Student athlete (or student–athlete) is a term used principally in universities in the United States and Canada to describe students enrolled at postsecondary educational institutions, principally colleges and universities, but also at secondary schools, who participate in organized competitive sports sponsored by that educational institution or school.
The term student-athlete was coined in 1964 by Walter Byers, the first executive director of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Competitive intermural sports were introduced in post-secondary education in the United States in the nineteenth century.
[3] Concerns about the role of intercollegiate athletics in post-secondary education and the conflicting demands faced by student-athletes remain.
[2] An athletic scholarship is a form of support for tuition, room, board, and related costs awarded to an individual based predominantly on ability in sport.
[6][7][8] NCAA regulations govern amateur status, and prohibit student-athletes from accepting prize money or compensation or sports agent representation.
It reviews the student-athlete's academic record, SAT or ACT scores, and amateur status to ensure conformity with NCAA rules.
[11] To be eligible for an athletic scholarship in an NCAA member institution, students must meet four main requirements: 1.
The Academic Progress Rate is an NCAA tool that measures the success of a program's athletes toward graduation.
[15] Division I sports teams calculate their student-athletes APRs each academic year; it serves as a predictor of graduation success.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 was designed to balance the amount of money spent on men's and women's sports.
Greenberger contends that Title IX might not have survived without Kennedy's guardianship, and thus the sports world as it is today might be vastly different.
[22] United States federal law mandates that universities reveal their graduation rates to inform policymakers and constituencies about efforts to support educational attainment for students and athletes.
[23] All three levels of competition take a Graduation Success Rate; it analyzes the percentage of athletes who receive a degree from their school.
One answer may be that athletes stay on track due to tutors and other academic resources provided to them by their university.