INDIANAPOLIS---The NCAA has awarded 57 colleges and universities with inaugural CHAMPS/Life Skills grants ranging from $500-$2,000 to create or enhance CHAMPS/Life Skills programming centered on student-athlete and student population initiatives and issues.  

The NCAA created the Challenging Athletes’ Minds for Personal Success (CHAMPS)/Life Skills program as a total development initiative for student-athletes in 1994.   The grant program was recently introduced to address responses from the 2008-09 CHAMPS/Life Skills coordinator survey and to supplement limited resources on campuses as a result of the current economic downturn.   The CHAMPS/Life Skills grant program also serves as an example of how NCAA funds are returned to member institutions and used for the development of student-athlete programs.

The program grants are divided into three levels--$500, $1,000 and $2,000—and vary depending on whether a school is conducting a program within its athletics department; working in partnership with another department on campus for a one-time event; or in partnership with a campus entity for a year-long initiative.   Examples of campus entities that can be included in the grant partnerships are residence life, health services, the career center, counseling services, minority or international affairs and other student-focused services.

Schools are required to present their initiatives at the 2010 NCAA CHAMPS/Life Skills Conference in Tampa, Fla., (scheduled for Feb. 9-11, 2010) or the 2011 CHAMPS/Life Skills Conference.

Examples of grant initiatives that schools plan to host or create include etiquette dinners for student-athletes; a seminar series on topics relevant to students; a program for at-risk student-athletes; events with campus fraternities and sororities; programs involving residence life dormitory staff; educational videos and posters; health-based informational programs; leadership programs; community engagement initiatives; sexual assault prevention programs; and behavioral research studies.

 A total of 95 NCAA Division I, II and III colleges and universities applied for the grants.  Two-thirds of the awards involve partnerships with campus entities, which help to further integrate student-athletes in the broader student population.   All grants are being implemented in partnership with the respective school’s athletics compliance office to ensure student-athlete well-being and adherence to NCAA rules.    

Other CHAMPS/Life Skills Developments:

• 53 colleges, universities and athletics conferences have recently joined the NCAA CHAMPS/Life Skills program.  The addition brings the total number of NCAA Division I, II and III colleges and universities who participate in CHAMPS/Life Skills to 712.
• Creation of several one-day CHAMPS/Life Skills orientation satellite workshops for new CHAMPS/Life Skills coordinators, for coordinators starting new CHAMPS/Life Skills programs on their campuses, and for other staff members on campus who are new to working with the CHAMPS/Life Skills program.    The satellite workshops will take place this year at Montclair State University (N.J.); the University of North Carolina, Charlotte; and the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
• Creation of a CHAMPS/Life Skills Model Conference Office Document for athletics conferences.  The initiative was created as a guide for athletics conferences that participate in the CHAMPS/Life Skills Program.   Athletics conference representatives have also been added to the CHAMPS/Life Skills Advisory Team.
• Creation of a password-protected web site for CHAMPS/Life Skills coordinators to assist with programming, facilitate communication among coordinators and provide fresh ideas to enhance on-campus initiatives.