Most colleges and universities believe athletics to be a critical part of the academic experience. Sport programs enhance the college’s reputation and teach student athletes important life lessons about perseverance, cooperation, and leadership that complement the academic mission. However, the significant demands of sport can isolate athletes from the larger student population and contribute to a disparaging stereotype of athletes as less engaged in the life of the university and in the community.

The response of many colleges and universities is to develop separate service initiatives for athletes. However, these service programs tend to place more demands on the limited time of student athletes.

A more productive path is to explore the way sport enhances the academic and civic lives of student athletes and build upon these capacities. By integrating athletes and sport into the college’s engaged agenda we can expand conversations about the role of sport in the academy and create more opportunities for sport to serve the academic agenda the community and the nation.

One of a wide range of knowledge hubs developed by Campus Compact, Building Deep and Sustainable Connections among Sport, Academics, and Community offers resources, models, and research from across the country.