The NCAA recently conducted a survey of nearly 50,000 Division I college student athletes, coaches, and administrators where the parties offered feedback on the time demands being asked of them in regards to academics, sports, practice, and travel and the results are in. Just last week, Division III Dordt College provided an excellent look at the time demands of a small college athlete, and I think most of us can agree that Division I athletes face a whole different set of hurdles when it comes to time demands.
“The Council’s commitment to enhancing and improving the undergraduate experience for our student-athletes, on and off the playing surface, is as strong as it’s ever been,” noted Council chair Jim Phillips, who also serves as Northwestern's vice president for athletics and recreation. The council was created a year ago to field ideas on how to improve the student athlete experience.
“Our young men and women continue to respond to our inquiries in staggering numbers to help inform and guide our decision-making. The results of this survey will allow us to consider feedback from administrators, coaches, faculty representatives and, most importantly, the student-athletes, in order to help determine the best course of action moving forward.”
Nearly 90% of the individuals that responded to the survey were Division I athletes, and according to a release from the NCAA, the results of the survey agree that the following points need to be examined further.
- Require a minimum of 8 hours overnight between countable athletically related activity periods
- A mandatory no-activity period at the end of the season, which received a strong showing of support from administrators and student athletes. Coaches in most coaches also supported this, but coaches in other sports were not as convinced that this is a great idea.
- A minimum of 2 days off per during the off season
- A majority of college athletes and coaches supported a two to four week period that would allow student athletes to take a period of "no activity" during the off season that would allow them to participate in educational or career development opportunities.
- Limit the number of contests during exam periods.
Starting at about 5:30pm EST, Jon Solomon of CBS shared a few interesting anecdotes behind the data, including where coaches, administrators, and student athletes stand on particular important issues, which I have included below.