Differential Effects of Sport Type and Sport Category on Time Demands and Well-Being of College Athletes

Abstract

Time commitment of college athletes raises some alarm, leaving them vulnerable to career transitions and well-being consequences. How college athletes spend their academic and athletic time is not much explored. In the United States, college athletes are often classified based on their respective sport revenue production and sport type. The comparison of athletes based on sport category and sport type is sparse in the academic literature. By and large, well-being and time commitment of athletes among some others are believed to be significant factors in college sports success. This study examined the differential effects of sport category (revenue vs non-revenue) and sport type (individual vs team) on academic time use, athletic time use, subjective well-being, emotional well-being, and physical well-being of college athletes. It utilized secondary data provided by the U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) granted upon agreement on data fair use. Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was performed to examine the research questions. Significant differences relative to sport type and sport category were found in academic time use and athletic time use. Team sport and revenue-generating sport athletes were more athletically inclined, while individual sport and non-revenue generating sport athletes were more academically engaged.