Abstract

Student athletes face challenges of individual nature including their personal involvement in academic oriented activities, time constraints, class attendance, personal goal setting and career choices, physical and emotional fatigue, transition to college environment and academic grades, as well as external ones such as coach demands, institutional policies, discrimination; marginalization from college mainstream activities; college mission and learning environment, and eligibility demands from National Collegiate Athletic Association and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. It is prudent for college administrators to purposely create an accommodating learning environment as well as striving to integrate the student athletes into college wide activities.

Key words: Student athlete, faculty, racism, stereotype, gender inequality, student involvement theory, intercollegiate athletics/sports, graduation rate.