Includes building an online program
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (Feb. 16 , 2017) — A Western Kentucky University team of researchers was awarded an NCAA Innovations in Research and Practice grant to design a 100 percent online Athlete Bridge to Career Development (ABCD) Program.
The team of Evie Oregon, PhD, Lauren McCoy, J.D. and Lacee Carmon-Johnson, PhD is one of five university research teams in the U.S. that will receive $100,000 in funding to perform research designed to enhance student-athletes’ psychosocial well-being and mental health.
They will build an online program designed to assist athletes in identifying potential career paths, teaching the importance of developing an identity outside their sport, learning how to positively promote themselves through social media and personal branding and providing the tools for applying and interviewing for employment.
“This support will give us the opportunity to establish enhanced learning for student-athlete career development beyond sport,” said Oregon. “Many student-athletes will not have the opportunity to play professional sport, but they can use their dedication to go pro in something other than sport. It is our hopes that this program assists in that. The online program provides a promising approach to life beyond college and athletics for all NCAA student-athletes across divisions and geographic locations.”
The NCAA Innovations in Research and Practice Grant Program is aimed at funding projects that will bring tangible benefits to college athletes when used by individuals or by NCAA member schools’ athletics departments. Other teams are from Rowan University, University of Massachusetts and Sonoma State University. The teams will present their findings in January 2018 at the NCAA Convention in Indianapolis.
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