Do Sports Build Character? a Study of the Intramural Sports Program of the United States Air Force Academy

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This study examines the premise that "sports build character." Educational institutions in the United States have used sports participation to build character for over 100 years, but verification of whether sport is an effective tool to accomplish character development has only recently been examined. The United States Air Force Academy uses participation in its intramural sports program to accomplish character development, and this study uses this process to analyze the larger issue of character development in sports. The analysis of available information showed that sports do not necessarily build character merely by participating in them. In order to effectively accomplish character development, educational methodologies specifically focused on developing character had to be present within the sports program. When these methodologies were present, sports programs were found to be outstanding at developing character in its participants. The intramural sports program at the Academy has character development as one of its objectives but does not include a specific character development component into its program. With no empirical findings to evaluate the intramural program's effect on character development, no definitive conclusions can be drawn as to the program's effectiveness at character development. But with no component of the intramural program that specifically focuses on character development, such as a moral intervention strategy, the available research strongly infers that the intramural sports program at the Air Force Academy does not support the academy' mission of character development.