Exploring academic performance: An examination of athletic reclassification from FCS to FBS

ABSTRACT

We examined the changes in academic qualifications of incoming freshmen to the general student population and the Academic Progress Rate (APR) of football student-athletes at universities who transition within National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I, from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Eight institutions that made the transition between 2012 and 2017 were included to see the changes in applications received, grade point averages (GPA) of the entire incoming class, and football team APR. Data analysis consisted of pre-and post-reclassification tests in 4-year and 8-year windows to explore the duration of changes. The results showed there was a significant increase in GPA of incoming students and a significant decrease in APR of football student-athletes. The findings suggest that the transition is positively correlated with the quality of students entering the general student population, while conversely having a negative correlation with football student-athlete academic progress metrics.

KEYWORDS:

• NCAA
• FBS
• FCS
• admissions
• reclassification
• student-athletes
• academic qualification
• academic performance

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Brian Fowler

Brian Fowler is an Assistant Professor in Movement Sciences at the University of Idaho. His research interests include sport finance, revenue generation, and strategic management in college and professional sport.

Yoon Tae Sung

Yoon Tae Sung an Associate Professor in Sport Administration at the University of Northern Colorado. His research focuses on sport finance and economics.

Jay Martyn

Jay Martyn is an Instructor in College of Business at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. He has worked for various organizations in the sport and entertainment industry. His research areas focus on organizational behavior and institutional theory, with a specific focus on intercollegiate athletics.