The Relationship Between Greek Life and Division Iii College Athletics

Publication Date


Document Type



Kinesiology & Recreation


Rebecca Achen

Mentor Department

Kinesiology & Recreation


The Relationship Between Greek Life and Division III College Athletics researches how athletes at Division III balance both their sport and a fraternity. Both groups normally emphasize a "student first" approach and the importance of defining what a successful Greek-student-athlete looks like, so that the students have a clear understanding (Barnell and Kerr 2016). Students can respond to being pulled by multiple groups in one of two ways; they can embrace it and grow stronger from everything they experience, or they can wither from it and begin quitting groups (Barnell and Kerr 2016). Both play a key role in the overall student experience for most students at the school. My research is to look at the students who participate in both a sport and a fraternity to determine what advantages and challenges they face from doing both large groups. Some of the research states that a highly involved person with not only manage but thrive in being in multiple groups as it allows the student to engage and disconnect for periods of time (Routon and Walker 2016). Previous research suggests that humans are a social being, and we can grow weary of monotonous routines (Tajfel 1979). Joining a social group, such as a fraternity, is a common way for students to break from their norm and become more actively involved in their campus (Richards 1999). It can be hypothesized that a fraternity is good for an athlete as it can help them be more involved on campus, get a break from their normal athletic routine, and socialize with people who do not have the same interests. The research is limited to Division III as I am using convenience sampling to communicate with my participants. Participants will be identified through my own contacts over phone, email and Facebook. I will then ask my contacts to refer me to others who fit the characteristics I am looking for. I talked to Greek life coordinators at Division I schools and learned that the crossover from athletics to Greek life is so minimal that this research is a non-issue. Due to this the subjects will be pulled from smaller, Division III schools as there seems to be more involvement in both groups at this level.



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