Sports Change Lives

mental health
Student athletes are less likely than non-athletes to be depressed *

physical health
Student-athletes who play team sports are less likely to smoke cigarettes or use other illicit drugs**

academics
Physically active children get up to 40% higher test scores**

bright futures
Student athletes are more likely to get higher grades and aspire to attend college*
The threat to youth sports
63% lack the funding
63% of public school sports budgets are stagnant or decreasing.***
33% Fewer Sports
High-poverty schools offer 1/3 fewer sports than low-poverty schools.***
42% limited by cost
42% of families of middle- and high-school students who do not participate in sports but are interested in doing so cite cost as the main reason.***
30% participation gap
30% participation gap between children of lower and higher income families.***
How The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation is Helping
$80M
Since 2014, the Sports Matter program has donated $80 million to support young athletes.
1 in 21 schools
1 out of every 21 public schools has received funding for sports programs from The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation.
+1.1 Million Kids
Our support has kept over 1.1 million kids in the game across all 50 states through the Sports Matter program.
+34 Sports
Because we believe all chances to play are beneficial, we have provided grants for more than 34 different youth sports, and counting!
75for75 Grant Recipient: Westinghouse Football
Resources
* Women Sports Foundation. (2019, July). The State of High School Sports in America: An Evaluation of the Nation’s Most Popular Extracurricular Activity.
** Aspen Institute Project Play. (n.d.). Youth Sports Facts. Retrieved July 2021.
*** Whitaker, A. A., Baker, G., Matthews, L. J., McCombs, J. S., and Barrett, M. (2019). Who Plays, Who Pays? Funding for and Access to Youth Sports. RAND Corporation.