"Athletics in American colleges and universities form a part of those diversions of college life generally termed either outside activities, in the sense that they lie beyond the academic requirements of the institution, or student activities, as representing one means whereby students may exercise their abilities and predilections apart from the strictly educational or academic routine" (Savage, 1929, p. 10).
Student-Athlete
The term student-athlete refers to an individual that is a full-time student and participates in athletics. For the purpose of this thesis, student-athlete refers to the non-athletic scholarship collegiate athlete. Most of these individuals are highly recruited resulting in different expectations when compared to other students. The realization for incoming freshmen to be able to balance education and participate in athletics at the college level takes complete dedication.
Participation in athletics has been linked with reports of growth in the individual's personality and leadership skills and with their overall satisfaction with the college experience (Ryan, 1989).
These skills are qualities that could carry over to an individual's everyday life.
According to Lapchick, Sperber, Telander, and Thelin, (as cited in Pascarella,
Truckenmiller, Nora, Terenzini, Edison and Hagedorn, 1999) "The attractiveness of a university is often focused on how well the athletic teams perform. There can be little doubt that intercollegiate athletics is one of the significant filters through which the public looks at
American postsecondary education" (p. I).
Researchers have argued that athletics teaches self-discipline, teamwork, cooperation, hard work, self-confidence, pride in accomplishment, competitive spirit, and how to cope with failure. These characteristics could all be incorporated into one's educational field and create an
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