Intramural Sports Boost College GPA and Retention, Study Finds (Full Transcript)

Speaker 1: Playing sports in college can significantly improve your GPA. Intramural sports are a low-commitment way to forget about the more stressful aspects of college, like adjusting to life away from home or studying for exams. But this new research implies that its benefits go way beyond simply being a distraction. The researchers looked at the academic history and sports participation of roughly 2,000 MSU students. One of the important aspects of this study, compared to others, was the diligence in matching students up with students of similar backgrounds. They accounted for factors including high school GPA, gender, race, socioeconomic status, if they lived on campus, and if they were a first-generation student. Jim Povarnik, a kinesiology professor and co-author of the study, said, The only thing that was different between these students was whether they played or not. Everything else was matched. And the data is pretty convincing. Students who participated in intramural sports fared way better than their counterparts. They were 40% more likely to achieve sophomore status and reported an average GPA of 3.25 at the end of their first year, while students who didn't play intramurals had GPAs around 3.07. Students who played intramurals were 2.3 times more likely to return after their freshman year. So, what's happening here? Well, it's important to note that this study doesn't necessarily imply causality. Playing sports is not a direct path to getting better grades or not dropping out of college. Believe me, I joined my college basketball league my freshman year and I still almost fail calculus. But what it does do is directly connect a person to their college experience. The transition into college life can often be the hardest part, and something like an active sports team can provide the needed social environment to succeed. These results fit well with two psychological models called Astin's model of student involvement and Tinto's theory of student departure, which both get at the same idea. The more a student engages in college life, inside and outside of the classroom, the better chance they have of being successful. This information can be a good tool for anyone struggling to keep up with the college lifestyle. You don't have to do it alone. Join an intramural team and give yourself a sense of community. The researchers made it clear that this isn't a cure-all, and joining more teams doesn't make the benefits greater. If you join 20 teams, you'll probably do worse in school. But join a couple, and you could find yourself pulling that sweet, sweet magna cum laude GPA in no time. Basketball. Football. Swimming. Golf. Badminton. Table tennis. Synchronized swimming. Gymnastics. Shot put. Hammer throw. What's a hammer throw? Hammer throws look like this.