Love and Basketball: The Wives and Partners within Athletic Family Systems

This article offers an examination of the lives of wives and partners of collegiate basketball coaches, employing the Bronfenbrenner Ecological model as a framework for analysis. While the world of sports coaching is routinely celebrated and scrutinized, the experiences and challenges faced by the wives and/or partners of these coaches remain relatively unexplored. This paper reviews the diverse systems influencing the lives of coaches’ partners and the need for holistic support mechanisms. By employing the Coaches’ Wives and Partners Adapted Bronfenbrenner Model as a conceptual framework, researchers, counselors and other helpers, and support networks can gain a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics at play and can offer more effective assistance to coaches’ partners as they navigate the unique challenges and opportunities associated with their role in the basketball world. Implications for the NCAA, universities/athletic departments, coaches, and coaches’ wives and partners are addressed.