The relationship between college sports experiences and academic performance in student athletes

Abstract

University sports, including events like the Brazilian University Games (JUBs), offer opportunities for personal and social development, but also require students to balance training and competitions with academic demands. Given this, the present study investigated the relationship between the experiences of university athletes and the academic performance of student-athletes. This cross-sectional, quantitative study involved 34 student-athletes from a higher education institution (HEI) who participated in the 2024 Pernambuco University Games. The instruments used were the Brazilian version of the University Sport Experiences Scale - Portuguese (USES-BR) and the semestral Academic Performance Coefficient (CRE). Data analysis was conducted using the Kolmogorov test and Pearson's correlation coefficient. The results showed that positive sports experiences, such as social skills, initiative, and interpersonal relationships, had higher scores compared to negative experiences (stress, social exclusion). Significant (p<0.05), positive, and weak (r<0.40) correlations were found between basic skills and interpersonal relationships from sports experiences and the semestral CRE (r=0.32 and r=0.27, respectively). It was also noted that the dimensions of positive sports experiences showed positive correlations among themselves (r between 0.28 and 0.51), while negative experiences also showed positive correlations among themselves (r between 0.21 and 0.39). Finally, it was observed that positive sports experiences showed negative correlations with the negative experiences (r between −0.32 and −0.52). It was concluded that certain sports experiences -especially those related to the development of basic skills and the quality of interpersonal relationships - are positively associated with academic performance.