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NCAA to Host Career in Sports Forum for Student-Athletes

For Immediate Release

Friday, June 10, 2011

Contact(s)

Gail Dent
Associate Director of Public and Media Relations
317/917-6117


INDIANAPOLIS---Nearly 300 NCAA student-athletes who have an interest in pursuing careers in sports administration or coaching after college graduation have been invited to the second annual NCAA Career in Sports Forum,  June 12-15 in Indianapolis.   

The Career in Sports Forum was created to provide NCAA student-athletes with a broader scope of career tracks in coaching and administration and to provide them with interactive experiences with successful individuals in intercollegiate athletics.    The forum will help the student-athletes gain a better understanding of the different career fields in sports administration and with the day-to-day experiences in coaching.   During the forum, student-athletes will have the opportunity to listen to keynote speakers, learn best practices for gaining employment, and better understand what future expectations will be once they get a job.  

“This is a great opportunity to bring student-athlete leaders together and put them in contact with successful individuals who can provide insight on the careers the student-athletes may one day want to pursue,” said Robert Vowels, NCAA vice president of student-athlete affairs.   “Many times, people only see one side of NCAA student-athletes, and that centers on athletic performance.    These individuals are also leaders in the classroom who one day may be leaders in their communities too.   We want to provide the student-athletes with opportunities to grow and development, and offering a career forum is a great way to complement their collegiate experience.”

Coaching sessions will include instruction on organization, administration, ethical concerns, teaching, communications, injury prevention and conditioning, growth, development and evaluation.    Administration sessions will include instruction on operations, sports information, television and new media, budgets and finance, marketing and business strategies, student-athlete development, compliance and sport performance.    The forum also includes small group sessions, called Color Teams, where the student-athletes have an opportunity to work on themed projects.  It also includes sport-specific meetings, a career fair, dinner etiquette instruction and a networking social.   

The student-athletes represent Divisions I, II and III men’s and women’s sports, which include basketball, cross country, track & field, field hockey, football, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, tennis and volleyball.   

They are selected for the forum by athletics administrators at their respective schools who view them as leaders on their campus.   Many of the student-athletes are members of their Student-Athlete Advisory Committees, which is the student-athlete voice within the NCAA governance structure.    Nominations are submitted to the NCAA, who then works with a committee to select the student-athletes who will be invited to attend the forum.   The NCAA Leadership Development group directs the Career in Sports Forum.  

 

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