Impact of Campus Recreation

Campus recreation is an entry point for students’ wellbeing journey, and it supports holistic health by promoting physical activity, mental wellness, and lifelong healthy habits. These resources highlight how recreation contributes to prevention, stress reduction, and overall wellbeing.

Participation in campus recreation fosters essential life and leadership skills such as teamwork, communication, and resilience. This category reflects how recreation serves as a powerful developmental learning environment.

Campus recreation provides one of the largest student employment ecosystems in higher education, offering hands-on experience that builds transferable skills and career readiness. Resources here demonstrate how these roles prepare students—and professionals—for future success.

Recreation creates inclusive spaces where students build relationships, develop social networks, and feel a sense of belonging. This category highlights the role recreation plays in fostering connection and reducing isolation.

Campus recreation enhances the overall campus environment by contributing to a vibrant, engaged community. These resources focus on how recreation shapes campus culture and encourages participation in campus life.

Engagement in campus recreation is linked to positive academic outcomes, including persistence and retention. This category showcases resources connecting participation to student success indicators.

Campus recreation advances institutional priorities such as recruitment, retention, and campus climate while also contributing to the broader higher education and public health ecosystem. Resources in this category position recreation as a strategic asset—not only within institutions, but as part of a larger system influencing community wellbeing, workforce development, and societal outcomes.

The visuals above were curated from the following sources.

• Elkins, D. J., Forrester, S. A., & Noël-Elkins, A. V. (2011). The Contribution of Campus Recreational Sports Participation to Perceived Sense of Campus Community. Recreational Sports Journal, 35(1), 24–34.
• Ellis, G. D., Compton, D. M., Tyson, B., & Bohlig, M. (2002). Campus Recreation Participation, Health, and Quality of Life. Recreational Sports Journal, 26(2), 51–60.
• Fenton, L., White, C., Hamilton-Hinch, B., & Gilbert, R. (2018). The Impacts of Recreation Programs on the Mental Health of Postsecondary Students in North America: An Integrative Review. Leisure Sciences.
• Kampf, S., & Teske, E. J. (2013). Collegiate recreation participation and retention. Recreational Sports Journal, 37(2), 85-96.
• Kampf, S., Haines, S. G., & Gambino, S. (2018). The impact of new or renovated collegiate recreation centers on recruitment and retention. Recreational Sports Journal, 42(1), 18-32.
• Mayers, R. F., Wilson, A. W., & Potwarka, L. R. (2017). Moderating Effects of Campus Recreation Participation in the Relationship between Grade Point Average and First-Year Student Engagement: An Exploratory Study. Recreational Sports Journal, 41(2), 101–110.
• Miller, J. J. (2011). Impact of a University Recreation Center on Social Belonging and Student Retention. Recreational Sports Journal, 35(2), 117–129.
• Peck, A., Cramp, C., Croft, L., Cummings, T., Fehring, K., Hall, D., Hnatusko, P., & Lawhead, J. (2015). Considering the Impact of Participation and Employment of Students in Campus Activities and Collegiate Recreation on the Development of the Skills Employers Desire Most. [White paper]. Corvallis, OR.
• Phipps, C., Cooper, N., Shores, K., Williams, R., & Mize, N. (2015). Examining the Relationship between Intramural Sports Participation and Sense of Community among College Students. Recreational Sports Journal, 39(2), 105–120.
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2018.
• Vasold, K.L., Deere, S.J., & Pivarnik, J.M. (2019). The relationship between club and intramural sports participation and academic success. Recreational Sports Journal, 43(1), 55–66.
• Vasold, KL; Deere; SJ; & Pivarnik, JM. (2019). Benefits of campus recreation: Results of the 2011-2016 recreation & wellness benchmark. Corvallis, OR: NIRSA.