The purpose of this investigation was to identify the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the physical activity, mood, and motivation in Division II collegiate athletes. Thirty-seven Indiana University of Pennsylvania division II collegiate athletes participated in the present study. The IUP athletes were given a survey via their university email account. On average, the survey took no more than ten minutes to complete online from start to finish. Demographic information including gender, age, sport position, history of depression or anxiety (as well as history of medications) was collected in the survey. The rest of the survey was made up from the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS), as well as questions regarding training and well-being. Participants were sent the survey once or twice per week from March 2021 to April 2021, for a total of nine times over the two-month span. The survey was closed to participants on April 29th, 2021. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics for Likert scale and yes/no questions using mean, standard deviation, and the open-ended questions were analyzed using qualitative statistics by finding common themes in open-ended style questions. The athlete`s physical activity patterns, mood, and motivation levels were all found to have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In conclusion, it was observed that the majority of participants did not participate in physical activity outside of their team training programs and reported a lack in motivation due to feeling somewhat overwhelmed and not having a consistent schedule. It was found that athletes reported being most affected by the pandemic in regard to challenges to online learning, with more than half (n=28) of the participants reporting this effect, causing an increase in stress. These athletes` physical activity patterns were most likely affected by their lack of motivation and increase in stress caused by the pandemic. This increase in stress and lack of motivation could cause an increase in injury next season. The results from the present study displayed the significant effect the COVID-19 pandemic had on Division II athlete`s physical activity patterns, mood, and levels of motivation. These results also show the need for future research to determine if the pandemic has caused an increase in injury risk next season due to the lack of physical activity, increased stress, and lack of motivation experienced by these athletes.
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