National Athletic Director At The National College Athletic Association

Do student athletes make the most of their opportunity to obtain a post-secondary education? Do they have the same academic success as those students that are not athletes? Are student athletes just “dumb jocks?” The answers to these questions might surprise you. Much research has been done to dispel the myth that athletes going to college are only there to play sports with little regard to their education. Programs have been created to assure that colleges and universities hold athletes to the same standards as the everyday student. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has decided that the “magic number” to put the “student” back into “student-athlete” is 925 (Hamilton).

Around the country, college athletic programs are pushing their athletes more and more every day. The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) is an association set up to

college level, the hiring of coaches is a key responsibility for athletic directors that can be subject

The NCAA believes “that a student-athlete is a student first and athlete second.” Student-athletes benefit more than from playing a sport that they love. The graduation rate is higher among the student athletes than the general student body. “NCAA studies show that student-athletes enjoy high levels of engagement in academics, athletics and community: have positive feeling about their overall athletics and academic experiences: attribute invaluable life skills to being a student-athlete: and are more likely to earn similar or higher wages after college than non-student athletes.”

The competitive athletics programs of member institutions are designed to be a vital part of the educational system. A basic purpose of this Association is to maintain intercollegiate athletics as an integral part of the educational program and the athlete as an integral part of the student body and, by so doing, retain a clear line of demarcation between intercollegiate athletics and professional sports (NCAA, 2011).

The NCAA “is a member-led organization dedicated to the well-being and lifelong success of college athletes.” (NCAA, n.d.)The primary purpose of the

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is charged with the regulation of athletes, and all athletic programs in affiliated universities and colleges across the United States. The N.C.A.A. is the association charged with developing and implementing policies regarding athletics in colleges and universities. With such a role, the association is mandated to specify the minimum academic requirements for a student to participate in any sporting activity. The association claims that it aims at creating a balance between sport and education. The heart of the association 's mission is student-athlete success in classroom and on the field. N.C.A.A. comes up with policies that provide a student-athlete with the opportunity to learn through sporting activities. This is a noble endeavor, but some institutions as presented in the article by Sarah Lyall (1) have misused it. In the article, one can see that the University of North Carolina denied some of its student-athletes the learning opportunity envisioned by the N.C.A.A. Sarah Lyall (1). By offering the students free grades, U.N.C. was doing the students a great disservice, which only served the interests of the university.

To be a college coach you have to be very dedicated and love the sport you are coaching. Being a college coach is very time consuming and a very hard job to land in the sports world. The competition that one faces when trying to get into the job field is fierce. This means that the job as a coach in the collegiate athletic career field is limited to a small percentage of the people that end up applying. These people need to be able to fulfill a variety of duties for their universities, and because of this it is important that anyone who is thinking of applying knows the difficulty that comes with the job (Greenwald, 2010).

I agree with you that athletic directors must be organized and proactive. First, they must be organized and communicate effectively so volunteers understand their job descriptions (Cramartie, 2013). They must also make security plans well in advance of major sporting events to ensure proper coverage. One way athletic directors can proactively enhance security and safety is promoting sportsmanship within their program. According to Hoch, athletic directors must “set the expectations and then communicate these parameters to everyone involved in your program – athletes, coaches, parents and fans” (“National”, n.d., p. 2). Athletic directors must develop expectations and then enforce the policy (“National”, n.d., p. 2). Athletic directors and coaches

As a result, student-athletes have struggled to maintain their GPA. Furthermore, the graduation rates for power five conference universities (PAC 12, BIG 10, SEC, ACC, and BIG 12) are horrendous because of the lack of time allocated for academics. For example, in 2010, the average graduation rate for March Madness, the NCAA Basketball championship tournament, teams’ was 43%, an unacceptable rate. On the other hand, the increase in hours spent per week has caused student-athletes to identify more as athletes than students (Best college online). A direct effect of the universities admitting college athletes that are not ready is students cannot complete basic general education classes. According to Mary Willingham, a learning specialist at the University of North Carolina, there were basketball players at the University of North Carolina who were illiterate. All in all, the shift of student-athletes to solely athletes is unacceptable, however, can be solved by the following: have an agency within the NCAA to keep universities accountable for rule violations that disrupt the learning of athletes, use revenue generated from the student-athletes to provide academic support to ensure learning, and/or have a third party agency keep universities accountable for rule violations.

College level competitive sports have many beneficial factors that follow its path for students. On the top of the list is leadership development. Once in the real world where you have to take initiative at a certain job or internship to move up the ladder for the bosses watchful eyes, these skills can be developed experience from college athletics programs. "Sports are educational in the best sense of that word because they teach the participant and the observer new truths about testing oneself and others, about the enduring values of challenge and response, about teamwork, about discipline and perseverance. Above all, intercollegiate contests — at any level of skill — drive home a fundamental lesson: goals worth achieving will be attained only through effort, hard work and sacrifice, and sometimes even those will not be enough to overcome the obstacles life places in our path." (Grace Chen)

While the academic education of student-athletes is of primary concern, the Athletics Council’s involvement extends to include all matters affecting the Athletics program. The Athletics

There has been amplified debate on the treatment, education, training of the college athlete. To avoid exploitation of athletes, “The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), formed in 1905, set bylaws requiring college student-athletes to be amateurs in order to be eligible for intercollegiate athletics competition” (Schneider n.p.). Intercollegiate athletics have dramatically changed over the last several decades. Currently, intercollegiate athletics generate tremendous amounts of revenue, remarkably in football and basketball. College sports in America is a

When I discovered the NCAA Post-Graduate Internship, I knew I had to apply. I have been waiting to come across an opportunity where I feel that I can gain valuable knowledge and insight from professionals within the NCAA Eligibility Center. Not only is the association as a whole awesome, but the overall mission of the NCAA is something I believe in as well. I am writing this letter to present myself as a candidate for the internship position within your Eligibility Center. The knowledge I have gained and will continue gain working in athletic compliance, have equipped me with the abilities enabling me to contribute immediately to – and thrive in – the fast-paced environment within the association.

In today’s digital world, young-peoples soft-skills are becoming far more valuable than content knowledge. From every school I’ve worked with, visited, and competed against, the schools with the strongest sports programs seem to correlate with the strongest academic schools in our area. Then when I view how I can impact young-people the best, I feel the answer is as an athletic-administrator and as a coach, environments that soft skills such as teamwork, collaboration, and work ethic are stressed the most. Because of this, I am looking to take a leap in my career, by applying for acceptance in your Master’s in Athletic Administration Program.