Relationship Between School Sports Involvement and Character Development Among Students in Ekiti State

School sports participation has long been regarded as a vehicle for character development, fostering values including discipline, resilience, teamwork, and fair play among young people. This study investigates the relationship between school sports involvement and character development among senior secondary school students in Ekiti State, South West Nigeria. A correlational survey design was employed, with 300 students from 10 secondary schools in three local government areas completing validated instruments assessing sports involvement frequency, intensity, and duration, as well as character development across five dimensions including responsibility, respect, caring, fairness, and citizenship. Data were analysed using Pearson correlation and multiple regression. Findings reveal statistically significant positive correlations between regular sports involvement and all five character dimensions, with responsibility and resilience showing the strongest relationships. Students participating in team sports demonstrate higher character development scores compared to those engaged exclusively in individual sports. Coaching quality, specifically the extent to which coaches deliberately model and reinforce character values during training, is identified as the strongest contextual predictor of character outcomes beyond participation frequency. Students reporting negative peer and coach behaviours during sports participation demonstrate lower character scores, underscoring the importance of the social environment. Recommendations include character-centred coach education, deliberate values integration in physical education and sports programmes, and recognition of character outcomes within school sports awards systems. Keywords: school sports, character development, secondary students, Ekiti State, values