creative and insightful researcher, who brings a fresh perspective to different topics and issues within sports." – Dr. Hambrick, Assistant Professor in the Department of Health and Sport Sciences

Interview:

What brought you to the University of Louisville?

Faculty and location.

Specific areas of research (how you chose this research, why it interested you):

Sport participation, motivation, and sport consumer behavior.  Nothing compares to the energy and atmosphere of large-scale sporting events (okay, maybe music festivals).  I find the motivations and behaviors of those individuals attending and participating fascinating.  If you don’t know what I mean, stand at the finish line for the Ironman World Championship in Kona at midnight or visit a host city during the Olympics.

How would you describe your area of study/ specific research to your grandmother?

You know how a lot of people are out of shape and seem to lack motivation to do a lot of things?  Well, I study what makes them different from people who set personal goals and attempt to achieve them.

What made you go into this field of study?

For me, it seemed like a natural progression of life events.

What accomplishment, academic or otherwise, are you most proud of?

Academic: I was happy to recover after a horrid first semester GPA in undergrad.  Other: I survived a 35 hour train ride from Shanghai to Chengdu.

What has been your favorite part of the graduate school experience at UofL?

Being able to exercise my brain on topics which interest me with a good group of people.

What do you feel are the greatest challenges that graduate students face and how have you dealt with these challenges?

Time management and the ability to keep life interesting on a very limited budget have been the biggest challenges.  To overcome, I work flexible, long hours.  Meaning, I work hard when time is available without sacrificing the activities that make life interesting.  Also, to save money I did not have a car my first year and took advantage of the free bike program the University offered.