Isaiah Frandsen

Student Athletes More Successful In-Season or Out of Season

Introduction
College student athletes throughout the United States have
become mini celebrities on days of competition. Thousands screaming
your name after the big play, the big shot, or even the game winning
score. These athletes have been rewarded and benefited and
celebrated in ways on the field, court, or arena. There are more than
460,000 college student athletes participating in 24 different sports
(NCAA) Student athletes all have a goal to graduate college. However
during a particular season it may be easier academically in season or
out of season. I am proposing that for a majority of student athletes at
NDSU would conclude their grades have a better reflection in season
academically than they do out of season. Academics have very big
impact on the students athletes learning and future career. It
determines their career; their life without sports, and how they can
continue after the competition in college is completed. It impacts a
students leadership, his accountability, but also focus. The impact of
academics is dependent on the student whether or not they complete
their degree or if they leave college without a diploma. Knowledge is
power, and power is in knowledge. Not only can sports provide athletes
with popularity, authority and money, sports can also provide athletes
with a sense of internal achievement and success (Andre & James,
1991).
The goal of this research is to gain insight and a conclusion of both
academic performances in the offseason and in season. By
performance, I am stating their GPA, their overall score of
procrastination, time spent on classes outside of classroom and classes
missed because of sport and classes missed by choice. These college
athletes at NDSU will be further questioned and examined to obtain an
explanation through a qualitative interview approach. Answer results
will include; time management outside of class, classes missed or
skipped due to sport or choice, it is important to gain information and
knowledge of both female and male sports. The focus will be to further
analyze the off-season the academics as part of a student athletes life,
and less about the sport they compete in.
More than 8 out of 10 student athletes at a Division 1 school will earn a
bachelors degree. (NCAA) Which is higher than the rest of student
population. In 2007 only 59% of non-student athletes seeking a 4-year
bachelors degree completed that degree in 6 years. (NCES) Also more
than 35% of prior student athletes will continue and earn a postgraduate degree. (NCAA) As a student athlete at a division 1 school it
is essential and important to pass a certain amount of credits each

Isaiah Frandsen
academic year to be eligible for your sport. For those who may not
know, Football college student athletes spends approximately 18 to 20
hours per week on their sport in training, practices, meetings, or lifting
during season. This is time spent only on their sport they participate in,
not including 4 to 8 hours of mandatory study hall or as we call at
NDSU ACE Hours. Which stands for Academic Collegiate
Enhancement. Current issues in this subject include student athletes
not fulfilling their academic responsibilities (attending class, studying
and passing exams), student athletes are readily praised and criticized
by people they have never met in the public and the media (Shulman,
2001)

Literature Review
Most of the prior research related to my proposed research,
studies the academic performances of in season and out of season.
The prior research done by NCAA included sample t tests to assess
differences in in season and out of season. Included in the study were
50,099 student athletes. Overall in all student athletes at Division 1
level it was found that during the athletes sport season (in-season)
there was 0.03 units lower GPA than there was out of season. The male
difference was 0.05 between in season to out of season. For the
females examined in the study, there was only a 0.01 unit difference in
GPA from out of season to in season. This was the GPA found during
the 2006-2007 Academic year. (NCAA, 2007)
NDSU starting quarterback Easton Stick said, I believe that in season
it is easier to stay on task and get your priorities done because of the
structure of practice, meetings, and time for school work. In the
offseason I have a tendency to procrastinate and put off until it is
necessary to be completed, sometimes only a day in advance because
its as if I have too much time on my hands. A Stanford Alumni and
current Seattle Seahawk had this to say, the ability to focus on
schoolwork and a sport is considered to be very challenging. Richard
Sherman a defensive back in the NFL said in an interview You are put
on scholarship for football, or whatever sport that may be, you arent
put on scholarship for academics. He also said that college athletes
don't have enough time to take advantage of their free education if
they are on scholarship. (Seahawks)
The prior research for NDSU specifically; which was maintained from
Kelli Layman the Associate Director of Athlete Academics and Ashley
Harris the Coordinator of Athlete Academics through open ended
interviews concluded the following: Historically speaking at NDSU
student athletes do better in the spring academically. Said Ashley

Isaiah Frandsen
Harris. She also added for every 5 years only one of them has had a
higher GPA in the fall semester. Part of my research will investigate this
on going predicament. Also reported were athletes who have injuries or
set backs of some other major stressor in their life tend to take have a
lower GPA and class attendance. Another tendency found in talking
with Ashley and Kelli was when training 2 days a week and conference
tournaments and season starts to wind down; it was found that student
athletes grades and school work is less of a priority, and GPA have
tendency to be lower. For NDSU student athletes who are transfers and
or freshman in a fall sport have the toughest time with time
management. Kelli said this is the biggest issue they deal with starting
in the fall. Being the reason for academic advisors meeting with
athletes weekly setting calendars, to do lists, and plan out their week
to stay on top of things. The information contained specifically for
NDSUs student athletes will be particular important for our research.
Using and finding trends throughout students, teachers, and advisors
will be extremely helpful.
Methodology
To apply to my proposed research, open-ended interviews and
short 5 question questionnaires will be included after interviews. On
this questionnaire will include simple questions like what do you expect
your GPA to be in season, Males and females will be examined in all
NCAA sports at NDSU only, therefor excluding club teams. One sport,
which will be excluded, is track because they don't have an offseason
due to indoor track season in fall/winter and in spring they participate
in outdoor track season. These student athletes will have the ability to
accept or decline the survey and short interview. A list of all sports
teams rosters will be printed out, with picture identification. Surveyors
and interviewers will be in dining centers, classrooms, ACE, for 2 weeks
collecting data from various student athletes at NDSU. 40 student
athletes will be interviewed. We are hoping to get at least 20 males
and 20 females. Following the collection of data. For one week they will
compile all the surveys and interviews creating a score for each of
the participants. The names will be confidential as well as the findings
until further grouping of sport and tendencies of sport and season of
sport are identified. Following completion of data, the next step will be
to rate or categorize students with high GPA and classes missed.
Another category will include low GPA classes missed. Including an
additional category Average GPA with outside classroom work 2-4
hours per week. A group that believes they have better academic
success in season. Lastly a group who believes they have more
academic success out of season. See appendix A for timeline and
survey questions and questionnaire.

Isaiah Frandsen
With me and my research team we will investigate and hope to find
that our hypothesis of college student athletes at NDSU a majority of
the time do better academically in season, than they do academically
out of season. This is important to help student athletes in the season
to create an environment and a protocol to promote and guide athletes
struggling during season. But also find ways in which a majority of
student lack, such as preparation during season.

References
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Survey
Nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cva.asp
Forster, Julia. Student Athletes and Academic Success
http://www.seahawks.com/video/2015/01/29/richard-sherman-studentathlete-education
http://www.ncaa.org/student-athletes
Carodine, Almond, and Katherine Gratto. College Student Athlete
Success Both In and Out of Classroom 2001 Joey Bass a publishing unit
of John Wiley & sons Inc.

Isaiah Frandsen

Andre, Judith, and David N. James. Rethinking College Athletics.

Philadelphia: Temple UP, 1991. Print.
Shulman, James L., and William G. Bowen. The Game of Life. Princeton: Princeton UP,
2001. Print.