College Athletes

College athletes use alcohol more than non-athletes do. Athletes are also at risk of abusing other drugs, including steroids, diet aids, ephedrine, marijuana, and psychedelic drugs.

There are several hypotheses for why athletes abuse AOD. Some speculate that athletes feel intense pressure to excel both inside the classroom and on the field, and may use AOD to cope with these feelings or boost their academic or athletic performance. Athletes may also experience social isolation resulting from long hours of practice, training, and travel and use AOD to relieve stress. And they may fall victim to high-risk hazing practices for experience peer pressure from their fellow athletes to drink in excess or use drugs.

Athletes and Alcohol

Athletes have significantly higher rates of heavy drinking than their non-athlete peers. The 2001 journal article "Alcohol and College Athletes", showed that 49 percent of men not competing in intercollegiate athletics reported heavy drinking in the two weeks prior to being surveyed, compared with 57 percent of the male athletes. Women had the same disparity: 40 percent of non-athlete women reported heavy drinking in the previous two weeks, compared with 48 percent of female athletes. The National Collegiate Athletic Association’s 2006 Study of Substance Use Habits of College Student-Athletes found that 77 percent of college athletes used alcohol in the previous 12 months.

Athletes and Other Drugs

Despite the risk of adverse health effects, many athletes are abusing other drugs:

  • Anabolic steroids and amphetamines: Contrary to popular assumptions that many college athletes use steroids, the NCAA found that only about 1 percent of collegiate athletes used steroids in the past year, but this is triple the rate of non-athlete students. They also found that about 4 percent of athletes used amphetamines in the previous 12 months.
  • Marijuana: NCAA research shows that 20 percent of athletes used marijuana in the past year – a number that is actually less than the national average for the general college student population.
  • Weight loss aids/energy supplements: Athletes in sports such as gymnastics, dance, figure skating, and cross-country running are at high risk for abusing weight loss drugs, diuretics, laxatives, and ephedrine, with women athletes more likely than men to use these drugs.
  • Other drugs: NCAA data show that around 2 percent of athletes used cocaine in the past 12 months, and 2 percent of Division 1 athletes used psychedelic drugs.

Effective Prevention

An environmental management approach to prevention can be effective at reducing AODV among college athletes. For instance, coaches can develop team-building exercises that incorporate substance-free activities, such as community service and volunteer opportunities. Social norms marketing campaigns can help correct exaggerated misperceptions about just how much athletes really drink. Eliminating alcohol use in stadiums can reduce availability, and banning alcohol sponsorship of sporting events restricts the marketing and promotion of alcohol on campus. Coaches can also communicate to athletes the campus policies about AOD use.

For More Information

For more detailed information on college athletes and AOD, please see the Center’s publication, College Athletes and Alcohol and Other Drug Use, with its sidebar "Male Athletes and Sexual Assault."