7. Intercollegiate Athletics and Student Debt

This chapter delves into the complex relationship between intercollegiate athletics and student loan debt, focusing on repayment rates across different types of institutions. It reveals that institutions with prominent football programs, particularly those in the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), tend to have lower student loan repayment rates. The analysis also highlights disparities among various institutional categories, such as public flagships, NCAA Division III schools, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The study employs regression analysis to control for factors like academic majors, Pell Grant status, and SAT scores, providing a detailed examination of how athletics expenditures and program intensity affect student debt outcomes. The findings suggest that while athletics can have a negative impact on repayment rates, the extent of this impact varies significantly across different institutional contexts. This chapter offers a comprehensive look at the economic implications of intercollegiate athletics, providing valuable insights for understanding the broader financial landscape of higher education.