Report: Pac-12 study finds student-athletes too tired for academics

Pac-12 athletes claim they are "too exhausted to study effectively," according to a study conducted by the conference this month.

The study questioned 409 Pac-12 athletes from nine schools (USC, Utah and Arizona did not participate) about how they split their time between their sport and their studies. Many of those polled by the firm Penn Schoen and Berland, which is known for its work on the presidential campaigns of Bill and Hillary Clinton, said that physical exhaustion was a “major issue” and that the time demands of their sports created "anxiety and a loss of sleep that hinders academic and athletic performance."

CBSSports.com, which obtained a copy of the report, noted that loss of sleep was the main thing athletes noted as a drawback of being a student-athlete. Several noted that if they had a day off, they’d use it to sleep. Athletes also noted that travel creates issues with keeping up with homework, studies and sleep.

CBSSports.com also highlighted some other tidbits from the report:

* Eighty percent of Pac-12 athletes say they missed a class for a game in 2014-15.

* More than half (54 percent) say they don't have enough time to study for tests.

* Almost three-quarters (73 percent) said they felt a voluntary activity was considered mandatory. Some reported coaches threatening to "kick athletes off the team for missing voluntary activities."

* Two-thirds say sports demands impacted their social lives. "Pac-12 athletes express a desire to make new friends outside of their sports teams."

Despite concern over sleep and keeping up with studies, nearly all the athletes polled said they wouldn’t trade the time they have to spend on athletics, which many claimed was up to 50 hours per week after traveling, medical treatment and voluntary practices and meetings were factored.

Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said he wasn’t sure whether the report would create some sort of NCAA legislation, but he did acknowledge that the conference needed to make sure there was healthy balance between the student and the athlete.

"Essentially we want to make sure we have the appropriate balance between academic and athletics," Scott told CSBSports.com. "Some things ... in certain areas may be out of whack."

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday

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