Date
2017
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Kinesiology and Health Sciences
First Advisor
Stephen Ross
Abstract
The success or lack of success for student-athletes in the classroom has been a debate for a long time. Does athletic participation help or hinder academic success? Research is somewhat conflicted at the high school and college level whether athletic participation leads to higher academic achievement. A study done at the high school level seems to show some correlation, but studies done at the college level are somewhat inconclusive. This project is an attempt to clarify what happens when students participate in athletics at other college levels and what effect that participation has on academic achievement. This project will help to clarify the effect athletic participation has on academic success across various levels of colleges. This will be measured using the most common method for judging academic success and that is Grade Point Average or GPA. The project will then hypothesize what might happen at the junior college level and provide a framework for future research.