University sport and scholarship funding for student-athletes: possibilities and limitations to sports performance

Esporte universitário e financiamento de bolsas à estudantes-atletas: possibilidades e limitações ao rendimento esportivo

Deportes universitarios y financiación de becas para estudiantes-deportistas: posibilidades y limitaciones al rendimiento deportivo

ABSTRACT

The study investigated the policy of funding sports scholarships to student-athletes linked to the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. This is exploratory and documentary research, with an analysis of the opening and results edicts of the Athlete Scholarship Program (2010-2021). The institution has the Athlete Scholarship Program. Scholarships were paid R$400.00, with an annual duration of 9 and 7 months, with emphasis on individual sports, especially wrestling, athletics, and swimming. It is concluded that the university presents a policy that favors the sport of institutional representation, however, not the high performance, given the low value of the scholarship and the non-payment of it in the first quarter of all the years analyzed.

Keywords:
Athlete scholarship; Public policies; University sports; Federal universities

RESUMO

O estudo investigou a política de financiamento de bolsas esportivas à estudantes-atletas vinculados à Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. Trata-se de pesquisa exploratória e documental, com análise de editais de abertura e de resultados do Programa Bolsa Atleta (2010-2021). A instituição conta com o Programa Bolsa Atleta. Foram pagas bolsas de R$400,00, com duração anual de 9 e 7 meses, com destaque para modalidades individuais, sobretudo, lutas, atletismo e natação. Conclui-se que a universidade apresenta política que favorece o esporte de representação institucional, porém, não o de alto rendimento, dado ao baixo valor da bolsa e o não pagamento da mesma no primeiro trimestre de todos os anos analisados.

Palavras-chave:
Bolsa atleta; Políticas públicas; Esporte universitário; Universidades federais

RESUMEN

El estudio investigó la política de financiamiento de becas deportivas para estudiantes-atletas vinculados a la Universidad Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. Se trata de una investigación exploratoria y documental, con análisis de convocatorias de apertura y resultados del Programa Bolsa Atleta (2010-2021). La institución cuenta con el Programa Bolsa Atleta. Se pagaron becas por valor de R$ 400,00, con duración anual de 9 y 7 meses, con énfasis en las modalidades individuales, sobre todo, lucha, atletismo y natación. Se concluye que la universidad tiene una política que favorece el deporte de representación institucional, sin embargo, no el deporte de alto rendimiento, dado el bajo valor de la beca y el impago de la misma en el primer trimestre de todos los años analizados.

Palabras-clave:
Beca de atleta; Políticas públicas; Deporte universitario; Universidades federales

INTRODUCTION

Dual sports career on the international scene

In the international scenario, the concern with favorable conditions for dual careers is observed in recommendations of the European Union, dealing with the importance and need to establish interministerial and intersectoral actions that support student-athletes in different areas, such as educational support, health support, support strategies in the labor market and financial support (EC, 2012). In Spain, a set of federal laws have established specific rights, such as granting scholarships and financial aid (España, 1998), reserving 3% of vacancies for high-performance athletes (España, 2007) and athletes with official sports recognition have exclusive places or facilities to access higher education in Colombia (Lagos Cortés, 2014).

Following the country's regulations, several universities provide financial support (scholarships and financial aid to cover costs - payment of tuition, purchase of books, academic and sports materials, residence expenses, food, and transportation) (Lagos Cortés, 2014). Specific programs have been created by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), such as the Project to promote the development of high-level sports (Universidad de Granada, 2011), Programs to support high-level athletes at the University of Murcia (Universidad de Murcia, 2012), among others.

In Colombia, since 1992, a set of benefits have been made available to athletes who medaled in national, international, Olympic, and world championships. In the public university context, there is free tuition for athletes with sports recognition and family income below 5 minimum wages. Sports equipment is provided in 76.7% of the institutions investigated and financial aid in 74.4% (Lagos Cortés, 2014).

These findings corroborate the permanence of sport and academic training since studies have shown that a high percentage of Olympic athletes experienced a dual career when they were at a level of sporting excellence (66.2%). Moreover, the percentage of athletes with higher education at the time of sports retirement was higher among those who experienced dual careers (53.3%) when compared to those who were exclusively dedicated to sports (14.5%) or work (27.3%) (Barriopedro et al., 2018). A study of professional and amateur athletes in Spain indicated that the majority of the sample experienced dual careers (84.3%), although higher percentages of exclusive dedication to sport occurred among professionals (20.8%) compared to amateurs (12.2%), while the work attachment was higher among amateurs (33.8%) (Hernández et al., 2018). Therefore, policies based on concessions to student-athletes, such as academic initiatives, sports, or preparation for retirement (Aquilina and Henry, 2010), can favor better academic and sports performance and prevent dropout (Miró Moyá et al., 2018). While essential, the three initiatives directed at dual careers (Aquilina and Henry, 2010), the present study focuses analysis on the provision of financial support.

Financing scholarships to Brazilian university athletes... and the federal universities?

The first grants to Brazilian Olympic athletes for university representation occurred through foreign institutions in swimming¹, diving², and basketball³. Specifically in Brazil, it dates back to the 1970s, with initiatives by Gama Filho, a private university (Rubio, 2015). However, it was at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century that university sports received more subsidies to promote the representation of HEIs in competitions. Private universities saw sports as a useful tool for institutional marketing (Starepravo et al., 2010).

Among them, they highlighted the Brazilian Lutheran University, Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina, and Universidade Caxias do Sul, which built modern infrastructures for training (Nogueira, 2003). The participation of universities in the women's National Handball League in 2014, consisting of eight teams (out of 12 participants) with an agreement with private universities, also illustrates the involvement with Brazilian university sport (Andres and Goellner, 2018). This corroborates that to this day private universities are the most present in the Brazilian University Games (JUBs) (Quinaud et al., 2020).

As a government policy, the first initiative to grant scholarships to athletes in Brazil occurred in 2004 through the institution of the Federal Athlete Scholarship Program (Brasil, 2004), with respective regulation in 2004, composed of the categories student-athlete, national athlete, international athlete, Olympic and Paralympic athlete (Brasil, 2005), encompassing in the category student-athlete participants in school games and university games.

As a government policy, the first initiative to grant scholarships to college student-athletes in Brazil occurred in 2005, through the Federal Athlete Scholarship Program. Although it was not formulated specifically for college students, the participation of this public began to occur through the inclusion of the student category, intended for students between 14-20 years of age, classified in the first three positions of the individual modalities or elected among the six best in the year, in each collective modality (Brasil, 2005).

Although it is a funding possibility, the Federal Athlete Scholarship Program is limited, since the maximum age of the student category is 20 years (Brasil, 2005), making the possibility for many college students to count on this benefit only for two years, given the average age of Brazilian college athletes is 22.18 years (Quinaud et al., 2020). Furthermore, the Federal Athlete Scholarship Program has limited investments in the student category, representing only 9.57% of the grants funded by the program (Corrêa et al., 2014). An alternative is to participate in other categories (Olympic, international, national), but which are aimed at the country's sporting elite, becoming more selective due to the eligible criteria and more exclusionary.

Therefore, it became necessary for public universities, such as federal universities, in a parallel and complementary way, to develop their own policies, such as funding sports scholarships to students with skills, physical performance, and results consistent with performance sport, being the Federal University of Ceará a pioneer, with the creation of the Sports Incentive Scholarship Program in 2010 (Universidade Federal do Ceará, 2010) and the University of Brasília (UnB), in 2011, the second to implement such a policy - Federal Athlete Scholarship Program (Belato et al., 2019).

The scholarship granted by IESF is different in relation to those fostered in private institutions because while there the scholarships predominate (no tuition charge or partial charge), in the Brazilian public ones (institutions that do not charge tuition), the recipients enjoy receiving the benefit in kind (sports scholarship). Also, because the Brazilian university sports model is the laisser faire (Aquilina and Henry, 2010), there is no federal law (educational or sports) to regulate it and because federal universities have pedagogical and administrative autonomy and financial management, the initiatives and types of grants may follow different organizations.

The granting of sports scholarships in HEIs is of great relevance because in addition to assisting in the preparation, it allows student-athletes not to have to occupy part of their time with work, devoting only to academic training and participation in sports competitions. At the University of Brasilia, among those who participated in national and international competitions, 97.4% reconciled their studies with their lives as athletes (Miranda et al., 2020).

In this sense, the payment of sports scholarships constitutes a policy that positively corroborates the dual career (Guirola Gómez et al., 2018), since for 80% of athletes in this condition, the loss of the scholarship would be a reason for academic abandonment (Haas and Carvalho, 2018). Such importance was evidenced by Spanish medalists in rowing, who signaled that among the facilitating factors for dual careers were the academic and sports scholarship (Guirola Gómez et al., 2018).

In Brazil, the positive effects of scholarship funding are seen in the performance of student-athletes linked to UnB, which in 2017 won second place in the Efficiency Trophy awarded by the Brazilian University Sports Confederation (CBDU) and in 2018 was among the top 10 universities in the country. Its athletes have achieved positive results in competitions, with podium presence in national (37) and international (9) events (Miranda et al., 2020).

Given the above, the present research asks: In the context of the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), is there any program granting sports scholarships to student-athletes? If yes: For how many months, annually, are they fostered? What is the operated value? How many people are contemplated annually? Which sports are attended?

The study aimed to investigate the policy of funding sports scholarships to student-athletes at UFMS. Specifically, it sought to identify the types of scholarships offered; analyze the value of the scholarships; investigate the annual duration of the concession (months); verify the number of scholarships attended; to diagnose the modalities contemplated.

METHODOLOGY

This is exploratory and documental research. The object of analysis was the edicts of opening and result of the promotion of sports scholarships to student-athletes within the UFMS, in the period 2010-2022. To this end, the technique of Gil (2010) was adopted, organized into 5 steps: a) Formulation of the problem; b) Preparation of the Work Plan; c) Identification of sources; d) Location of sources for obtaining the material; e) Analysis and interpretation.

The formulation of the problem occurred during the elaboration of the project, with the guiding assumptions and the chronogram organized with the work plan. The identification of sources characterized the survey.

The location of the documents occurred through a request for information to the institution about the existence of programs related to the granting of sports scholarships to student-athletes, as well as the request for the availability of edicts or access links. As a vehicle for the request, based on the Access to Information Law, the fala.br platform was used (Brasil, 2022).

The following question was forwarded to the institutional manager: Considering the existence of several academics who are athletes, we kindly request information if in the institution under your management there is some kind of project/program of scholarship aimed specifically at athletes so that they can continue their sports training and represent the university in university games? If there is, we request the availability of the opening edicts for the period from 2010 to 2021”. The institution made available information referring to 2013-2022.

From the query, information was obtained on the electronic address where the edicts were available (Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, 2022), which enabled the location of the corpus of the study: Opening Edicts of Scholarship Holders Selection for the Athlete Scholarship Program and Edicts of Scholarship Holders Selection Results for the Athlete Scholarship Program, composed of 12 announcements for the selection of scholarship recipients and results of the Bolsa Atleta Program for the period 2013-2022. Specifically in 2018 and 2020, two selections were made, while in the other years, only one.

The documents underwent content analysis, structured into four stages: pre-analysis, the occasion of initial contact with the data; exploration of the material, with coding (choice of units), enumeration (choice of counting rules), classification (choice of category) and data treatment by interpreting the results (Gil, 2010). The results were presented in absolute and relative frequency, with the use of illustrations in figures and tables.

RESULTS/DISCUSSION

The value of the scholarship throughout the analyzed period was R$400.00. Concerning the number of scholarships offered, it was evident that they increased between 2016-2020. Comparing the different periods, from 2013-2014 to 2018-2020, the increase was over 40%, and from 2015-2017 to 2018-2020, 50%. The increase in the number of scholarships between 2016-2020 was not matched by the number of applicants, causing scholarships to become idle, with a larger discrepancy in 2020 (Figure 1).

Figure 1
Number of scholarships made available to student-athletes in a public notice and number of scholarship holders - UFMS/2013-2022.

The amount operated by UFMS was like to what is granted by other universities nationwide. Take as an example, the policy instituted by the University of Brasilia (UnB), with scholarships of R$400.00 (Belato et al., 2019). However, higher than the amount paid by the Federal Athlete Scholarship Program - Student category -, stipulated at R$370.00 (Brasil, 2005).

The financial benefit is of great relevance to student-athletes, as it corroborates that those who are in dual careers have part of their sports expenses (fees to clubs and gyms, food, supplementation, sports materials, among others) funded, creating a favorable environment for permanence. Although there are no studies on the importance of the Athlete Scholarship in HEI, athletes who have benefited from the Federal Athlete Scholarship Program pointed out that the scholarships are essential to cover expenses with supplements, nutritionists, sneakers, and other accessories, purchase of gym equipment and clothing (Paz et al., 2018).

Sports scholarships have acted positively on staying in sports (Andres and Goellner, 2018; Miró Moyá et al., 2018) and at university (Guirola Gómez et al., 2018; Andres and Goellner, 2018; Miró Moyá et al., 2018). On the other hand, its loss was pointed out as the main responsible for a possible dropout (Haas and Carvalho, 2018), ratifying its relevance.

Although it is important to remain in sports and academic life, it should be noted that the amount paid by UFMS is derisory, given the various investments that a sports career requires. As it is an IESF, the values are subordinated to the federal legislation of Scientific Initiation scholarships paid by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), which serves as a reference to the other scholarships at the undergraduate level (teaching, extension, permanence, and research) and have not been adjusted since July 2012, which means that the purchasing power has been lost. Based on the National Wide Consumption Price Index (IPCA), the value of the scholarship in December 2022 should be R$730.64. Therefore, it is urgent that the adjustment, with the replacement of the losses due to inflation, occurs. However, even with the correction of losses, the athlete scholarship at the University shows that it can help student-athletes with representation, but even if the adjustments occur, it would still be short of the necessary resources for a high-performance sports career, calling for this issue to be taken into consideration in discussions related to university sport.

The increase in the number of vacancies for scholarship recipients is a positive factor since it allowed more student-athletes to enjoy the benefit and dedicate themselves to training and competitions, this is a relevant condition, since as evidenced by Miranda et al. (2020), more than 97.7% of the student-athletes at UnB conciliate studies and sports training. Considering that the expansion of the number of scholarship recipients required greater financial support, it is understood that since 2017 the program has occupied more space in the agenda-setting of the institution, which suggests greater institutional appreciation to student-athletes.

The formation of agenda-setting is a conflicting process, in which several issues seek space, but few draw the attention of managers and start counting on solutions through programs (Kingdon, 2007). The choice of an issue for a government agenda is highly selective, with competition among problems and prioritization (Menicucci, 2006), and the choice is influenced by several factors, such as the political will of governments or pressure exerted by society on a particular issue (Teixeira, 2000).

Therefore, the expansion of the number of scholarship recipients may have occurred both due to issues related to the implementation process of the athlete scholarship program at the university and to the performance of political actors and their respective roles in the process, with the political will of managers being the most pertinent explanation, even though there were considerable cuts in the budget of federal universities in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, contrary to what one might expect in times of decreasing financial transfers, the scholarships were expanded.

Despite the important expansion of the number of scholarships as of 2017, this political action was not accompanied by the number of student-athletes contemplated, with the program offering more than the demand, which may be related to the mechanisms of admission in the Brazilian federal universities, highly selective and that do not have on the national scene and, neither at UFMS, a quota for athletes, as occurs in Spain, in which 3% of the vacancies are intended for high-performance athletes (España, 2007) and in Colombian universities, in which exclusive vacancies and access facilities are directed to athletes with official sports recognition (Lagos Cortés, 2014).

Such a scenario requires that for an efficient relationship (number of scholarships promoted by the institution x number of scholarship holders), the athletes want to study in a federal university and that they are approved in the selection processes. Therefore, in addition to the financial grants via scholarships, it is appropriate that the central administration managers and sports managers linked to the institution, enable specific selection processes for athletes or that quotas for this public are created, with the evaluation of merit through the sports curriculum, an initiative that would be innovative in Brazil, since there are no policies in this direction in federal universities in the country.

The annual duration ranged from four, six, eight, and nine months, with 2013-2016 management predominantly fostering for nine months, and 2017, 2020, and 2022 management for seven months (Figure 2).

Figure 2
Number of months of grants to student-athletes - UFMS/2013-2022.

The non-payment of the scholarships for 12 months in none of the years analyzed showed to be a limitation of the policy developed, because it caused that, annually, the student-athletes would not receive the resources for three months or more. Creating bureaucratic-administrative mechanisms so that the payment of scholarships occurs throughout the year, it isessential and urgent to the program analyzed because fomenting them only for a few months can cause problems to the physical and technical preparation of athletes and, consequently, to the loss of aptitudes and skills developed throughout their training.

It is known that although the Brazilian federal universities are autonomous in the application of financial resources, they depend on transfers from the Ministry of Education, such as those that make up the rubric 20GK, intended for undergraduate, graduate, teaching, research and extension actions, being the athlete scholarship at UFMS framed in the extension. The federal transfers from this rubric, until April of each year occur in a fragmented way and small amounts, with a greater contribution only from May on, which explains the oscillation of months paid each year and the non-inclusion of all months.

Non-payment throughout the year may have negative effects on performance and results in competitions, given that to achieve sports performance athletes are subjected to training based on age, performance level, specific objectives, and characteristics of competitions, requiring an average dedication of 5.7 days/week in individual sports and 4.6 days/week in team sports, totaling 22.9 hours/week in individual sports and 12.3 hours/week in team sports (Subijana et al., 2015) and 17.4 hours/week among professionals and 16.6 hours/week among amateurs (Hernández et al., 2018), a condition that requires, when entering academic life, that to maintain performance at a high level, training should follow the same characteristics.

Therefore, student-athletes, when entering academic life, in addition to the time to be dedicated to studies, to maintain their performance and obtain positive results in competitions, among them, the Brazilian University Games (JUBs), need to devote time to training and maintain sports preparation through periodization, a procedure of annual management that appears as the most important tool for sports preparation.

Periodization consists of dividing annual planning into small phases, in order to better manage the training process and levels (training, day-to-day, microcycle, mesocycle, and macrocycle, annual and multi-year training plan). Based on a logical and systematized sequence, they aim for athlete performance in specific periods and injury prevention. To this end, training considering variables of intensity, volume, frequency, recovery period, and exercises are planned following the objectives and stage at which optimal results are to be achieved.

Considering that most sporting competitions are organized annually, the preparation for a season (macrocycle) is divided into three phases - preparatory (2 to 6 months), competitive (depending on each competition), and transition (2 to 4 weeks) (Bompa and Haff, 2009). Therefore, a policy directed to university sports requires that scientific precepts consolidated in relation to sports performance, such as those that guide the periodization of training, be taken into account, otherwise, the objectives and goals directed to programs with this design will not succeed, because as Bompa (2012) warns, the development and improvement of neuromuscular and cardiorespiratory training is a consequence of progressive training over some time.

In addition to having great chances of the program being ineffective and inefficient in the face of the objectives and goals of sports performance, the non-granting of scholarships throughout the year may corroborate with low demand or even discontinuity in the participation of student-athletes, since sports performance requires training throughout the year, which, consequently, also implies costs with gyms, clubs, supplements, sports materials, among others. Not coincidentally, the loss of the scholarship was pointed out by 80% of student-athletes as a factor that would lead them to abandon their studies (Haas and Carvalho, 2018) and academic and sports scholarships, facilitators to permanence (Guirola Gómez et al., 2018), a condition that can also occur in relation to the non-granting of the benefit for 12 months in the year.

In order to remedy the payment of scholarships for only seven or nine months, bureaucratic-administrative strategies could have been adopted, since other Brazilian IFES, such as the UnB, made such benefits available for 12 months (Belato et al., 2019). Technically, a feasible strategy (and that could have been triggered by the managers) is the payment of the scholarships via the Foundation linked to the University, with the formalization of an agreement and annual transfers in April for the payment for 12 months, so that the resources of a year could be committed to the Foundation for payment in the first quarter of the following year, which would extinguish the window without scholarship payments from January to April.

The calls for proposals analyzed contemplated a variety of sports. However, there were more scholarships in individual sports (69.28%) than in team sports (30.71%). The number of scholarships per general category (fighting) and those specifically designated by type of fighting (karate, judo, jiu-jitsu, kickboxing, taekwondo) reached 38 scholarship holders (27.14%). Athletics and swimming also stood out, with 20 (14.28%) and 14 (10.00%) scholarships, respectively (Table 1).

Table 1
Sports that received scholarships for student-athletes - UFMS/2013-2022.

Modalities	2013	2014	015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	Total
Athletics	-	-	1	1	2	4	1	4	4	3	20
Fighting	-	-	-	-	-	6	2	7	4	-	19
Swimming	-	2	1	1	2	1	1	1	3	2	14
Handball	-	2	2	2	-	1	2	3	-	-	12
Karate	-	2	3	2	1	1	-	-	-	2	11
Not Informed	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10
Basketball	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	3	-	3	8
Team Sports	-	-	-	-	-	7	-	-	-	-	7
Beach Volleyball	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	2	3	7
Volleyball	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	3	-	1	6
Judo	-	1	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	3	5
Racquet Sports	-	-	-	-	-	0	1	1	1	1	4
Chess	-	1	-	-	-	1	-	1	-	1	4
Board games	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	1	-	3
Futsal	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	-	-	2
E-Sports	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1
Soccer	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1
Jiu-jitsu	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	1
Kickboxing	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1
Para-sports	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1
Taekwondo	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Table Tennis	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	1
Archery	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1

As far as the predominance of individual sports is concerned, this fact may be related to the search for greater efficiency in the relation to the number of scholarships x results since in individual sports the financing of only one athlete per modality is enough for there to be real chances of medals. A different condition occurs in team sports, in which the results depend on the technical, physical, and tactical performance of the team so that funding only one athlete has little influence on the results. In this sense, team sports end up receiving less attention in agenda-setting. This debate permeated the discussions to guide the criteria during the elaboration of the Federal Government's Athlete Scholarship program. According to Rodrigues (2016), the number of medals disputed was one of the preponderant factors to make feasible and justify the creation of a program to transfer resources to Brazilian athletes.

However, the predominance of scholarship funding in wrestling, athletics, and swimming may also be related to the fact that these sports include several events. Corrêa et al. (2014), when analyzing the sports covered by the Federal Athlete Scholarship Program, showed the predominance of athletics and judo, concluding that this superiority resulted from the number of events they include, which we agree with.

In addition to the relationship between scholarships and medals, the availability of a greater number of scholarships for individual sports may favor a greater permanence of athletes in individual sports in their dual career, because according to Hernández et al. (2018), most of them have difficulties in reconciling academic and sporting tasks, being more prone to academic exclusion. Therefore, the predominance of investment in sports scholarships in individual modalities by the UFMS is a positive element that can corroborate the reduction of their academic exclusion.

Of the 18 sports contemplated by the program, only eight (athletics, swimming, handball, basketball, beach volleyball, court volleyball, judo, taekwondo) are Olympic sports, i.e., 25% of the sports that are objects of the Federal Athlete Scholarship Program. In relation to the sports encouraged by the program and those present in CBDU competitions, 14 (athletics, basketball, futsal, handball, judo, jiu-jitsu, karate, swimming, tennis, table tennis, court volleyball, beach volleyball, taekwondo, chess) are similar, corresponding to 37.83%. Therefore, the program contemplates a few Olympic sports, object of the Federal Athlete Scholarship Program, as well as a few sports present in the official competitions of university games, such as the.

This result is different from that observed in other Brazilian federal universities, such as UnB, which has the modalities of the university athlete scholarship program adjusted to the competitions organized by CBDU (basketball, athletics, field soccer 5, soccer society, handball, jiu-jitsu, judo, kungfu/wushu, league of legends, rugby, taekwondo, tennis, beach volleyball, volleyball, and chess) (Miranda et al., 2020).

In this sense, the policy adopted by UFMS enables the contemplation of modalities (bodybuilding, e-sports, soccer, futsal, jiu-jitsu, karate, kickboxing, board games, and chess) that do not have scholarships in federal programs (Brasil, 2023), enabling student-athletes participating in local, state and national competitions developed by federations or public administration entities also have their demands met. This framework is in line with the objectives outlined for the program, which consist of

Foster the performance of UFMS sports representation, at the local, regional, national and international level, and encourage sports experience at UFMS, by granting scholarships from the athlete bag UFMS Program to students enrolled in undergraduate courses, with specific technical skills and proven sports performance that represent the institution in high-performance sports competitions (Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, 2022, p. 1).

If on one hand, non-Olympic sports that are not part of CBDU competitions are contemplated, on the other, several that makeup CBDU competitions (basketball 3 x 3, beach handball, beach soccer, beach tennis, beach wrestling, cross training, footvolley, skateboarding, surfing, volleyball 4 x 4, soccer 7, rugby 7, paralympic athletics, badminton, paralympic badminton, paralympic swimming, diving, breaking, cheerleading, wrestling, academic, paralympic tennis) were not benefited, which may decrease the representativeness of the institution in the main university sports competition in the country.

However, it is not possible to understand if this reality is related to the policy developed or the absence of student-athletes linked to the absent modalities, because the institution does not have a specific edict or quotas for athletes, as there are in Spain (España, 2007) and Colombia (Lagos Cortés, 2014), which requires that for contemplation of such modalities there are athletes with technical performance and positive results in them with interest in studying at UFMS and that, in addition, they are approved in the selection processes.

CONCLUSION

The UFMS has had a program directed to the granting of scholarships to student-athletes since 2013, being developed uninterruptedly throughout the analyzed period, which indicates that as far as its continuity is concerned, it is a consolidated program. Presents as favorable aspects the growth in the number of vacancies made available, sometimes being higher than the demand, the program also offers support to student-athletes linked to sports that are not contemplated in federal or state problems.

However, problems were evidenced, among them: 1. Number of months paid per year, since it only starts in May, leaving the student-athlete between January and April without any subsidy, which may harm the technical and physical preparation and even demotivate the dual career student. 2. Value of the scholarship, which is the same since 2012, causes the purchasing power to have greatly decreased, which may negatively impact the results as a student-athlete. 3. Non-contemplation of most of the Olympic sports and those promoted in official competitions of the university games in the country. Such actions should be incorporated into the program in order to improve conditions for the academic and sporting life of the scholarship recipients.

The authors recognize the limitation of the study because it was carried out in only one federal university, for being limited to documental data and information related to the financing of scholarships, suggesting that new investigations be carried out involving a larger number of Brazilian IFES, as well as other concessions related to dual careers (academic, medical, psychological, nutritional, housing, among others) be included in the investigation.

It is also suggested that further research should analyze the selection criteria adopted in order to understand the desired profile of the scholarship recipient, the similarities and discrepancies of the requirements for student-athletes of individual and team sports, as well as that the vacancies offered in the opening announcements, and filled in the announcements of results be contrasted, in order to better understand if the low quantity of Olympic modalities and the low quantity of CBDU competition modalities evidenced in the institution is due to aspects related to the policy developed or to the absence of student-athletes with this profile since the access to the university does not count on a specific process or quotas for this public.

• 1
  Farid Zablith Filho in 1964 (American university), Renato Ramalho in 1988 (University of Arizona), Phillip Morrison in 2001 (Stanford University) and Diogo Yabe in 2002 (University of Utah).
• 2
  Angela Ribeiro in 1982 (University of Miami).
• 3
  Marcos Abdalla in 1972 (Pepperdine University).

• FUNDING

  This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001”.

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Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  08 Sept 2023
• Date of issue
  2023

History

• Received
  09 Mar 2023
• Accepted
  23 June 2023