Gustavus Adolphus College has been selected one of nine National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division III institutions to receive a Strategic Alliance Matching Grant. The grant will allow the College to enhance an existing administrative position within the Athletics Department. The position, which will be upgraded from a part-time position to a full-time position, will have the title Assistant Athletics Director for Student Athlete Services.
Under the direction of the Director of Athletics and the Director of Alcohol and Drug Education, the Assistant Athletics Director for Student Athlete Services will serve as the CHAMPS/Life Skills Coordinator, the Assistant Director of Alcohol and Drug Education, and the advisor for the Student Athlete Volunteer Educator program (SAVE). Duties will include but not be limited to creating and implementing social and developmental programming for student athletes, acting as a liaison between the Student Affairs and Athletics Department, evaluating programs and assessing effectiveness of the SAVE program and implementing the NCAA CHAMPS/Life Skills program.
Each Division III institution and conference office that was selected to receive a matching grant will be funded for three years, with diminishing contributions by the NCAA. The NCAA will fund 75 percent of the position during the first year, 50 percent the second year, and 25 percent during the third year. Second-and third-year funding of the grant is contingent upon the submittal of a year-end status report from the grant recipient and his/her institution or conference office supervisor, verifying the position and how the funds were used. All applying institutions and conference offices must show a commitment to continuing the position beyond the three-year NCAA grant at the time of the submitted application, regardless if the position is funded by the NCAA. A site visit will be scheduled and conducted during the course of the grant. Each awarded institution or conference office will be required to sign an agreement with the NCAA that outlines the terms of the grant. Other recipients of the grants included the College of Mount St. Vincent, Emory University, Green Mountain College, Grinnell College, Knox College, Pacific Lutheran University, Rowan University, and the State University of New York Athletic Conference. Gustavus is the first institution from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) to receive a NCAA Division III Strategic Alliance Matching Grant since the program was instituted in 2002.