An Investigation of the Relationship Between Academic and Athletic Satisfaction Among Division IA Student-Athletes

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between academic and athletic satisfaction for Division IA intercollegiate athletes. Student-athletes (n = 367; 16 teams) at a Division IA university in the Midwest completed the Athlete Satisfaction Questionnaire (ASQ) and the Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI), in addition to a demographic survey. The data was analyzed using a variety of analytical procedures including descriptive statistics, bivariate correlation, and hierarchical regression in order to answer the research questions guiding this study:
1. What is the relationship between Division IA intercollegiate athletes’ satisfaction with their academic and athletic experiences?
2. What is the relationship between Division IA intercollegiate athletes’ satisfaction with their academic and athletic satisfaction controlling for differences by: ethnicity of athlete, gender of athlete, gender of coach, leadership style of coach, nature of sport (individual vs. team-oriented), team win/loss record, year in school, grade point average, injury incurred, and extent of games missed?
3. What is the difference between the satisfaction and importance scores Division IA athletes assign to questions about their academic and athletic experiences?

There was a statistically significant relationship between academic and athletic satisfaction (p < .01), even after controlling for the intervening variables. This finding suggests that academic satisfaction is a powerful predictor of athletic satisfaction.