The purpose of this study was to analyse the effect that participating in extracurricular sporting activities has on academic performance among students in higher education. Prior research on this topic has yielded contradictory results: while some authors find a positive effect of sports participation on academic outcomes, others report a negative impact.
Accordingly, the authors seek to provide a more rounded understanding of these mixed findings. The empirical evidence is provided by a panel dataset of undergraduate students who studied at a Spanish University over the period 2008–2014. The academic performance of sports participants are compared with those of non-participants in terms of their outcomes in the form of grades. Results reveal that participation in formal sporting activities is associated with higher grades among students at this university. The analysis reinforces the idea that apart from their health benefits for practitioners, sporting activities lead to the attainment of the performance goals to which higher education institutions aspire.
© 2016 Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Click Below to download full article from Sport Management Review. (671KB)
Muñoz-Bullón, F., Sanchez-Bueno, M.J., Vos-Saz, A., The influence of sports participation on academic performance among students in higher education. Sport Management Review, 2017, 20:4, 365-378.
University student mental health is of an increasing concern Physical activity interventions to improve mental health and wellbeing in university students in the UK: A service mapping study Malagodi, F., Dommett, E.J., Findon, J.L., Gardner, B., Physical activity interventions to improve mental health and wellbeing in university students in the UK: A service mapping study, […]
Universities’ higher elite athlete program investment sees student athletes’ Olympic performance soar. By Don Knapp Australian University Sport began tracking the performance of student-athletes at Olympic Games in preparation for its Winning Edge funding submission to the Australian Sports Commission in 2012. At the 2004 Athens Games, 104 student-athletes were selected in the Australian Olympic […]
A report on the support and services provided to elite student-athletes by Australian universities. Research has revealed that elite athletes have the capacity to achieve simultaneous sporting and academic success (Henry, 2013; Wylleman, 2017). The 2008, 2012 and 2016 Australia Olympic team confirmed this with over 50% of medallists being current or former elite student-athletes […]
