Division I student-athlete special admits: Who are they? An exploratory study of demographics and graduation rates within a single conference

ABSTRACT Currently, the NCAA does not track the academic outcomes of student-athlete special admits. This study surveyed multiple institutions within a Division I FCS Conference regarding their student-athlete special admit population. Demographic aspects, as well as progress towards graduation, or lack thereof based on entry into the professional leagues, dismissal from team for academic reasons, dismissal from team for reasons other than academic, voluntarily withdrawing from school, and/or transferring to another school were collected. Findings showed the majority of student-athlete special admits (55%) graduated within six years from their initial institution, while only 5% were dismissed for academic reasons. Special admits with the poorest educational outcomes were those who were redshirted their freshman year. Results suggest student-athlete special admits differ from the regular student-athlete population in regard to academic best practices (freshman redshirting) and from regular student-athletes and non-athletes in regard to demographics with higher six-year graduation rates.