Ayers, K., Pazmino-Cevallos, M., & Dobose, C. (2012).

The 20-hour rule: student-athletes time

commitment to athletics and academics.(Report). VAHPERD Journal, 33(1), 22.

This article was put together by Kevin Ayers, Monica Pazmino-Cevallos, and Cody Dobose.

Kevin Ayers was an assistant professor at Radford University during this article. He received his

doctorate in athletic administration from Florida State University, a Master of Education from

the Citadel, and he received his undergraduate degree from UNC Charlotte in economics.

Monica Pazmino-Cevallos was a professor at Radford University during the time of this article.

She has a PhD and her expertise is in Sport Administration. Cody Dobose was a student at

Radford University during the time of this article. This article is peer reviewed and is report of a

study done, surveying college students about the NCAA’s 20-hour rule. In the abstract and

introduction the authors explain the NCAA’s 20-hour rule which was established in 1991. By

law students competing in intercollegiate athletics are limited to the number of hours than can

spend in season and out of season for their sport. The 20-hour rule stated that college athletes

couldn’t spend more than four hours a day, and 20 hours a week, participating athletically in

their sport. This rule was put in to effect so the status of these student-athletes is not abused and

they can spend time on their “prioritized” academics. Since 1999 there have been many

complaints though that colleges and Universities abused and ignored this 20-hour rule. For this

study a survey was given to fifty-nine student-athletes in Division I Universities. This survey

was thirty-eight questions and it was used to determine the time commitment given by the

athletes to their academics and athletics. Twenty-four of the students surveyed kept a weekly

journal of their time commitments. Thirty-two of the student-athletes were freshmen, fifteen

were sophomores, ten were juniors, and two were seniors, while seven men’s sports were

surveyed and six women’s sports. Tables were provided in the article showing the questions and
the results using the average and range. The average number of hours per week spent on athletic

activities in-season was 21.50 while the range was 5 to 30 hours. The average for off-season was

13.14. The average academic activities in-season spent a week was 12.73 hours and off-season

was 13.09. Most of the student athletes reported that they had to miss several classes a week due

to their sports. According to the article “Twenty-two percent of student-athletes reported being

advised not to major in a particular academic field by either athletic or academic personnel

because of their athletic participation” (3). This study showed that the 20-hour rule is abused and

that participation in athletics takes away major time from academics.

“Similar to the survey results the vast majority of student-athletes (92%) responded in their

journals that they were satisfied with their time commitments to athletics” (4).

“It is clear from this study that participation in collegiate athletics constitutes a significant time

commitment on the part of the student-athlete” (5).

“Research indicates that student-athletes that spend more than 10 hours per week on athletic

activities may have difficulty in academic pursuits” (5).

I liked the concept of this article because it reported a study that was done about the student-

athletes time. Of all the articles I have looked at so far, there were no studies done recording how

much time the student spent on athletics and on academics. I also liked how this article portrayed

the data, using tables to show the questions and the averages and ranges of times spent per week.

This article and study connected with my inquiry proposal by showing how participating in

sports can affect a student.