They say playing a college sport is a full-time job and, boy, are they ever right.
A study commissioned by the Pac-12 Conference and obtained by Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com, a Penn Schoen Berland study of 409 Pac-12 athletes across a number of sports and representing nine member universities found that athletes on average devote 50 hours per week to their sport while in season. Only 21 of those hours were devoted to required athletic activities like practice, film study and weight lifting, the report said, but 29 hours were required to fit around those other 21 hours. For instance, athletes spent more time traveling to and from games (22) than actually playing their sport.
Additionally, two in three athletes say they lack free time, while 54 percent said they did not have time to study for tests and 80 percent admitting missing class for sport-related activities. Also, 77 percent of student-athletes say they get less sleep than their non-athletic counterparts, and 55 percent say the first thing they’d do with newfound free time would be to sleep more.
So, student-athletes self report as being overworked, sleep-deprived and consumed with their sport and sport-related activities. Still, 93 percent of those polled said they are very or somewhat satisfied with their college experience. “These Pac-12 athletes understand they are competing at the highest level; they are aware of the demands placed on student-athletes and are willing to go above and beyond to succeed athletically,” the study said. “In fact, athletics are the one area they do not want to sacrifice their time.”
Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott told CBS the conference will begin to examine the study and dissect it on a sport-by-sport basis.
“The thing that’s unclear right now is whether that will lead to (NCAA) legislation. The main takeaway is -- in general -- student-athletes are very, very satisfied with their experience,” Scott said. “They’re pushed for sure, challenged. Sometimes (they) feel like it’s too much.”