No matter how sound your management and leadership practices are, things happen. With hundreds of student-athletes participating each year, it’s inevitable that some will have concerns, complaints or issues they will express to the Athletics Director (or higher authority). So what do you do? Do you have a plan in place? Are there policies or […]
The Role of Athletics in Student-Athletes’ Lives
Student-athletes are held to higher standards than the typical student. NCAA or other regulatory bodies have rules that determine eligibility in ways that theatre and music, for example, do not. Also unlike theater and music, student-athletes’ time commitments to their chosen co-curricular activity often comes into question. Is it fair? In our work and research, […]
Challenges and Opportunities Supporting Student-Athletes
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 […]
Putting Your Mission in Motion
Most athletic department mission statements sound the same: “…support the mission of the college… develop student-athletes… promote diversity, tolerance and acceptance… build champions on and off the playing field…. academic success…” and several other catch phrases. These all represent valid goals, but what do they really mean for each institution? Are they real, pursuable goal […]
Part-time Job, Full-time Expectations
An on-going battle for most small college athletics programs involves part-time staffing. Most often it’s coaching positions but can extend to administrative staff as well. The challenge is balancing expectations for the job with the realities of paying a person less than a livable wage, which often requires him or her to supplement income with […]
PoA #015: Avoiding Snoozefest: Conducting An Effective and Engaging Staff Retreat
[youtube url=”http://youtu.be/JohoEXCM2Io” autohide=”0″ hd=”1″] Many athletics departments start of the new academic year with a staff retreat, but how many people actually enjoy these meetings or find them useful? Usually, not many. There are simple ways to make sure your next staff retreat accomplishes something useful, engaging and energizes your staff and provides you 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 […]