Dr. Shelley Lucas earned a Ph.D. from the Department of Health, Leisure and Sport Studies at the University of Iowa in 2001, and joined the faculty of the Department of Kinesiology at Boise State University that same year. Her areas of interest include women’s sport history, gender equity in athletics, and media representations of gender, race, and sexuality in sport. Her dissertation was titled "Courting Controversy: Gender and Power in Iowa Girls’ Basketball" and she continues to study the history and culture of Iowa high school girls’ basketball. Since moving to Idaho, Dr. Lucas has written about the history of Idaho’s own Women’s Challenge—the international cycling stage race for women that ran from 1984-2002, and sociological issues related to women’s cycling in general. She has served on editorial boards for The International Journal of the History of Sport, and in leadership roles for the North American Society for Sport History (NASSH) and the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS). At Boise State, Dr. Lucas has served on the advisory board of the Women's Center and chaired the Gender Equity Subcommittee of the Intercollegiate Athletics Advisory Board.
Articles
Women's Cycle Racing: Enduring Meanings, Journal of Sport History (2012)
In this study, I explore the challenges associated with long distance women's road racing. Within...
An Examination of Current Practices and Gender Differences in Strength and Conditioning in a Sample of Varsity High School Athletic Programs (with Monica Lynn Reynolds, Lynda B. Ransdell, Linda M. Petlichkoff, and Yong Gao), Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (2012)
Currently, little is known about strength and conditioning programs at the high school level. Therefore,...
An Examination of the Effectiveness of an 8-Week Bikram Yoga Program on Mindfulness, Perceived Stress, and Physical Fitness (with Zoe L. Hewett, Lynda B. Ransdell, Yong Gao, and Linda M. Petlichkoff), Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness (2011)
Previous research reports positive effects of yoga on health. The physical and psychological outcomes of...
Motivation, Goal Orientation, Coaching, and Training Habits of Women Ultrarunners (with Rhonna Z. Krouse, Lynda Ransdell, and Mary Pritchard), Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (2011)
Ultrarunners participate in running events that exceed the 26.2 mile marathon distance (e.g., 50 K,...
Increasing the Number of Women Administrators in Kinesiology and Beyond: A Proposed Application of the Transformational Leadership Model (with Lynda Ransdell, Sarah Toevs, Jennifer White, Jean L. Perry, Onie Grosshans, Diane Boothe, and Sona Andrews), Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal (2008)
In higher education in the United States, women are often underrepresented in leadership positions. When...
Contributions to Books
Lost in Translation: Voice, Masculinity, Race, and the 1998 Home Run Chase, Fame to Infamy: Race, Sport, and the Fall from Grace (2010)
After being exalted for their athletic performance and sportsmanship in the 1998 home run chase,...
Presentations
Re-Asserting Small-Town Exceptionalism: Facebook and Iowa Girls’ Six-Player Basketball (with Jaime Schultz), North American Society for the Sociology of Sport Annual Conference (2012)
Iowa girls’ high school basketball is unique for many reasons, not the least of which...
Women’s Cycle Racing: Past Strategies, Future Challenges, 38th Annual Conference of the North American Society for Sport History (2010)
In this presentation, I explore the challenges associated with long distance women’s road cycle racing...
Challenging Perceptions of Ability: The Women’s Challenge Stage Race, Third Annual Symposium of the Community Bicycle Congress, Boise State University (2007)
An Idaho institution for nearly 20 years, the Women’s Challenge bicycle race grew in size...
The Inclusion of Women Cyclists in the Olympics, 34th Annual Conference of the North American Society for Sport History (2006)
This paper provides preliminary findings from my study of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) decision...