Actual and wished supports to promote a successful dual career according to Italian student-athletes’ point of view

The present study aimed to investigate the actual and wished supports to promote a successful dual career for Italian student-athletes. An ad hoc questionnaire (nine items) was administered to 711 academic Italian student-athletes (age = 23 ± 4 years). A binomial regression for categorical outcomes was applied to discriminate subcategories for each item. According to the items which could be considered as more related to the actual and wished supports to promote a successful dual career, student-athletes mostly answered that tutoring (≤ 24 years old, 95%, OR 3.55; team, 95%, OR 2.27; elite, 97%, OR  3.33; not sport science path, 93–96%, OR range 3.45–7.69), e-learning (last year, 95%, OR 1.97), and extra-academic merits (team, 71%, OR 1.47; elite, 77%, OR  2.13) resulted as not satisfactorily supported by university, but highly wished by student-athletes. Also the flexibility in lesson frequency and exam sustainability resulted as strongly considered, but perceived as limited (≤ 24 years old, 84%, OR 2.43; Medical and Humanistic, 87%, with respect to Sport Science path, OR  9.01). In addition, in terms of identity, female (68%, OR  2.22), > 24 years old (68%, OR 2.22), sub-elite (68%, OR  2.22), not sport science (57–65%, OR  2.48–2.03), and last year of attendance (62%, OR 3.45) participants showed to be more student-oriented, whereas elite (60%), sport science path (61%), and out of course (56%) student-athletes perceived themselves as mainly athletic-oriented. Italian student-athletes could be better supported by University in complying sport and academic requirements, especially by means of an improvement in tutoring, e-learning and a more flexible schedule, in line with the European Commission guidelines.