Not Going Pro: On Seeking Lasting Returns from College Sports
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17161/jas.v2i1.5017Keywords:
human capital, investment, ROI, collegiate athletics, homo economicusAbstract
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) clearly states there are many favorable qualities derived from participation that benefit those “who go pro in something other than sports.” However, the ability of collegiate athletics to deliver on the promise of attributable long-term vocational value is rarely questioned. Instead, student-athletes are encouraged to think of their participation as a personal investment with enduring rewards for the investor. In this study involving former NCAA Division I student-athletes, the authors examined whether participation can be regarded as an investment and how student-athletes perceive the returns thus derived. Extending Becker’s (1962) theory of human capital investment to sport participation, the authors probed participants’ experiences for evidence of investment thinking and lasting benefits in corporeal, economic, social, and cultural varieties. The findings support the notion that participation in collegiate athletics can be broadly defined as an investment, but not in accordance with the long-term utility maximizing rationale described by neoclassical economists. Furthermore, the high cost of participation, inherent uncertainty, and unreliable information confound the athlete’s decision-making and blur the distinction between consumption in the present and investing for the future.
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