The relationship between intercollegiate athletics and academic achievement has been conflicted in the literature that largely focuses on sizable universities participating in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. However, a dearth of literature illustrates this relationship at the community college level. This study sought to investigate the changes in access to community college athletics surrounding the "Great Recession," as well as whether participation in intercollegiate athletics can predict academic success. Results indicated that access was indeed reduced following the Great Recession based on the number of sports offered and participants, moreover, institutional setting (rural, suburban and urban) did appear to play a role in these changes.

Academic achievement findings indicated that student-athletes entered community college far less prepared for college level work, yet achieved basic skills success at far greater rates than their comparison group peer. However, results from binary logistic regression analyses indicated that participation in intercollegiate athletics may reduce the likelihood of completing several academic success measures. Additionally, differences were also noted based on gender and ethnicity, lending to the narrative that student-athletes, as a whole, should not be studied as one homogeneous group.