Did You Know?
Some incoming student-athletes arrive on campus early for summer bridge programs. These programs introduce them to campus and help prepare them for the busy life of a student-athlete.
Many student-athletes stay on campus and enroll in summer classes. The NCAA’s Student Assistance Fund can be used to pay for summer school.
Like many college students, a large number of student-athletes use their summer vacations to better themselves or communities here and abroad.
For some, summer entails a job or interning in their field of study. Others volunteer in their hometowns or around the world on mission trips; many study abroad or compete on summer tours; and some take summer classes to get ready for fall semester.
Read more about the opportunities NCAA student-athletes take advantage of during the summer months:
Professional Development
Lineman Interns with Sheriff’s Department
On the bottom of the football pile, University of Wisconsin-Stout defensive lineman Alec Zoern has no doubt seen some shady activity at some point throughout his football career…perhaps not as eye-opening as what he is seeing during his summer internship. Read more.
While student-athletes’ participation in college sports is attractive to employers, summer internships further enhance their résumés and prepare them for life after athletics. Student-athletes can also work during the summer or year round. Some pursue opportunities related to their majors, while others may coach at summer youth sports camps on their campuses.
NCAA Feature: Living Among Primates
Member stories
- Murray State Rifle Student-Athlete to Teach in China
- Maritime College Privateers Participate in Cadet Observer Programs
- Michigan Hockey Student-Athletes Experience Professional-Level Camp
Volunteer and Service Trips
Boston College's Woeltz Aids Youth in Ghana
The junior soccer player worked with GHEI to screen youth for eye problems and raised money for glasses and medicine. Read more.
More than 97 percent of former NCAA student-athletes surveyed indicated that community service participation had positively prepared them for life after college.
NCAA Feature: An Odyssey for a Cause
Member stories
- Service and Soccer Impact Neal of Heidelberg University
- Syracuse Football Student-athletes Take Mission Trip to Haiti
- Felician College Graduate Runs 4,000 Miles for Cancer Research
- Saginaw Valley State University Teams Provide Service to Dominican Republic
- Oklahoma Sooners volunteer in Haiti
- South Carolina’s Gilbert Pays it Forward in Vietnam
Studying Abroad
Moore Partakes in Fulbright Summer Institute
Marist College football sophomore Caylin Moore received a spot in the Fulbright Summer Institute to study at the University of Bristol in one of the most prestigious and selective summer scholarship programs operating world-wide. Moore is the first undergraduate student at Marist to ever receive this honor. Read more.
Studying abroad offers more than an educational experience – it sets a student apart from his peers and prepares him for a career after college. In Division I, approximately 27 percent of student-athletes have either studied abroad or plan to do so. For Divisions II and III, roughly 30 and 40 percent of student-athletes, respectively, have studied or plan to study abroad.
NCAA Feature: Teammates at Home and Abroad
Member stories
- Lacrosse Student-Athletes at Albion College Experience Costa Rica Through Practicum
- Washington Huskies Study Colonization in Tahiti
- Saint Michael’s College Student-Athletes Complete Study Abroad Experiences
International Competition
Mountaineers Make Canadian National Team
Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence have known each other for years, playing alongside one another on youth national teams in Canada. Now, not only do they don the Gold and Blue together at West Virginia University, but they also continue to represent their home country as a unit, as both have earned a spot on the Canadian Women’s National Team and the Canadian Women’s U-20 Team rosters. Read more.
Schools can help fund trips for student-athletes who want to compete on an international stage. These experiences provide not only outstanding athletics opportunities, but give student-athletes opportunities to benefit and learn from their time abroad.
NCAA Feature: Playing Across the Pond
Member stories
- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Soccer Programs Travel to Brazil
- Florida State University’s Mendez Experiences Tennis Internationally
- University of Pennsylvania Heads Overseas for Transatlantic Series
- Bucknell University Men’s Basketball Team Takes 10-Day Excursion
Summer Snapshots
Check out how these student-athletes spent their summers. From internships to studying abroad and taking service trips, student-athletes find unique ways to take advantage of summer vacation.