This study analyzed the impact of athletics on the academic achievement of middle school students in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina. This study determined whether middle school athletics impact athletes' achievement more than middle school nonathletes. The study further analyzed achievement based on race and gender, and English and Math courses, as they apply to the achievement of middle school athletes and middle school nonathletes. Recent data from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) showed female student-athletes had a reported graduation rate of 75%, which was 14 percentage points higher than the male student-athlete rate (Nagel, 2018). The success rate among female athletes is thought to be due to the amount of practice these athletes have had in the past juggling athletics, academics, and social opportunities. McCarthy (2000) performed a study about the impact that participating in extracurricular activities had on students in sixteen of the most populated high schools in Colorado. The study concluded that, overall, athletic participants outperformed non-participants. For example, female students who participated in extracurricular activities had higher GPAs than male students who participated. The target population of this study was students who attended selected middle schools in South Carolina and were in attendance during the 2019-2020 school year. There were approximately 3,000 middle students enrolled in the selected middle schools during the 2019-2020 fiscal school year. The total number of middle students included about 350 student-athletes. The type of sampling that was used in this study was convenience sampling. The instrument used to measure student achievement, or lack thereof is the grade averages, which include an overall mean score of courses taken within a specific time frame. The data requested from district personnel included students who participated in middle school athletics during the academic year 2019-2020 and a random set of students who were nonathletes for the same school year. Once permission was granted from the appropriate district personnel, the data was statistically analyzed. The study consisted of one hundred twenty-two participants, which included sixty-one athletes and sixty-one nonathletes. The ANOVA and t-test analytics approaches showed what was significant and not significant in the academic achievement of athletes and nonathletes. The study also concluded if there was a difference as it relates to race and gender. The study further determined if there was a significant difference in the achievement in the core content areas of math and English when athletes were compared to nonathletes. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]