Taurean Prince walks into class with his Baylor hoodie, some black sweatpants, and Nike slides on. Prince, at 6-8, 220 pounds immediately attracts attention as he walks into the room and grabs a seat. You can hear students begin to whisper to their neighbor: “Oh, he must have had a fun night,” or, “Well, maybe he shouldn’t have been goofing off with his buddies.”
But Prince, a senior from San Antonio, Texas, wasn’t out partying the night before, nor was he up late hanging out with friends. Prince is a starting forward for the Baylor mens' basketball team, which means long hours every day spent perfecting his game when other students are leading more typical college lives.
“Being an athlete is very tiring and a lot of hard work, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world,” Prince said. “It’s early mornings and late nights but the feeling I get when I run out onto the court and hear the fans going crazy, that makes everything is worth it.”
Life for Division-1 athletes can be a balancing act. Some students think they have it rough when a busy schedule means getting their homework done, attending club meetings, playing in an intramural game, and then maybe running out to dinner with friends. Imagine tacking on an additional four or more hours a day to train and practice, which not only forces an athlete to wake up earlier but also leaves them physically exhausted.
There are 351 NCAA Division-1 men’s basketball teams nationwide with an average of 16 players each and only 13 available scholarships for each team. That’s 5,485 Division-1 athletes who wake up earlier, work harder, and do more in a day than most college students can say. And that’s only basketball.
This past season, the Baylor men’s basketball team recorded an impressive 21-10 regular season record, which puts in them in the top 25 going into the NCAA tournament. Behind all the wins and loses, though, people often don't get to see the athletes waking up early for practice and having to stay up late in order to finish assignments and study for exams, just like any typical college student. And it’s not just the Baylor basketball players who are stretched for time.
Chris Horton, a starting forward for the Austin Peay men’s basketball team, said there are many times when he’d like nothing more than a day off. “But then I look at my teammate[s] standing next to me and realize that’s why I play,” Horton said. “I’m getting to do what I love and for a lot of people, their dreams don’t become reality.”
Student athletes have to go to class for three or four hours a day like every other student on campus, but they also have meetings and workouts after. They also have to make sure to do their homework and keep their grades up. And they have to try to put in some time for their friends and eating food here and there.
Niya Johnson, a Baylor senior and starting guard for the women’s basketball team, wakes up at 5 a.m. to head to a two-hour morning practice session. She then goes to class, has weight training, eats dinner, and then goes to mandatory study hours.
“No, it’s not fun! I have no life! But no doubt, it is worth it,” Johnson said. “Basketball is my passion and I would do anything to play.”
Johnson estimates that more than percent of her day are spent focusing on basketball, but believes that being focused at all times is what it takes to be the best.
“Being a college athlete is definitely not all that it seems. Some may see it as glamorous, some challenging, but it is easily both of those characteristics. Being a student athlete in college is extremely difficult, but I would not change it for the world,” Johnson said.
NCAA bylaw 17.02.1.1 states that athletes can only spend 20 hours per week on “countable athletically related activities,” but for most college athletes across the country, their lives are dictated by their sports.
While most Division 1 athletes wouldn’t trade their unique opportunity for a more relaxed lifestyle, some athletes get to experience the non-athlete life when they get injured, but each one counts down the days until they can compete again. Ennis, a guard for Oregon's mens basketball team, suffered a season ending foot injury a couple games into the 2015-16 basketball season and had a chance to live the life of an average student.
“It was nice for the first couple of weeks, but I'm seriously going crazy, I miss it so much,” Ennis said. “Being a student athlete has taught me time management, accountability, and how to be a leader.”
