By Laurel Moody, Class of 2025, Neuroscience concentrator and varsity Softball student-athlete

Student-athletes are uniquely equipped for success in the classroom as years of organized, high-level sports prepare college student-athletes to excel academically. At Brown, there are nearly 1,000 student-athletes, comprising about 13% of the undergraduate population.

“Student-athletes come to the classroom with a set of attitudes that mirror their athletic approach—focused, organized, growth mindset, and prepared to balance the demands of both worlds. These students show resilience in the face of challenges and aren't afraid to seek help when encountering academic difficulties. Furthermore, they view their athletic experiences—learning to collaborate, pushing through adversity, and staying mentally tough—as an advantage that enriches their academic efforts.” 

-Associate Dean of Biology Undergraduate Education and Senior Lecturer in Biology, Toni-Marie Achilli

While student-athletes have a number of skills that allow them to be successful academically, they also face unique challenges due to the demands placed on them outside of the classroom. This newsletter provides an overview of research about academic challenges that student-athletes face – as well as the assets they bring to the classroom. It suggests teaching strategies and resources at Brown for supporting student-athlete success.

Strengths Student-Athletes Bring to the Classroom

Research shows that student-athletes bring “goal setting and goal pursuit, development of time management, planning, and organizational skills, development of team values and teamwork skills, development of communication and interpersonal skills, and acceptance of, coping strategies for, and resilient response to stress and adversity” (Strowd et al., 2020, p. 45). Faculty and coaches also note that student-athletes understand the importance of setting both short-term and long-term goals and creating plans to achieve them (Strowd et al.) - attributes honed through years of playing sports. Brown students, faculty, and coaches often comment on how committed student-athletes are to achieving their performance goals. This commitment is reflected in their strong work ethic, perseverance, and goal-oriented behaviors, such as discipline, task prioritization, and effective time management. At Brown, instructors observe that student-athletes are motivated, analytical, outspoken, and eager to answer questions and share ideas. 

Challenges Student-Athletes Face in the Classroom

One of the most important factors in academic success is engagement with the course outside of class hours (Umbach et al., 2006). Student-athletes often have additional commitments that require more than 20 hours a week, proving to be a barrier to engagement outside of class hours. Travel to competitions, practices, and other athletic obligations further add to these time constraints. These commitments can make it difficult for student-athletes to attend office hours, participate in supplemental learning opportunities, and fully engage with courses outside of class. Travel and competition can also interfere with class attendance, forcing student-athletes to find time outside of class and practice to catch up on lectures and assignments. These competing demands can make academic success more challenging for student-athletes.

Student-athletes often have lower academic confidence, compared to non-athletes (Aries et al., 2004). Throughout their schooling, athletes face stereotypes that negatively impact their self-esteem and academic performance. Research from the University of Wisconsin finds that “people do harbor the ‘dumb jock’ stereotype, which negatively affects student-athletes' perceived academic self-regard and academic performance” (Diekfuss, 2012, p. 1). Battling these stereotypes makes it harder for student-athletes to feel confident in the classroom, further impeding their success.

Teaching Strategies to Support Student-Athletes

To support student-athletes in the classroom, research suggests that the following pedagogical approaches are most supportive: offering flexibility, communicating availability, and providing outside support.

Flexibility

One of the most important strategies professors can demonstrate is flexibility, working with student-athletes to support them when challenges arise. For example, during competition seasons, student-athletes will likely have to miss class for travel or competitions.

“Professors have supported me when I have had to miss deadlines. They have understood that travel and other sports-related incidents are out of my control and, when appropriate, they helped me reschedule requirements.” 

-Nathan Brasher, senior on the Baseball team

Additionally, from the faculty perspective, 

“Trust and flexibility are key, so I work with student-athletes to accommodate their academic responsibilities, especially during travel or competition seasons.”

-Associate Dean of Biology Undergraduate Education and Senior Lecturer in Biology, Toni-Marie Achilli

Critical to their success in the classroom, faculty can - working alongside student-athletes - accommodate their schedules while also holding them to the same standards as the rest of the class.

In addition to accommodating travel schedules, it is crucial for professors to support student-athletes during times of injury. For instance, a Brown senior shares her experience regarding professors’ support during this time:

“Professors made specific office hours to accommodate my schedule, sitting down and explaining the readings when I was unable to do them myself, while also being understanding of deadlines and allowing me time to heal and return at my own pace. Being understanding of moving exams or assignment deadlines, without making me jump through hoops, made a huge difference as well. In addition, I always appreciated when professors took the time to check in and ask how I was doing.”

-Katie McCallum, senior on the Field Hockey team

Student-athletes work hard to represent the university, both on and off the field. Traveling and injuries are outside their control, but professors can greatly contribute to their academic success by providing care and support during such times.

Communication and Availability

Effective communication and availability are key factors that contribute to student-athlete success in the classroom. Although student-athletes often manage competing demands in the classroom and in their sport, they are still committed to succeeding academically. Student-athletes appreciate instructors who offer additional office hours outside of the regularly scheduled times. Jake Regenwetter, a senior on the men’s Swim and Dive team, observes, “Professors with more availability who are willing and eager to meet with students are great because they encourage a relationship that promotes close understanding and regular perspective-sharing.” Similarly, Isabella Mauricio, a senior on the women’s Basketball team, states, “With my practice schedule, I am often unable to make office hours if they are in the middle of the day, so having professors who provide multiple office hours is beneficial to my success.”

Lecturer in Sociology and Head Women’s Rugby Coach, Professor Rosalind Chou, emphasizes the importance of “proactive, open communication about how course demands will be met.” She reinforces the idea that:

“Student-athletes care as much about their academic experience as their athletic one and professors need to be willing to partner with them like they would any other student with numerous responsibilities.”

-Professor Rosalind Chou, Lecturer in Sociology and Head Women’s Rugby Coach

Open communication between the student-athlete and the professor allows for a positive working relationship that positions the student-athlete for success. This positive working relationship has been shown to increase athlete commitment to the institution and academics, improving overall educational and developmental outcomes (Comeaux & Harrison, 2011). 

Support Outside the Classroom

Beyond classroom strategies, student-athletes and faculty members highlight the importance of support outside the classroom. Many student-athletes mention having positive experiences when professors attended their home competitions, demonstrating their investment in students’ lives beyond academics. Katie McCallum, a senior on the Field Hockey team, shared, “I enjoyed when professors seemed supportive of my athletic schedule and came out to games!”

Instructor in Physics, Jim Valles, also spoke about the importance and personal enjoyment he found in attending his students’ competitions. He remarks:

“It is important to show student-athletes, as well as other students, that you are invested in them inside and outside the classroom. I love going to watch current and former student-athletes compete in their respective sports!”

-Professor Jim Valles, Physics

To be an effective educator, teaching to the whole student is important in and outside of the classroom. The strategies noted in this newsletter – offering flexibility, communicating availability, and providing outside support – are components of inclusive teaching.

Important Resources

Brown has numerous resources to support student-athletes in the classroom. For example, in Brown Athletics, the Student-Athlete Development Senior Manager, Jennifer Miller-McEachern, works to ensure the academic and career success of student-athletes, including leading programs and leveraging campus partnerships to provide holistic support for Student-Athletes. The following are additional resources for instructors:

Tutoring. One-on-one athletic tutoring is offered to student-athletes. For more information, please see the Athletics website. Sheridan Center Small-group Tutoring is offered for select, high-yield, introductory STEM, quantitative social sciences, and language courses. This option is a great resource for developing teamwork and asking questions in a small-group setting. For more information, please see this Sheridan newsletter. Note that Sheridan Small-group Tutoring can create groups for athletes in partnership with coaches and Athletics.

BEAR Liaisons are faculty members who are passionate about working with student-athletes and assigned to some teams to help them with any academic questions or concerns they may have.  For teams with a BEAR Liaison, this can be a beneficial resource for student-athletes with academic-related questions. For more information, please visit the Brown Student-Athlete Development webpage.

Academic Coaches. Athletics partners with the College’s Curricular Resource Center and International Academic Advising team to provide academic coaches for each team. Their focus is on the first-year transition but they hold drop-in hours and workshops for all students on a team. 

Faculty-Coaches Learning Community. Meeting monthly since 2017, this group brings together faculty and athletic coaches to discuss commonalities between teaching and coaching, as well as how best to support student-athletes. For more information, contact Sheridan_Center@brown.edu.

UNIV 0901: Learning Transfer: Integrating Sport, School, and Life. This course will be offered in the Spring of 2025 and taught by Economics Distinguished Senior Lecturer, Sylvia Kuo, and Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Sean Hendricks. The course examines and scaffolds learning transfer in the context of sports into the classroom. Students in the course will be challenged to recognize habits and practices that yield success and apply them to all areas of their lives.

References:

Aries, E., McCarthy, D., Salovey, P., & Banaji, M. R. (2004). A comparison of athletes and non-athletes at highly selective colleges: Academic performance and personal development. Research in Higher Education, 45(6), 577-602.

Comeaux, E., & Harrison, C. K. (2011). A conceptual model of academic success for student–athletes. Educational Researcher, 40(5), 235-245. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X11415260

Diekfuss, J. A. (2012). The dumb jock: How negative stereotype threats impact student-athletes’ standards of academic competence and their math performance (Master's thesis, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh). University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Digital Library. https://minds.wisconsin.edu/bitstream/handle/1793/63058/Diekfuss%2C%20Jed.pdf?sequence=1#:~:text=If%20a%20student%2Dathlete's%20social,them%20to%20perform%20worse%20academically.

Strowd, L. C., Kelly, K., Peters, T. R., & Jackson, J. M. (2022). Student, faculty, and coach perspectives on why athletes excel in medical school: A qualitative analysis. Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 34(1), 43-59. https://doi.org/10.1080/10401334.2021.1921584

Umbach, P. D., Palmer, M. M., Kuh, G. D., & Hannah, S. J. (2006). Intercollegiate athletes and effective educational practices: Winning combination or losing effort? Research in Higher Education, 47(6), 709-733. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-006-9012-9