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Introduction
Collegiate student athletes and their performance in the classroom has long been oft
debated topic due to low graduation rates, gross misconduct and academic scandals (Gayles,
2009). There are researchers who argue that the discipline, organizational skills and time
management skills that are developed through collegiate athletics have a positive impact on
academic performance. “Athletic competition may help structure a student’s life and coaching
may improve both physical and intellectual performance (Maloney & McCormick, 1993).
Discipline, organizational skills and time management skills are all skills that translate to
academic success and are often times skills that individuals may struggle to inquire without
athletics (Aries, Banaj, McCarthy and Salovey, 2004). On the other hand, there are also
researchers who argue that the time demand of collegiate athletics produce a negative impact on
academic performance. The reason behind this thought is due to the amount of time that is
devoted to athletics, which in return, leads to less time devoted to academics. While in season,
athletes may be forced to miss class, tests, group project meetings and other academic
obligations due to practices or traveling for road contests. It is important to note that in 1991, the
NCAA and its members held a meeting and established the rules that while in season, athletes
are allowed 20 hours per week for their sport with no more than 4 hours dedicated to that sport
per day (NCAA). To go along with, the coaching staff is required to give the student athlete one
day off where there is no scheduled event for their respective sport (NCAA). The NCAA
acknowledged the need for out of season restrictions as well and established an 8 hour per week
limitation. The NCAA believe that by establishing these hour limitations, it would produce an
increase in student athlete performance in the classroom. The purpose of this study is to
determine whether student athletes achieve more academic success than the normal college
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student due to the discipline, organizational skills and time management skills they acquire while
being a collegiate athlete. The subjects that will be examined in this research will be collegiate
student athletes as well as normal college students. These groups of individuals will range from
the Division I, Division II, Division III and NAIA institutions. It is important to incorporate all
levels that participate in collegiate athletics as it will strengthen and help validate the study.
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Literature Review
Collegiate athletes and their academic performance has been an issue that has received a
lot of attention over the years due to alarming graduation rates. In 2015, 67% of Division I
student athletes graduated from their institution, while in comparison, only 65% students who
attended a Division I institution graduated (Hosick, 2015). Both Division I athletes and students
who attend Division I institutions have seen their overall graduation rate increase 7% since 2001
(Athlete 60% to 67% and Student 58% to 65%). Although student athletes have seen an increase
in their overall graduation rate, there is still cause for concern why the graduation rate is only
65%. Researchers have taken multiple sides regarding this matter whether it is due to the athletes
overall perspective regarding academics or whether the institutions and coaching staffs are
demanding too much.
There is a group of researchers who argue that student athlete success is not all
necessarily dependent on their schedules, but the athlete themselves. These researchers argue that
the reason behind the 67% graduation rate is due to athletes attending an institution where they
have more of a focus on athletics as opposed to academics which leads to lower GPA’s, higher
attrition rates and a decreased chance in graduating (Adler and Adler, 1985). These factors are all
attributed to an increased focus on athletics and a lesser focus on academics. On the other hand,
there is a belief that some student athletes lack the academic motivation pertaining to their
studies. Academic motivation can be defined as a student athletes desire to be successful in
regards to their academics (Gaston-Gayles, 2004). The lack of academic motivation can be
attributed to their prior educational experiences, the values/points of emphasis they are being
exposed to as well as their current surroundings. A very interesting point discussed by
Covington, Simons and Van Rheenen explain how today’s society of student athletes leaving
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college early to get drafted professionally and make millions affects the academic motivation in
today’s student athletes. For example, in the 2017 NFL Draft there are 95 underclassmen who
have declared for the draft. (Heitner, 2017). This statistic shows that these 95 college football
players believe without a doubt that they are going to make it to the professional league. To
combat issues like this, there are researchers who believe that the minimum academic standard
for athletic competition needs to be increased to promote student athletes to be more successful
in the classroom.
The other side of the equation addresses the strict time schedules and time restraints that
are place on collegiate athletes. While collegiate athletes are in season, their respective coaching
staffs are allowed 20 hours with them per week for activities such as games, practice, film
review, weight lifting and meetings. However, it has to be taken into account that the NCAA
mandates one full day off from athletic activities; hence, coaching staffs are using 20 hours a
week on student athletes in 6 days. With roughly 3.5 hours a day committed to athletics, many
researchers wonder if there is enough time left to devote to academics and other social activities
(Gayles, 2009). In a normal in-season day for an athlete, it is typical for athletes to finish their
athletic commitment well after dinner. With this, the athlete is both physically and mentally
exhausted which later affects their studies due to fatigue and exhaustion (Covington, Simons and
Van Rheenen, 1999). The researchers are stating their belief that it is unattainable to ask the
student athletes to be at their peek performance in the classroom when so much is being asked
from them from an athletic standpoint. Today’s athletic landscape has also shifted which has put
more of an emphasis and focus on winning. The pressure’s that the institutions and coaches place
on the student athletes leads to an increased focus on their athletics at the expense of their
academic commitment (Covington, Simons and Van Rheenen, 1999). Similar to their beliefs,
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Peter and Patricia Adler explain how student athletes academic goals and behaviors are greatly
influenced by their involvement in their sport (Adler and Adler, 1985).
There are numerous factors that explain why athletics inhibit a student athlete
from being successful, but there are multiple factors that help student athletes achieve success in
the classroom. Athletics help give student athlete’s structure in their life and studies have shown
that the coaching they receive shows to improve their overall physical and mental performance
(Maloney and McCormick, 1993). The structure the student athlete receivers in their day to day
schedule from athletics is something that can be directly applied to their academic studies. With
athletes having a schedule and understanding what is to be expected from them on a daily basis,
this understanding helps them with their academics in the sense that they know what needs to be
completed and when. Covington, Simons and Van Rheenen explain how athletic success requires
the student athlete to be a hard worker, determined, possess the ability to concentrate and being
disciplined in their craft and believe all of these traits transfer over to the classroom (Covington,
Simons and Van Rheenen, 1999). It was discussed earlier how the impact of professional leagues
and the opportunity to play professionally affects the academic motivation of student athletes.
However, Gaston-Gayles believes that student athletes who aspire to compete professionally also
have high aspirations to obtain a college degree (Gaston-Gayles, 2004). To accommodate the
student athlete, many institutions offer tutoring and other academic services that are not available
to other students. Often times, these academic help sessions are mandatory and required by the
head coach of the team.
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Methodological Plan
As discussed in the introduction, the purpose of this study is to determine whether
collegiate student athletes are more likely to be successful academically as compared to a typical
college student due to the to the discipline, organizational skills and time management skills they
acquire while being a collegiate athlete. Reviewing past literature regarding this matter help
establish a general background and provided ideas of the best way to go about researching this
issue.
The subjects of this study will include collegiate student athletes and typical
college students. I am defining a collegiate student athlete as someone who is currently playing a
collegiate sport. A typical college student is being defined as someone who does not participate
in any of the athletics teams the institution offers. The subjects will be selected from institutions
that compete on the Division I, Division II, Division III and NAIA level. It is important to select
subjects from all levels to help validate the research. The research would have the potential to be
skewed if the subjects were selected from only one of the levels.
In the selection process of selecting institutions from the Division I, Division II, Division
III and NAIA level, the schools will be selected at random and by their location. It is essential
that there are schools selected from all over the country and not limited to a specific region. The
first sample will consist of the student athletes while the second sample will consist of the typical
college students. Within the sample will include the student athlete and typical college student’s
GPA as well as a questionnaire.
The data gathering process should be rather quick as obtaining a GPA is not generally
time consuming as well as filling out a short questionnaire. In all, it should take the student
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athlete/college student roughly 5 minutes to complete the questionnaire. However, it is important
they are not rushed in the process and therefore if there is more time that is needed, it will be
given. The questionnaires will be completed on the campuses in which the institution was
selected.
The method for collecting the data will involve a questionnaire. On the questionnaire, the
student athlete and typical college student will be asked a series of 10 questions and be able to
answer using a 1 to 5 scale. On the scale, five means strongly agree, 4 means agree, 3 means
neutral, 2 means disagree and 1 means strongly disagree. The questions will be centered on the
individual’s academic motivation, hours per week spent studying and whether the individuals
have the necessary resources to be successful academically. To go along with this, there will be a
note section attached under each question if the individual would like to add a comment
regarding the question or their answer. I believe it is important to make sure the subject has the
ability to express all of their thoughts during this study.
Once the data has been gathered, the analyzation process begins. As it pertains to the
GPA, the data will be split up into columns and then averaged out. This average will determine
the average student athlete GPA as well as the average typical college student GPA. With this, I
will also break up the data by regions (East, Midwest, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest) to see if
there is any correlation between the regions. After the GPA has been calculated, I will analyze
the questionnaires. The questionnaires will be analyzed using a composite score. For example,
the highest composite score attainable is 50 (10x5) and that score determines the college athletes
and typical college students means to be academically successful. This data will be gathered and
entered on an Excel spreadsheet where the format will be clear and understandable by the reader.
I do not believe there are any special circumstances that are relevant regarding my research.
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Ethics Statement
The ethical concern regarding my search is student athletes and typical college students
fear of their GPA and their questionnaire responses being seen by the public. Prior to the data
collection process, subjects will be required to sign a consent form and it will be assured to the
subjects that their GPA and responses will be confidential and not seen by anyone else. Assuring
the subjects comfort in answering honestly is of the upmost importance as it pertains to this
study. Emphasizing the integrity of this study will help give the subjects more confidence in
answering truthfully.
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Statement of Limitations
One of the limitations of this study is determining whether the GPA of the student athlete
is a direct reflection of the time commitment they have to their sport. Unfortunately, there is no
way to tell what the student athletes GPA if they played a sport versus if they did not play a
sport. With this, it is very difficult to determine what effect playing a collegiate sport has on a
student athlete whether it be positive or negative. In my research, a positive effect would lead to
a higher GPA while a negative effect would lead to a lower GPA. With there being no way to
determine whether playing a collegiate sport has a positive or negative effect on student athletes,
generalizations are forced to be made to group scores together.
The same limitations that apply to student athletes also apply to the typical college
students. From the data, there is no way to tell whether playing a collegiate sport has a positive
or negative impact on typical college students.
The third limitation involved in this study involves the composite score that is composed
from the answers of the questionnaire. Although the score helps determine the means to be
academically successful, it is understood that every individual’s situation is different and that
outside factors that are uncontrollable may affect the score.
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Reference Page
Gaston-Gayles, J., Hu, S. (2009). The Influence of Student Engagement and Sport Participation
on College Outcomes among Division 1 Student Athletes. The Journal of Higher
Education, 80(3), 315-333.
Gaston-Gayles, J. (2004). Examining Academic and Athletic Motivation among Student Athletes
at a Division 1 University. Journal of College Student Development, 45(1), 75-83.
Adler, P. A., Adler, P. (1985). From Idealism to Pragmatic Detachment: The Academic
Performance of College Athletes. Sociology of Education, 58(4), 241-250.
Aries, E., Banaj, R. M., McCarthy, D., & Salovey, P. (2004). A Comparison of Athletes and
Non- Athletes at Highly Selective Colleges: Academic Performance and Personal
Development. Research in Higher Education, 45(6), 577-600.
Covington, V. M., Van Rheenen, D., & Simons, D. H. (1999) Academic Motivation and the
Student Athlete. Journal of College Student Development, 40(2), 151-161.
Hosick, M.B. (2015, November 4). Graduation Success Rate Continues to Climb. Retrieved
April 25, 2017.
Heitner, D. (2017, January 18). Roughly 100 Underclassmen Will Declare For 2017 NFL Draft.
Retrieved April 25, 2017.
NCAA. 20 Hour Rule Document. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
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