Athletic participation and the academic achievement of athletes

The purpose of this study was to compare the academic achievement of student-athletes at Huntington College to non student-athletes using the mean grade point average (GPA). A sample of 753 subjects was selected from the records data base and assigned by gender to groups as student-athletes and non student-athletes. The sample was further separated into two categories by year of entry. Data were analyzed using Analysis of Co-Variance (ANCOVA). ANCOVA revealed no significant difference between student-athletes and non student-athletes mean GPA when tested at the p .05 level. A three-way interaction was found to exist among the year, gender and the student-athlete/non student-athlete variable. Unadjusted mean GPA revealed student-athlete groups performed better than did the non student-athletes. Male student-athletes out-performed the male non student-athlete group and the female student-athletes surpassed the other three groups. Adjusted mean GPA disclosed a poorer academic performance by female student-athletes compared to the non student-athlete group. A rise in mean SAT scores and mean GPA was observed, which was indicative of increased student academic potential and consistent improvement of academic performance.