I would guess that in the average high school, at least 40% of people play one sport or another. When people get to college, I bet less than 5% of the school is playing on a varsity team. That means that there are a lot of people who play in high school that don't keep playing in college. It's a lot harder to make it in college, it takes more time, and it makes it harder to excel in academics since college is more demanding than high school. The main reason you put your sports experience on your application is to show that you are not just about academics but you have other talents too.

I actually agree with the other person who said it's to show you're well rounded but I still kinda find this whole application process lame. In other countries, people just take a test and they are done. They don't do this whole lame-o thing of beefing up their "resume" to look all impressive when in reality we're all just in the same rat race.

Playing sports is just one of the many things you can do to show a college you are well-rounded. You can be active in school clubs and community service too. Good luck to ya!

Colleges are looking for diversity and playing sports shows you're not just a student.

Colleges want wholesome people. They want smart students who don't spend every minute in front of homework ... sports, activities, music, etc. show the colleges that you are a good student, and have other interests than studying.