Sports competitor who is also in full-time education
This article is principally about postsecondary athletics in the U.S. and Canada. For the general subject, see
college sports and
youth sports.
Student athlete (or student–athlete) is a term used principally in universities in the United States and Canada to describe students enrolled at postsecondary educational institutions, principally colleges and universities, but also at secondary schools, who participate in organized competitive sports sponsored by that educational institution or school. The term student-athlete was coined in 1964 by Walter Byers, the first executive director of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).[1] The term is also interchangeable with the synonymous term “varsity athlete”.