INDIANAPOLIS---In an effort to prepare ethnic minority football coaches for head coaching positions in Division I-A football, the NCAA will host its second annual NCAA Advanced Coaches Program, January 7-9, in Louisville, Kentucky.  The program will be held at the Seelbach Hotel and will precede the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) annual convention.

CBS Sports analyst Spencer Tillman will be one of two keynote speakers during the program.  Tillman was an all-America running back at the University of Oklahoma (1982-86) and also played in the National Football League.  Dan Boggan, former chief operating officer at the NCAA national office, also will address the participants during the program.  Boggan spent several years as a senior administrator at the University of California, Berkeley, and was a champion for diversity issues and awareness while at the NCAA national office.  Athletics administrators, business constituents and consultants also will address the participants during the three-day program.

The 2005 Advanced Coaching Program features enhancement training in leadership development, communication skills, moral and ethical considerations when coaching, health and safety issues involving student-athletes, interviewing techniques, fiscal responsibility and how to build a successful program.  There also will be a session where the participants meet with current minority head football coaches in Division I-A athletics.

The NCAA selected the 20 coaches who will participate in the 2005 Advanced Program in November.  The Advanced Coaching Program is phase one of the NCAA’s overall Coaches Academy, which began in January 2004. Less than 2.9 percent of head football coaches in all NCAA Divisions are ethnic minorities, excluding the historically black colleges and universities.

The mission of the NCAA Coaches Academy is to assist ethnic minority football coaches with career advancement through skills enhancement, networking and exposure opportunities and to raise awareness regarding the substantial pool of talented ethnic-minority coaches.  The Advanced Coaching Program is designed to teach and reinforce various aspects of securing, managing and excelling in head coaching positions at the Division I-A level. Last year’s inaugural Academy programs received high marks from past participants, college presidents and athletics administrators.  

The Advanced Coaching Program is one of three programs of the NCAA’s Coaches Academy. The Advanced Coaching Program is geared toward coaches with at least four years of experience; the Expert Coaching Program is geared toward coaches with at least six years of experience; and the Executive Coaching Program is for coaches with at least eight years of experience and is centered on mentorship, as opposed to a structured workshop program.  The NCAA administers its Coaches Academy with support from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), the Black Coaches Association (BCA) and the National Football League (NFL).

[Media Note:  The NCAA Coaches Academy Programs are closed with the exception of participants and relevant presenters or NCAA staff.  Please contact a member of the NCAA Public and Media Relations staff if wanting to conduct interviews prior to the start of the program or after the program concludes.]