Exploring the Relationship between Recreational Sports Employment and Academic Success

This study examined the relationship between part-time student employment in a recreational sports department and academic success as measured by grade point averages (GPA) and number of credit hours enrolled. Three hundred and thirty undergraduate recreational sports student employees were compared to a random sample of 350 undergraduate students who were not employed by the department of recreational sports. A positive connection was identified between employment with the recreational sports department and academic success. Freshmen and junior recreational sports employees had statistically significant higher GPAs than the freshmen and juniors in the general student population. However, working with the recreational sports department did not have an effect on the number of credit hours enrolled.