quote:"It is definitely true that intercollegiate athletes tend to have lower grades than non-athletes at college institutions," he said. "The million-dollar question is, 'What's the reason for that kind of underperformance?'"
That's a good question. Is it simply that athletics takes away too much classroom and study time? Or are D3 athletes not as academically inclined/motivated as their non-athletic peers? Are other factors to blame? It's hard to say.
I recently had an illuminating discussion with a doctor who explained how many medical studies are skewed according to the researchers' biases. Depending on who is conducting the study, data can be manipulated to achieve a desired result. Makes me wonder if that's at work here too.
One other thing to consider: assuming that the athletes' grades are truly lower, do they out-perform their peers in other ways like time management, self-discipline, promptness, perseverance, etc.?