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Do Sports Crowd Out Books? The Impact of Intercollegiate Athletic Participation on Grades

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  • Michael A. Insler
  • Jimmy Karam
Abstract
We investigate the influence of intercollegiate athletic participation on grades using data from the U.S. Naval Academy. Athletic participation is an endogenous decision with respect to educational outcomes. To identify a causal effect, we develop an instrument via the Academy’s random assignment of students into peer groups. Instrumental variable (IVs) estimates suggest that sports participation modestly reduces recruited athletes’ grades. This finding has implications beyond college, as we also show that grades—not athletic participation—are most strongly associated with postcollegiate outcomes such as military tenure and promotion rates.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael A. Insler & Jimmy Karam, 2019. "Do Sports Crowd Out Books? The Impact of Intercollegiate Athletic Participation on Grades," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 20(1), pages 115-153, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jospec:v:20:y:2019:i:1:p:115-153
    DOI: 10.1177/1527002517716975
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    Cited by:

    1. Jerome Segura III & Jonathan Willner, 2019. "Athleticism in NCAA D-III: It Ain’t Only Football That Matters," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 20(7), pages 929-958, October.
    2. Martin Grossmann, 2021. "Asymmetric Opportunities After an Unsuccessful Sports Career," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 22(5), pages 587-612, June.
    3. Insler, Michael A. & McMurrey, Bryce & McQuoid, Alexander F., 2019. "From broken windows to broken bonds: Militarized police and social fragmentation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 43-62.

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