Date of Award

8-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Industrial-Organizational Psychology

Committee Chair/Advisor

Marissa Shuffler

Committee Member

Allison Traylor

Committee Member

Patrick Rosopa

Committee Member

Chris Corr

Abstract

The introduction of name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals created a new era of college sports, and with it came the solidified evidence that student-athletes are akin to employees and may even be considered gig workers engaging in temporary, flexible, and project-based work, or as entrepreneurs of their own personal brand. Although NIL deals have brought visibility and opportunity to female student-athletes, they do not come without unique challenges for this population. In a series of three studies, this dissertation explores gender differences in NIL deal opportunity, as well as the processes through which they occur, from the perspective of role congruity theory (Eagly & Karau, 2002). In Studies 1 and 2, I tested the effect of athlete gender on NIL deal selection and compensation, as well as the interaction between athlete gender and brand gender, using experimental and archival data. These studies yielded contradictory findings, as student-athletes received better outcomes in NIL deals with congruent brand genders in Study 1 (i.e., experimental data) and incongruent brand genders in Study 2 (i.e., archival data). To understand the contradiction in these findings, Study 3 explored the boundary conditions under which student-athletes receive an “incongruity credit” (i.e., advantage associated with fulfilling two incongruent social roles) when participating in NIL deals. The results of this scenario-based experiment found evidence of a three-way interaction between athlete gender, aesthetic status, and athletic status when predicting selection and compensation for NIL deals with incongruent brand genders. Specifically, the two-way interaction between athletic status and aesthetic status depends on gender. Results of this dissertation extend role congruity theory by identifying moderators of role (in)congruity effects in a non-traditional work context and contribute to the currently limited understanding of the circumstances under which role incongruity leads to positive, rather than negative outcomes. Additionally, this work yields several practical implications for supporting individuals participating in NIL deals and similar types of work (i.e., content creation) and ensuring equitable opportunities in these contexts.

Author ORCID Identifier

0009-0004-8601-1161

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