Despite student debt forgiveness programs, total federal student debt now has reached a staggering $1.6 trillion. Is there any connection between this debt and intercollegiate athletic programs? Yes and no. Yes, because students on all but a few campuses end up paying for significant proportions of intercollegiate athletic expenses. But no, because the average size of a student’s federal student debt upon graduation has no connection to the level or intensity of intercollegiate athletic competition at graduates’ institutions.