NCAA News Archive - 2007

« back to 2007 | Back to NCAA News Archive Index

Survey findings validate Division II's strategic position


Jul 2, 2007 1:01:03 AM

By Gary T. Brown
The NCAA News

The summit included more results from two studies on current (GOALS) and former (SCORE) student-athletes about their college experiences. Among the findings:

  • More than 90 percent of respondents in Division II feel positive about most aspects of their college experience. Student-athletes who completed their bachelor’s degree are especially positive about development of study skills and time management.
  • Some student-athletes report that athletics decreased their grade-point average. However, 25 percent reported that participation in sports improved their GPA, and 50 percent said their GPA was not affected by athletics.
  • Division II respondents rated their overall athletics experience similar to respondents from Division I and slightly higher than those in Division III. Division II student-athletes also rated their academic experience similar to those in Division I and as high as in many sport cohorts in Division III.
  • Division II student-athletes were more likely to state that being a leader in the community was more important to them than to those in Divisions I and III. Responses were similar to the importance of working with young people (for example, as a teacher or coach).
Many of the findings aligned with Division II’s strategic-positioning platform, which resonated with the presidents and chancellors. Tony Atwater from Indiana University of Pennsylvania said, “These data show we are about leveraging student academic success through teamwork, graduation rates and life skills — aspects that are integral to the participation in intercollegiate athletics. Our students also contribute significantly to student life. They are stewards not only in the community but on campus. It’s important to use graduates as champions of the student-athlete experience — having champions who are graduates is a powerful branding tool.”

At least one finding, though, gave presidents pause. About half of Division II student-athletes felt strongly positive about attending the same institution if they were to start over, which is significantly lower than the 60 percent response in Divisions I and III.

That finding also perplexed researchers, who are trying to square the result with other studies that reflect positive feelings about both the academic and athletics experience in Division II. Possible factors could be that Division II student-athletes rated graduation as slightly less important than to student-athletes in Divisions I and III. The proportion of transfers in Division II also is higher than in Division III and even in Division I.

“Whether those factors relate directly to the finding about repeating their college experience, we’re not sure at this point,” said the NCAA’s principal research scientist Tom Paskus. “Finances or perceived social life may play a role — we just don’t have adequate data on those factors in this study.”


© 2010 The National Collegiate Athletic Association
Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy