Want to play college sports? A wealthy family helps

It takes more than athletic talent to play varsity sports in college, at least for most young people, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that U.S. high-school athletes were much more likely to play sports in college if they came from higher-income families with well-educated parents and attended wealthier schools.

About 14% of 10th grade students whose families were in the top 20% in terms of socioeconomic status played sports in college – compared to fewer than 4% of those in the bottom 20% of socioeconomic status.

Among those who became 12th grade athletes in high school, a marked difference still remained: 23% of the most privileged students played college sports compared to 9% of the least privileged students.

Tompsett conducted the study with Chris Knoester, associate professor of sociology at Ohio State. Their research was published in the Sociology of Sport Journal.

Release date: 30 August 2021
Source: Ohio State University