Ivy Hoops Plus: Q&A with Cornell visiting assistant professor Kevin Kniffin

We present a new feature, Ivy Hoops Plus, in which we shine a light on the many impactful works that those in the Ivy League are doing off the court, whether they”re Ivy academics conducting sports-related research, former basketball players embarking on noteworthy projects, or anything else that merits checking in on.

First up is Kevin Kniffin (@KevinKniffin), visiting assistant professor of organizational behavior and leadership at Cornell. Kniffin coauthored a 2015 study in the Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, “Sports at Work: Anticipated and Persistent Correlates of Participation in High School Athletics,” which examines whether former high school athletes make better employees than nonathletes. The study found that former student-athletes are expected to possess relatively greater leadership ability as well as more self-confidence and self-respect than others, and that participation in competitive youth sports results in demonstrated higher-status careers. Perhaps most importantly, the study found that there is a troubling lack of studies focusing on the effects of youth sports participation, suggesting that sports participation”s impact on the workplace need to be further examined as well.

Let”s hear from Kniffin after the jump…

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