Interview with Nate Bell, Vanderbilt Senior Academic Counselor Nate Bell is a former NCAA Division III basketball student-athlete at Wabash College (IN) and currently is a senior academic counselor in the Vanderbilt University department of athletics. He recently completed his doctoral degree from Vanderbilt in Higher Education Leadership. Nate brings a broad perspective on the […]
Student-Athlete Transition Support Programs
It may be too long ago for many of us to clearly recall our own experiences, but incoming student-athletes go through a major transition when they arrive on your campus. Most are first-year students, recently graduated from high school, living away from home for the first time. Adjusting to a new environment presents student-athletes with […]
What You Don’t Know Might Hurt You- Part Three
Part Three: Implementing A System for Engagement [Part 3 of 3: This three-part article addresses the current environment in collegiate athletics related to the student-athlete experience. Athletics directors and other campus administrators need to engage student-athletes in meaningful and systematic ways to promote communication, trust and accountability. The student-athlete experience must enhance overall educational goals […]
What You Don’t Know Might Hurt You- Part Two
[Part 2 of 3: This three-part article addresses the current environment in collegiate athletics related to the student-athlete experience. Athletics directors and other campus administrators need to engage student-athletes in meaningful and systematic ways to promote communication, trust and accountability. The student-athlete experience must enhance overall educational goals at every institution. Find out how we […]
Compromised Virtue: Where do we go from here?
Athletics’ virtue has been obliterated by one scandal after another played out publicly in various media. If one thing can come from all of the recent media coverage of alleged coach “abuse” of student-athletes, it should be that we all need to pay more attention to what it happening within athletics programs… even if there […]
Independent Investigations- The true cost of not knowing.
An independent investigation of the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay men’s basketball program provided several inconclusive conclusions, but one that rings loudly for all athletics directors and coaches is: “3. The lack of a clear standard for conduct by coaches, and the sharply disputed facts, make it difficult to evaluate the charges that Coach Wardle […]
Getting the most out of student-athlete surveys
Do you regularly collect feedback from your student-athletes? More and more senior administrators are asking to see evidence of athletics’ impact on student learning. This comes as a response to accreditation, budget justification or simply a campus commitment to assessment of student affairs units. Institutions are looking for more accountability. This is a good thing for […]