Italian student-athletes only need a more effective daily schedule to support their dual career

Purpose: The present study aimed to investigate dual-career issues of Italian student-athletes according to gender, age, type of sport, competition level, university path, and year of attendance variables to highlight their main problems and solutions. Methods: An ad hoc 24-item questionnaire was administered to 711 academic Italian student-athletes (Mean age = 23; SD = 4 years). A multivariate analysis was applied for data related to the first 21 (section A), whereas answers from the last 3 items (section B) were only described. Results: For section A items, two factors (factor 2: items 5, 7, 8, 14; Cronbach alpha = 0.728; factor 5: items 10, 11; Cronbach alpha = 0.78) related to sport participation and education for future job emerged. For both factors, effects emerged between “year of attendance” subcategories (i.e., lower values for “out of course” subgroup), whereas only for factor 5, differences emerged in terms of age (i.e., higher values for younger than older subgroup). For section B, most student-athletes declared to wish schedules of lessons and exams (e.g., higher number of sessions; oral online interrogations) for better combining sport and academic requirements. Conclusion: The present study represents a further step to better understand the Italian student-athletes’ daily and weekly limitations and wished solutions related to the combination of sport and academic tasks. Institutional bodies should consider the present findings in case of future policies in supporting dual career.