Tackling an Age-Old Dilemma among Student-Athletes: Academic Timing and Relative Age Effects

Intercollegiate sport offers a unique context for Relative Age Effects (RAEs) to emerge given the age disparities that often exist among athletes competing for positions on teams. This difference in student-athletes’ actual and expected athletic eligibilities, and the impact it has on their participation and/or success in intercollegiate sport, has been coined Academic Timing (AT). Research suggests that relatively older athletes are more commonly on-time in terms of their athletic eligibilities, while relatively younger athletes typically must delay their athletic eligibility in order to overcome relative age disadvantages. This chapter will highlight studies that have examined the influence of AT on RAEs in intercollegiate sport.