Spartan PAACT

 
 

Mission

The Spartans PAACT is a commitment we have made to facilitate our student-athletes' successful transition from the start of their college experience to the start of their first career.  Its mission is to provide strategic and purposeful programming aimed at developing our student-athletes.  It is our understanding that student-athletes have a unique college experience, and that student-development does not just happen in the classroom.  The commitment is to provide developmental opportunities that our student-athletes need in order to be successful in and out of the classroom, on and off the field/court, beyond their college experience, and all of the transitions in between.  There are four components of development, or transitions, our student-athletes face during their college experience and these will be the focus of our programming initiatives:

The programs listed under each component are general topics. To determine our programming, we evaluate the needs of our student-athlete population through the NCAA Needs Assessment Tool and feedback received from the student-athletes.
 

Programming Components

Personal Development
 This component involves social development, emotional development, financial literacy, life balance, motivation, health, and any other aspect of one’s college experience that does not fall under the other three Spartans PAACT components.

Topics and Potential Programs:

  • Goal Setting
  • Managing Stress
  • Budgeting
  • Taxes
  • Building Healthy Relationships
  • Motivation
  • Balancing Your Life
  • Diversity
  • Self-Awareness
  • Getting Connected to Campus
  • Leadership
 

Academic Excellence
 This component focuses on programming that will help student-athletes strive and obtain success in the classroom.  To do so, the programs associated with this component aim to connect student-athletes to resources on campus (i.e., writing center, tutoring, etc.) and guide them to developing necessary skills to do well academically.

Topics and Potential Programs:

  • Study Habits
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Note Taking
  • Building Rapport with Professors
  • Test Taking
  • Calculating GPA
  • Post-Graduate Testing (MCAT, GRE, LSAT, etc.)
  • Graduate School
 

Athletic Excellence
 Focusing on different aspects of one’s athletic experience, these programs aim to help student-athletes make the transitions and adjustments needed to increase their athletic performance at the collegiate level.

Topics and Potential Programs:

  • Nutrition
  • Building Rapport with Coaches
  • Strength and Conditioning in a Healthy Way
  • NCAA/A-Sun Rules and Regulations
 

Career Advancement
 This component focuses on programs that will give student-athletes the information and support they need in order to be fully equipped to obtain a career, and be successful in that career, after college.

Topics and Potential Programs:

  • Resume Building
  • Cover Letters
  • Interviewing Skills
  • Networking
  • Internships
  • Career Athletes
 

Program Guidelines

There are three programs implimented each year:

  • All Student-Athlete Program
  • Upper-Classmen Program (3rd, 4th, and 5th year student-athletes)
  • Under-Classmen Program (1st and 2nd year student-athletes)

 
 

Attendance


 Student-athletes are required to attend the All Student-Athlete Program and the program associated with their class standing; therefore, student-athletes are required to attend two Spartans PAACT programs a year.  If a student wants to attend all three, they can but it is not mandatory.
 

Staffing


 To provide an additional development opportunity for student-athletes, student-athletes will have the opportunity to help plan and implement the programming.  Depending on the caliber of the program, student-athletes will be encouraged to help market, coordinate, implement, and evaluate the program.  This will not only be a great opportunity, but a great experience to put on a resume.  This assistance will be recruited through SAAC, who will market this opportunity to their teams.