An Examination of the Relationship between Athletic Funding and the Academic Success of Student Athletes at NCAA Division I and II Institutions

Abstract

The purpose of this retrospective study was to examine the relationship between athletic spending, athletically related student aid and the academic success of student-athletes at public and private NCAA Division I and II Institutions (with football teams). Institutional characteristics included type of institution as well as athletic spending and athletically related student aid for each athletic department. Academic success was measured for Division I institutions by APR, a metric used to track yearly academic performance of Division I athletic teams, and the Graduate Success Rate (GSR).The Division II ASR metric was used to measure graduation outcomes for Division II athletic teams. A total of 398 institutions (122 Division I-A, 116 Division I-AA and 160 Division II with football programs) were analyzed in this study. Data was analyzed through a series of bivariate correlations, paired sample t-tests and moderated regression analysis. Increased athletic spending was found to lead to greater academic success in student-athletes.