Many athletes at American University may not complete their athletic careers here — whether they quit their sport, or transfer to play at other institutions.
Student-athletes often face extreme pressure while juggling the high demands of their sport with academics and personal commitments. Coupled with factors like injuries and mental health struggles, life as a collegiate athlete is taxing. This is not unique to AU — but why are some student-athletes here unhappy?
AU student-athletes have the lowest federal graduation rate among the Patriot League schools, which measures the percentage of students who complete their degree at their initial school within six years. At 73 percent — still above the national average of 69 percent — AU trails behind the rest of the conference.
Many first-year athletes at AU in the 2022-23 season chose not to continue playing their sport this past academic year. In fact, three out of five field hockey freshmen and six out of fifteen swim and dive freshmen either quit or transferred, according to data analysis done by The Eagle. The study compared each season’s roster to the previous one for the last five years, and accounted for all of the missing athletes to determine whether they graduated, quit their sport or left American.
“At the end of my freshman year, there were five people in the transfer portal,” said Sophia Hemingway, a former member of the swim and dive team who is now a sophomore swimming at Colorado State. “Three of them, including me, were freshmen … Those numbers were scary to me.”
The athletics department said changes across the NCAA, such as the creation of the transfer portal, name-image-likeness policies and COVID-19 eligibility, have affected student-athlete retention across the division.
“While navigating these disruptions, we have seen our retention figures mirror those of our fellow Patriot League schools and other like institutions,” the athletics department told The Eagle in an email statement.
AU athletes quit their sport or transfer to play elsewhere for a number of reasons, according to Hemingway. In her case, it came down to the fact that she didn’t feel supported at AU. While she truly enjoyed her experience and her team, she felt she could thrive at another institution.
A Colorado native, being far from home and beginning her freshman year of college — all while adjusting to collegiate sports — was already a difficult task. But early in the semester, she had to deal with the death of a close friend, making her freshman year experience a lot tougher.
“I was like, I'm just not in the right place,” she said. “I need to do what’s right for myself and find a place where I'm going to be happier, and if that's transferring back to a school in my home state where I have the safety net of being able to go home, that's all that I was focused on.”
Hemingway explained that her experience and the support she receives as a student-athlete at Colorado State differs a lot from American. Her swim team has access to professionals whose jobs are to support them, such as a sports psychologist and nutritionist — something she said she did not have at American.
Multiple programs at American do not offer the maximum number of athletic scholarships allowed, meaning teams get less money for coaches to award scholarships to their athletes. Swim and dive, for example, does not offer athletic scholarships at all, according to Hemingway.
“American University awards athletic financial aid (athletic scholarships or Grant-in-Aid (GIA) based on the recommendation of the head coach and pursuant to the rules of the NCAA, the Patriot League, EIWA, and the University Financial Aid Office,” according to the student-athlete handbook.
Each year, the head coach must decide whether to renew the athlete’s athletic financial aid for the following year.
“It’s hard to play a sport all four years of college, especially if you’re not on scholarship,” said Shannon Scovel, a member of the swim and dive team who graduated in 2017 after completing her athletic career at American. “You’re truly doing it for the love of the sport.”
Some athletes end up quitting their sport altogether due to injury, or because the physical demands of their sport are too exhausting.
Eva Gibson, who ran track and cross-country at American for four years, decided to forgo the last two years of her NCAA eligibility as she pursues her master's degree.
“Throughout my undergrad, I consistently was getting injured, which made the actual running part not as fun,” Gibson said. After devoting huge amounts of time to her sport, Gibson said it was taking a toll on her mental health, and it was better for her to take a step back.
Sports like track and cross country, and swim and dive, push athletes even further because of the length of their season. While many other sports are just one season long, they take up almost the entire academic year.
Throughout the swim and dive season, the team practices twice a day, three to four times a week, and has strength conditioning three times a week. The season itself lasts from August to March.
Many swimmers end up quitting because they plateau in college and their times don’t improve as significantly, or at all, since their bodies are constantly under so much strain, according to Scovel. This can cause frustration among athletes who are used to improving, Scovel added.
For other athletes, the athletic programs at AU might not be for them. Some may transfer to seek more exposure in a higher-level conference to get more playing time than at AU, according to Trey Plasko — a former member of the men’s soccer team.
Plasko himself ended his soccer career after two years, but chose to complete his degree at American.
“Being a Division I athlete is just a grind, there’s no real way to put it,” he said. Plasko emphasized that the demands of athletics leave little time for academics, career-building and the social aspects of the college experience.
“Once you get to school, your sport just becomes more of a job, rather than the enjoyment that you had growing up your whole life,” Plasko said.
While Plasko said that he loved his team and the environment, he wanted more time to focus on his future, knowing that he wasn’t going to be a professional soccer player. He graduated this past semester with a degree in business administration and a specialization in entrepreneurship.
Out of all of AU’s athletic programs, men’s soccer has faced the highest rate of athletes who quit or transferred in the past five years. About 41 percent of the players on the roster between the 2018 and 2022 seasons did not complete their athletic careers at American, according to an analysis done by The Eagle.
“Everyone's decision is different,” said Nicholas Dimitrijevic, an international student from England who played on the men’s soccer team for four years before transferring to play as a graduate student at Fairfield University in 2021. “Some people don't get along with the coaches. Some people don't enjoy the school, or don't enjoy work and whatnot.”
In his four years on the team, he said he saw between 25 to 30 players quit or transfer.
Dimitrijevic said the coaching transition from Todd West to Zach Samol after the 2018-19 season largely contributed to the outflow of men’s soccer players. When a new coach comes in, they bring their philosophy and style of play along with them, which might not fit all of the players, according to Dimitrijevic. New coaches often recruit players that fit their criteria, which might clash with players already on the roster.
Dimitrijevic himself chose to transfer for scholarship reasons, even though he could have played a fifth year at AU with an extra year of eligibility after the coronavirus pandemic. Since soccer is a fall sport, he would only remain on scholarship for the fall semester of his graduate year. Instead, he opted to transfer to Fairfield to continue receiving an education with aid.
“Early on, I knew that professional sport was not for me,” he said. “So I wanted to use my footballing ability to get as good of a scholarship wherever I could go.”
Other men’s soccer players had the same idea. Viggo Sjoberg and Malachy McGovern, both international students, transferred to Fairfield after completing their undergraduate years at American.
Despite being a mid-major Division I school that doesn’t devote a lot of funding to athletics compared to other schools, American has recognized its potential to retain more athletes and become a stronger force in the NCAA.
The construction of the Meltzer Center, an improved athletic facility, will “enhance the development of our student-athletes, ensure their success in and out of competition, and bolster the overall athletic and recreational experience for the entire AU community,” according to the AU website.
AU’s athletes will receive better equipment, facilities and treatment spaces — a positive development that indicates a commitment to improving the athletic experience at American.
“As we look to the future, we will continue to work with the University to invest in areas that positively impact the student-athletes at American and ensure Athletics is a building block of excitement, community, and campus spirit for everyone who chooses to be an Eagle,” the athletics department said.
Editor's note: Shannon Scovel is a former editor-in-chief of The Eagle. Scovel was not involved in the pitching, writing or editing of this story.
This article was edited by Penelope Jennings, Delaney Hoke and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks and Ella Rousseau.
