Alvernia University Athletics

The Department of Athletics and Recreation seeks to identify leadership potential and qualities within our student athletes as underclassmen and provide them with opportunities for development and enhancement of their leadership skills throughout their career.  As upperclassmen it is our hope that these students will hold leadership positions, not only in the Athletic & Recreation department, but throughout the University where they can use their skills to benefit the entire University Community.  As part of this model, student-athletes who now hold leadership in positions in SAAC and IAB automatically are members of the Alvernia Student Government Association (SGA). 
 
First-Year
Student-athletes may self-select to be a part of this program and/or the head coach from each team will select at least two student-athletes from their team to participate in two to four leadership training activities throughout the year consisting of specific training events as well as educational programming required of all student-athletes. Examples of programs include off campus leadership experiences or in-house speaker series on topics such as hazing, alcohol/drug awareness, depression, diversity, etc.
 
Sophomore
Student-Athletes in this stage of the model will continue to attend leadership development programming and training.  The A & R Department will invite current Team Captains, IAB Board members, and SAAC Officers to meet with the sophomore leadership group to discuss their role as a leader.  The Peer Mentor Program will be introduced whereby upperclass student-athletes will be pair with their underclass peers at a Leadership Development Retreat at South Mountain YMNCA.  The peer mentor program will enable sophomores to get an understanding of how our current student athlete leaders interact with their teams and on campus.
 
Junior
Most of the student athletes at this stage will become a member of our Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).  The SAAC serves as the liaison between each team and the athletics administration for the purpose of discussing topics ranging from NCAA legislation, drug testing, and/or any Alvernia student-athlete related issues.  The committee also coordinates and manages the NCAA Initiative Grant programs and will have representatives attend our MAC SAAC meeting throughout the year.  Also at this stage, continued leadership training and programs are presented to the entire junior student athlete class.  It is also the hope that student-athletes will now begin to seek out leadership position in other areas across campus.  Many of our student-athlete leaders are also RA’s, OWL’s, class officers, and/or hold leadership positions in other student clubs and organizations.
 
Senior
The final stage, the student athletes will maintain their leadership positions continue to participate in programs geared towards mentoring our upcoming leaders.  They will be active in the Peer Mentor Program and will be required to present and/or speak about the Progressive Leadership Model to various campus constituencies (i.e. Cabinet, Board of Trustees, etc.) They will also be invited to programs that will guide them in resume writing, interviewing, etc.  As a senior student athlete leader, they will also be asked to speak at Alvernia events on behalf of the Athletics and Recreation Department. 
 
Other Aspects of the Program

• Developing/strengthening partnerships with University Life, O’Pake Institute, Holleran Center, and other appropriate campus constituencies
• Formal tracking of student-athletes involved in the program including involvement in other activities across campus (co-curricular transcript)
• Development of a Student-Athlete Leadership Index that will be included in the Athletics & Recreation Dashboard
• Development of Themes that will guide programming throughout the academic year.