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Athletics Committee
April 2001


A Report on Student-Athlete Academic Performance


Issued by

Faculty Senate Athletics Committee
April 9, 2001

Authors: Daniel P. Murphy, Associate Professor of Accounting
Thomas Galligan, Professor and Dean of the Law School
Betsey Kirk, Student Government Association Representative
Jeff MacCabe, Professor of Molecular Biology


The Faculty Senate charged the Athletic Committee to conduct a study comparing the academic performance of student athletes at the University of Tennessee to non-athletes. A sub-committee of the Athletic Committee undertook this task. This year's study updates and expands upon the Athletics Committee studies and reports prepared in 1999 and 1994. The 2001 study is in two parts. The first part sets forth data and conclusions concerning grades earned by student athletes and non-student athletes. The Registrar's Office at UT provided the relevant data. The second part of the report is more qualitative. It sets forth the results of a survey the subcommittee asked a group (107) of student athletes to take. Members of the subcommittee also conducted group interviews with the athletes who filled out the survey.

Academic Performance

Unlike prior reports, the 2001 report cut-off cycle was not December. This year's report uses a cut-off cycle of the end of the second summer semester. Thus this year's data is based on a full academic year's worth of grades rather than simply one semester. While the increased pool of grades is a plus because it provides a larger sample size, one must beware not to try and compare conclusions or data from this year's report to earlier reports.

Overall Academic Performance: Athletes v. Non-Athletes

Overall, the 20,332 non-athletes (2.81) at UT have a mean GPA (Grade Point Average) only slightly higher than the mean GPA of our 594 athletes (2.70). See Table 1. This overall difference would appear to be due to athletes participating in men's football and basketball. The mean GPA of men's football players is 2.32 and the mean GPA of men's basketball players is 2.20. See Table 5, infra.

Gender and GPA

Turning to gender and GPA, women have higher GPAs than men, both among athletes and non-athletes. Overall women (10,307) have a mean GPA of 2.93 and men (10,025) have an overall mean GPA of 2.68. See Table 2. Female athletes have a mean GPA of 3.04, while the mean GPA of male athletes is 2.47. Female non-athletes (2.93) have a mean GPA slightly lower than female athletes. Male athletes' mean GPA (2.47) is lower than the mean for non-athletes (2.68). See Table 2.

Class and GPA

The data for class and GPA is somewhat startling and requires explanation. The data is startling not insofar as it affects athletes vs. non-athletes but for what it reveals about the freshman experience at the University of Tennessee. The data requires explanation because of the collection method. As noted, the cut-off date used was August 2001. Thus anyone counted as a freshman had earned 30 hours or less of academic credit as of August 2001. The group includes students who had started school in summer semester or in January but it would also include anyone who had begun earlier and had not progressed. Anyone who had begun school in August 2000 (or earlier) and earned over 30 hours would be counted as a sophomore, junior, or senior, not as a freshman. The startling statistic is that as of the collection date there were 2,582 freshman, with a mean GPA of 1.98. What is striking is the small number of freshman, as compared to other classes, and that the freshman mean GPA is alarmingly low. While this aspect of the study does not relate to athletics the Committee feels we have uncovered an issue that cries out for future study.

Turning to athletes and non-athletes, there is a general tendency among non-athletes for the GPA to increase markedly as they progress through college. Among athletes the GPA increase is greatest in the freshman-to-sophomore progression and smaller in later years. The increase among non-athletes may be influenced by a higher attrition rate among non-athletes with low GPAs but further study would be required to verify this inference.

The mean GPA of all freshman athletes (2.19) is higher than the mean GPA of freshman non-athletes (1.98). The mean GPA of sophomore athletes and non-athletes are identical at 2.74. Junior athletes have a mean GPA of 2.77; non-athletes have a mean GPA of 2.85. Senior athletes have a mean GPA of 2.82; non-athletes have a mean GPA of 3.04. See Table 3A.

Gender, Class, Athletes and GPA

Aside from the senior class, the mean GPAs of female athletes are higher than the mean GPAs of female non-athletes. See Table 3B. Male athletes (2.08) have a higher mean GPA than non-athletes (1.83) only in the freshman year. Thereafter, the mean GPAs of male non-athletes are higher than their counterparts who are athletes. See Table 3C.

Scholarships and GPA

Overall, athletes on partial scholarship (2.90) have slightly higher mean GPAs than athletes on full scholarship (2.62) and non-scholarship athletes (2.58). See Table 4A. The lack of association between GPA and scholarship status held for men as well as women. See Tables 4B and 4C.

T-test results concluded that the scholarship status difference was insignificant for female athletes but significant for male athletes. See Appendix.

Grades By Sport

The data for grades by sport is presented in Table 5. Men's football and men's basketball players have the lowest mean GPAs, as noted above. Female golfers have the highest mean GPA (3.37), followed by female swimmers (3.31), female volleyball payers and soccer players (3.16). Female basketball players have a mean GPA of 2.85. The highest mean GPA for any men's sport is 3.02 for tennis. Tennis is the only men's sport where athletes have a mean GPA over 3.0.

Grade Ranges

Grade ranges are presented in Figures 1 -- 6. Overall, a higher percentage of male athletes have GPAs below 2.0 and 2.5 than non-athletes. A smaller percentage of male athletes have GPAs over 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5 than male non-athletes. See Figure 1.

Figure 1


Inferences are more difficult to make for females. A higher percentage of female non-athletes have mean GPAs less than 2.0 than female athletes. The numbers are virtually identical for female athletes and non-athletes from 2.0 - 2.49, 2.5 - 3.0, and 3.51 - 4.0. But a slightly higher percentage of female athletes have GPAs between 3.01 and 3.5 than do non-athletes.

Figure 2


Grade ranges by class indicate that a lower percentage of athletes have grade ranges below 2.0 in each class except the senior class. A higher percentage of athletes have GPAs between 2.0 and 2.49 in each class. A higher percentage of non-athletes have GPAs between 2.5 and 3.0 in the freshman, sophomore, and senior classes but not in the junior class. In the freshman and sophomore classes a higher percentage of athletes have GPAs between 3.01 and 3.5 but not in the junior and senior classes. While the percentages are virtually identical in the freshman class a higher percentage of non-athletes have GPAs over 3.51 in the sophomore, junior and senior classes.


The Interview and Survey Results

The subcommittee developed a form survey that is included in the Appendix. The survey focused on three areas: the general academic environment at UT; the academic experience of the student athlete at UT; and UT athletes' use of academic support facilities. Each area of the survey consisted of a series of statements, see survey form, and the subject was asked to express his or her agreement or disagreement with the statement, expressed as a number ranging from 1 - 5. (1=Strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3=Neither agree nor disagree; 4 =Disagree; 5=Strongly disagree).

Two members of the subcommittee, Dan Murphy and Betsy Kirk, conducted and collected the surveys. 107 student athletes participated in the survey, 52 men and 55 women. The numbers were heavily weighted towards underclassmen (freshman and sophomores). The surveys were conducted in various classes and Dan and Betsy also met with the athletes in fora organized by the Office of Student Life. Now academic support facilities and services will be overseen by the Provost's office. It is important to note that some of the athletes interviewed were not in their sport season yet. For those freshman athletes who had not yet experienced a season as a student athlete, the data may represent less than perfect knowledge.

General Academic Environment

For the most part the assessment of the overall academic experience at UT was positive. The student athletes tended to agree that they were receiving a high quality education at UT and that their instructors were willing to meet with them. Student athlete comments made during the interviews were somewhat less positive. Football players, especially African-American football players reported a perception that some of their teachers did not like them because they were athletes. Several female athletes reported that they were not given make-up opportunities when traveling with their teams.

Experience as a Student Athlete at UT

Most student athletes did not think they were treated better or worse by their class room teachers because they were student athletes. However the standard deviations for the responses to this question were greater than 1.0 indicating some disagreement. Nor did they think their fellow students treated them worse because they were athletes. The athletes tended to neither agree nor disagree with the statement fellow students treated them better because they were athletes.

The athletes as a group agreed that their coaches clearly articulate their academic expectations of the athletes and hold the athletes accountable for their academic responsibilities. They generally agreed with the statement that they were better students during their season but the standard deviation was greater than 1.0.

Use of Academic Support Facilities

On the average student athletes uses academic support resources 3.64 times per week but the standard deviation is 3.13. That means, in the non-statistical colloquium, a majority of the responses were from 0 to 7. In response to other support resources questions, the athletes generally agreed that they received effective academic tutoring and advising. Overall, they seemed satisfied with the support they received.


Profile of Freshman Student Athletes

Concerns have been raised about the academic profile of incoming student athletes. In Table 8, the mean high school GPA and ACT equivalent scores are set forth for incoming athletes in various sports and for non-athletes as of fall 2000. To protect the confidentiality of the athletes it was necessary to group certain men's and women's sports together before computing these averages.


Acknowledgements

The committee could not have completed its work without the data collection assistance provided by Salim Bradley, Carmen Tegano, Kerry Howland, Malcolm McInnis and Pam Hindle.



Table 1
Cumulative GPA for Non-Athletes and Athletes


Item
August 2000
Non-Athletes
August 2000
Athletes
August 1999
Athletes
Population Size
Mean GPA
Standard Deviation		 20,332 students
2.81
.75		 594 students
2.70
.69		 546 students
2.72
.65



Table 2
Cumulative GPA for Non-Athletes and Athletes by Gender


Item
August 2000
Non-Athletes
August 2000
Athletes
August 1999
Athletes
Female
Population Size
Mean GPA
Std. Deviation		 10,307 students
2.93
.71		 240 students
3.04
.59		 225 students
3.00
.63
Male
Population Size
Mean GPA
Std. Deviation		 10,025 students
2.68
.78		 354 students
2.47
.66		 321 students
2.52
.59



Table 3A
Cumulative GPA for Non-Athletes and Athletes by Class Standing


Item
August 2000
Non-Athletes
August 2000
Athletes
August 1999
Athletes
Freshman
Population Size
Mean GPA
Std. Deviation		 2,503 students
1.98
.96		 79 students
2.19
.90		 87 students
2.24
.70
Sophomore
Population Size
Mean GPA
Std. Deviation		 4,234 students
2.74
.75		 184 students
2.74
.67		 149 students
2.79
.64
Junior
Population Size
Mean GPA
Std. Deviation		 4,198 students
2.85
.67		 145 students
2.77
.62		 124 students
2.76
.60
Senior
Population Size
Mean GPA
Std. Deviation		 9,937 students
3.04
.55		 186 students
2.82
.56		 186 students
2.87
.57



Table 3B
Cumulative GPA for Female Non-Athletes and Athletes by Class Standing


Item
August 2000
Non-Athletes
August 2000
Athletes
August 1999
Athletes
Freshman
Population Size
Mean GPA
Std. Deviation		 1,147 students
2.16
.94		 19 students
2.57
.70		 28 students
2.43
.83
Sophomore
Population Size
Mean GPA
Std. Deviation		 2,227 students
2.85
.72		 88 students
3.04
.61		 58 students
3.21
.56
Junior
Population Size
Mean GPA
Std. Deviation		 2,189 students
2.96
.63		 55 students
3.21
.54		 50 students
2.99
.61
Senior
Population Size
Mean GPA
Std. Deviation		 4,744 students
3.13
.52		 78 students
3.04
.50		 89 students
3.06
.49



Table 3C
Cumulative GPA for Male Non-Athletes and Athletes by Class Standing


Item
August 2000
Non-Athletes
August 2000
Athletes
August 1999
Athletes
Freshman
Population Size
Mean GPA
Std. Deviation		 1,356 students
1.83
.95		 60 students
2.08
.93		 59 students
2.15
.62
Sophomore
Population Size
Mean GPA
Std. Deviation		 2,007 students
2.62
.76		 96 students
2.46
.60		 91 students
2.52
.53
Junior
Population Size
Mean GPA
Std. Deviation		 2,009 students
2.73
.68		 90 students
2.49
.51		 74 students
2.60
.54
Senior
Population Size
Mean GPA
Std. Deviation		 4,653 students
2.94
.57		 108 students
2.66
.55		 97 students
2.69
.57



Table 4A
Cumulative GPA for All Athletes
by Scholarship Status


Item
August 2000
Athletes
August 1999
Athletes
Full Scholarship
Population Size
Mean GPA
Std. Deviation		 157 students
2.62
.56		 178 students
2.63
.56
Partial Scholarship
Population Size
Mean GPA
Std. Deviation		 198 students
2.90
.61		 195 students
2.91
.62
Non-Scholarship
Population Size
Mean GPA
Std. Deviation		 239 students
2.58
.80		 172 students
2.60
.72



Table 4B
Cumulative GPA for Female Athletes
by Scholarship Status


Item
August 2000
Athletes
August 1999
Athletes
Full Scholarship
Population Size
Mean GPA
Std. Deviation		 63 students
2.96
.58		 64 students
3.05
.52
Partial Scholarship
Population Size
Mean GPA
Std. Deviation		 78 students
3.19
.52		 95 students
3.08
.62
Non-Scholarship
Population Size
Mean GPA
Std. Deviation		 99 students
2.98
.62		 65 students
2.86
.71



Table 4C
Cumulative GPA for Male Athletes
by Scholarship Status


Item
August 2000
Athletes
August 1999
Athletes
Full Scholarship
Population Size
Mean GPA
Std. Deviation		 94 students
2.40
.42		 114 students
2.39
.44
Partial Scholarship
Population Size
Mean GPA
Std. Deviation		 120 students
2.71
.59		 100 students
2.74
.58
Non-Scholarship
Population Size
Mean GPA
Std. Deviation		 140 students
2.30
.79		 107 students
2.45
.68



Table 5
Cumulative GPA by Sport


Sport
August 2000
Athletes
August 1999
Athletes
Female
Basketball
Cross-Country
Golf
Track
Rowing
Soccer
Softball
Swimming
Tennis
Volleyball		 2.85
3.18
3.37
2.75
3.06
3.16
2.76
3.31
3.08
3.16		 2.79
n/a
3.14
2.83
2.97
3.24
2.60
3.27
3.11
3.13
Male
Baseball
Basketball
Football
Golf
Track
Swimming
Tennis		 2.53
2.20
2.32
2.96
2.56
2.87
3.02		 2.54
2.48
2.40
2.63
2.66
2.78
3.02



Table 6
College Affiliation of Athletes


College
August 2000
Athletes
August 1999
Athletes
Communications
Architecture
Nursing
University Studies
Agriculture
Business Administration
Education
Engineering
Human Ecology
Arts and Sciences
Social Work
Total		 38
2
9
168
13
73
63
28
34
165
1
594		 26
3
5
143
16
87
56
31
36
140
3
546



Table 7A
Student-Athletes' Academic Experience: Survey Responses

General Academic Experiences
Average
Std. Deviation
A. My classroom instructors are generally accessible and willing to meet with me. 1.82 0.056
B. I receive effective academic advising from my academic department or college. 2.14 0.091
C. I receive high quality in-class instruction in my courses at UT. 2.27 0.064
D. Overall, I am receiving a high quality education at UT. 2.07 0.058
E. The overall academic and non-academic preparation I am receiving at UT will prepare me for life outside the university. 1.87 0.079
Academic Issues Unique to the Student-Athlete
Average
Std. Deviation
A. I am treated better by my classroom instructors because I am a student-athlete. 3.57 1.001
B. I am treated worse by my classroom instructors because I am a student-athlete. 3.44 1.057
C. I am treated better by my fellow students because I am a student-athlete. 2.82 0.919
D. I am treated worse by my fellow students because I am a student-athlete. 3.65 0.848
E. My coaches clearly articulate their academic expectations of me. 1.73 0.759
F. My coaches hold me accountable for my academic responsibilities including attending class, maintaining my grades, etc. 1.37 0.541
G. I am a better student during the athletic season than during the off-season. 2.99 1.042
Note: Student-athletes were asked to express their agreement or disagreement with the above statements. Responses are expressed as a number ranging from 1 - 5 (1=Strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3=Neither agree nor disagree; 4 =Disagree; 5=Strongly disagree).



Table 7B
Student-Athletes' Academic Support Services: Survey Responses

Use of Academic Support Facilities Provided by the Office of Student Life
Average
Std. Deviation
A. On average, how many times per week do you use the academic support resources provided by the Office of Student Life. 3.64 3.132
B. I receive effective academic tutoring from the Student Life. 2.18 0.899
C. I receive the effective advising from the Student Life advisors. 1.90 0.89
D. Overall, the study facilities and tools available in the Student Life offices meet my academic needs. 2.01 0.947
E. The Student Life academic support personnel are accessible and willing to meet with me. 1.79 0.727
F. Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of academic support I have. 1.70 0.767
Note: Student-athletes were asked to express their agreement or disagreement with the above statements. Responses are expressed as a number ranging from 1 - 5 (1=Strongly agree, 2=Agree, 3=Neither agree nor disagree; 4=Disagree; 5=Strongly disagree).



Table 8
Academic Profile of Fall 2000 Incoming Freshman Class


Description
Mean High School
GPA
Mean ACT
Equivalent Score
Non-Athletes 3.35 24.00
Athletes
Football
Track--Men
All Other Men's Sports
Basketball--Men & Women
Track--Women
All Other Women's Sports		 2.87
2.93
3.20
3.20
3.76
3.40		 18.68
21.62
21.25
18.17
22.75
22.92



Figure 3



Figure 4



Figure 5



Figure 6



Appendix to the Report


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