Socioeconomic Status Of NCAA Student-athletes: Findings From The NCAA-DoD Care Consortium

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Access to monetary resources may influence participation rates in different sport-related activities. However, large-scale studies examining SES across student-athletes within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) are currently lacking. PURPOSE: To describe select aspects of socioeconomic background (e.g., household income) within a nationally representative sample of collegiate student-athletes. METHODS: Participants were enrolled from 30 participating sites within the Concussion Assessment, Research, and Education (CARE) Consortium (N = 17,956). Following consent, participants completed a demographics assessment from 2014-2021. Specifically, participants were asked to self-report their estimated household income, parental/guardian occupation(s), and highest level of parental/guardian education. Estimated household income data were stratified into categories by $60,000 increments, ranging from <$60,000 to >$300,000. Data were categorized based on median household income categories, with ≤$60,000 and > $120,000 approximating lower and upper class, respectively. Descriptive statistics of income category were calculated based on NCAA Division (I, II, III). Lastly, data were analyzed using chi-square tests in order to determine statistically significant relationships (P < .001). RESULTS: Results from the chi-square analyses revealed a significant relationship between income categories and division level (x2 = 589.4, df = 8, P < .001). Across all three divisions, 16.7% reported a median household income ≤$60,000, while 50.6% reported a median household income >$120,000. Specifically, a greater proportion of student-athletes in Division II (30.5%; n = 2,160) reported a median household income <$60,000 as compared to those in Divisions I (15.0%; n = 12,850) and III (14.0%; n = 2,946). Furthermore, only 30.5% of student-athletes in Division II (n = 2,160) reported a median household income >$120,000, in contrast to over half of the student-athletes within Divisions I (53.4%; n = 6865) and III (52.9%; n = 1560). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest there are notable income inequalities across Division levels within the NCAA. Further research is warranted to investigate why student-athletes from lower household incomes participate in Division II sports.