The Value of Intercollegiate Athletics Participation from the Perspective of Former Athletes

The vast majority of individuals that have participated in athletics will say that they learned something by participating in athletics, but the question remains, what is it that was really learned? This study provides a valuable addition to the literature related to the educational value of intercollegiate athletics. This study delves into what it is that former student-athletes believe they gained by participating in college athletics. The purpose of this study was to identify the benefits of intercollegiate athletic participation from the perspective of former student-athletes. Four main research questions are answered using the survey responses, which include: educational competencies developed through participation; effect of participation on collegiate academic success; effect of participation on post-graduate opportunities; and the most poignant lessons learned. The quantitative data was used to run various statistical tests including descriptive statistics and ANOVAs, while the qualitative findings were triangulated with the literature and quantitative findings.