I had a classmate once tell me that athletics was the easy way into college, as if a jersey were a shortcut instead of a second full‑time job. He never sees the alarm going off before sunrise, the mornings when my body aches from yesterday but I still have to get up and walk into the training room by 6 a.m. for a 7 a.m. practice.To him, college sports look like game days school spirit but to me, they also look like exhaustion, anxiety, and the fear of falling behind in both school and my sport. People see college sports as exciting and fun, but the academic, physical, emotional, and financial pressures behind them are heavy and usually ignored. Recent studies show that nearly half of college athletes report mental health symptoms on a daily basis. This just goes to show the hidden weight many of us carry is not rare and has been normalized.

From the outside, college sports look like games, crowds, and school spirit. For athletes, they also mean following a strict schedule every day. Many college athletes have early practices, weight training, film sessions, team meetings, treatment, and mandatory study hall, on top of classes. Research shows that college athletes across divisions often spend around 30 to 35 hours per week on athletics in season and close to 40 hours per week on academics, which together can feel like far more than a typical full‑time job(untappedlearning.). Travel for games can take up entire days or nights, especially during the week. All of this leaves less time for sleep, friends, clubs, or just resting. At the same time, professors still expect us to perform like full‑time students. Trying to meet full academic expectations while also meeting full athletic expectations is difficult and often feels unrealistic. People like to say we are “students first,” but the sport often decides what we can actually do in school. Practice times and game schedules limit which classes we can take. Some majors have labs, clinics, or performances at times that conflict with practice, so they are basically not an option for athletes. Even when majors are technically open, there can be pressure to choose ones that are seen as easier or more flexible, to avoid conflicts with the team. Athletes sometimes take more online classes or avoid things like study abroad and internships because those options do not fit with the season. These limits affect what we can study and what opportunities we have after college. 

There is a constant mental strain that people do not see. Athletes know that a starting spot, a scholarship, or future opportunities sometimes can feel like they depend on every practice and every game. A few bad performances makes athletes worry about losing playing time or respect from coaches and teammates. There is the aspect of public criticism from fans and comments on social media which can be harsh. Sometimes it feels like this kind of pressure is too much and makes everything feel all too heavy. It can be hard to talk about these issues when the culture around you expects you to be strong and to handle everything without showing weakness. “In a recent NCAA Student‑Athlete Health and Wellness Study, up to 44 percent of student‑athletes reported experiencing mental health symptoms on a daily basis, and other research has found elevated rates of anxiety and depression compared with non‑athletes.” (CharlieHealth). The physical demands are another major part of this experience. College athletes are expected to train at a high level every day, and a lot of the time the expectation is to be tough so we play through pain or come back from injuries faster than we are supposed to so we don't miss games or practices. The worry is that if we sit out, there's a chance of being replaced, seen as less committed and a feeling of guilt for not putting in the same effort as the team.

The pressures on college athletes are not just bad luck or “part of the game.” They come from how college sports are organized and what people surrounding it choose to value. Instead of measuring success by playing time, wins, and championships there should be a conscious decision to shift the stigma to orient success around whether athletes stay healthy, graduate, and build stable futures beyond sports.. It would also mean treating student‑athletes as whole people, not just a uniform.