What does your day look like compared to a Division I athlete?
I get up at 8:00 am, exercise on my treadmill for 30 minutes, do a few back stretches, drink my protein shake, shower, and dress for the day. Admittedly, I am older than any Division I (D1) athlete, but I think my schedule is mildly stressful; if I add in appointments, household duties, shopping, and worrying about my children and grandchildren, the stress multiplies. But it is shockingly easy compared to the schedules of D1 college athletes.
D1 schools are in the top level of college sports. It is the National College Athletic Association’s (NCAA) highest tier. D1 means big-time competition, huge crowds, and serious resources. These schools sponsor at least fourteen sports, offer full athletic scholarships, pursue national titles, and have elite facilities and coaching staff.
D1 athletes are strong and capable. They are expected to perform continuous superhuman feats on the baseball, football, lacrosse, field hockey, and soccer fields; on the basketball, tennis, and volleyball courts; and in the swimming pool. The expectations of D1 college athletes are demanding and stressful.
To meet those expectations, D1 college athletes need to follow rigorous training and practice routines. Every coach has his own team and individual schedules. Athletes must be available for weekend and weekday tournaments, making time to travel to and from those competitions. They need to manage their time effectively to attend class, study, and write papers.
To illuminate these schedules and requirements, I interviewed an athlete who played at a D1 southern college starting in 1996. Full transparency: This player is my son, so I have plenty of behind the scenes information. Then I questioned two present-day Pennsylvania D1 college basketball athletes from two different schools. Finally, I did research on Penn State football to reveal how grueling college athletes’ schedules are in the three different top-revenue sports.
My son, the baseball player who attended a southern university as a walk-on player, received no scholarship funds and no other reimbursements because he decided late. His motivation was love of the game and the opportunity to refine his skills to play more games in the warmer southern schedules.
On a daily basis from January through mid-February, he had to schedule weight-room training where there were no trainers or coaches present. Players had to plan those weight workouts themselves. The morning started at 5:30 a.m. team breakfast, followed by strength exercises and running. Then shower and class at 8:30 a.m. All classes were scheduled to end in time to be ready for daily warmups and practice. Daily team dinners from 6 to 7 p.m. fostered good relationships between the older and younger players. Athletes’ study hall followed from 7 to 8 p.m. This period combined the players from all the sports the school offered.
The baseball season started in mid-February. The daily schedules remained the same. The tournaments every weekend involved a two-to-six-hour bus ride. They played one game on Friday, two or three games on Saturday, and one game on Sunday. My son hoped to find a quiet place in the hotel to study and then either studied or slept on the bus ride back to school.
If there were tournament games during the week, it was possible to miss three days of classes. The team played 40 games in two and a half months. Teachers did try to accommodate the team’s travel schedules and would allow extra time for the players to turn in papers or take tests. But finding time for social activities outside of baseball was difficult.
The two basketball players I questioned are from different Pennsylvania D1 schools, and they said they practiced basketball and strength training for between four and six hours daily. One of them had team dinners daily, the other had team meals two or three times per week. One of the players received a grant but was in the process of transferring to get more money and more playing time. He presently played 30 games a season and his teachers gave him lots of leverage for assignments and tests. The other player received a scholarship and has NCAA-approved NIL (name, image, and likeness) opportunities and sponsorships. He played around 30 games per season and said his professors provided strong academic support and collaborated with him to either get his work in early or be flexible with accepting his papers or overseeing his tests a little later. Both players had tournaments and traveling time to contend with and needed to manage their academic and social times around those tournaments.
The Penn State D1 Football players started their day at 6 a.m. with breakfast and checked in with trainers to see if they had any injuries. Weight room and training followed from 7 to 9 a.m. Classes or study halls were held from 9 to 11 am. Lunch followed until 1 p.m. with recovery and possible naps, followed by team practice starts which lasted till 4 p.m. Position meetings for strategy and motivation the occur until 6 p.m. Dinner and downtime go until 8 p.m., followed by study hall until 10 p.m., and then bedtime.
It is obvious all three sports have rigorous schedules with very early breakfasts and practices and training and other structured hours throughout the day and into the night. Add to these demanding schedules the anxiety of playing the games with all eyes on the players’ every move and it is apparent that D1 players in these sports put serious efforts into each and every day.
The common dominator is that all D1 athletes, no matter their preferred sport, are worthy of our respect and admiration for the work, blood, sweat, and tears they expend to achieve excellence. They deserve accolades and whatever awards — financial or otherwise — that they receive.
Carol Dubas is the author of Tripod: How Two Teenage Boys Inspire An Entire Community. She lives in Lower Southampton Township.
