What is a Student Athlete?
A student athlete is a student who represents the university in a particular sport. The term Student Athlete can sometimes be confusing as many people are left wondering: Am I primarily a Student, or an Athlete? The answer is BOTH.
Although you will attend university on an Athletic Scholarship, it is important to realize that you are there to earn a degree and using your sport as a means to do this. The NCAA set strict guidelines for student athletes, to encourage them to maintain good grades. Should your grades fall below 2.0 GPA (Grade Point Average), you will be unable to play your sport until you reach and maintain the required GPA.
It is worth noting, that the system in the USA is like no other anywhere in the world. It has been specifically designed to allow students to maximize their academic and sporting potential at the same time.
In other countries in the world including the UK and the rest of Europe, students wishing to pursue an academic and sporting career need to make a choice between the two. There is simply no room to accommodate both. That’s why the system in place in the USA is so special and produces some of the finest athletes in the world.
ATHLETES SUCH AS:
- Tiger Woods (Stanford University) – Golf
- Colin Montgomery (Houston Baptist University) – Golf
- Shaquille O’Neal (Louisiana State University) – NBA Star
- Allen Iverson (Georgetown University) – NBA Star
- Tom Brady (University of Michigan) – NFL, 3 time Super Bowl Winner
- Mia Hamm (University of North Carolina) – Women’s Soccer Legend
- Claudio Reyna (University of Virginia) – Soccer, US National Team Captain
- David Weir (University of Evansville) – Soccer, Scottish Hall of Fame