NCAA CHAMPS/Life Skills Program
The mission of the NCAA is to maintain intercollegiate athletics as an integral part of the campus educational program and the athlete as an integral part of the student body. With this in mind, the CHAMPS/Life Skills Program (Challenging Athletes' Minds for Personal Success) was created to support the student development initiatives of its member institutions and to provide educational experiences and services in order to develop well-balanced lifestyles for student-athletes and to enhance the quality of the student-athlete experience within the university setting.
The program was specifically designed to target the following five areas of student-athletes' lives:
1. Academic Excellence
2. Athletic Excellence
3. Personal Development
4. Service
5. Career Development
In the process of achieving this mission, the CHAMPS/Life Skills Program will:
- Support efforts of every student-athlete toward intellectual development and graduation.
- Use athletics as preparation for success in life.
- Meet the changing needs of student-athletes.
- Promote respect for diversity among student-athletes.
- Enhance interpersonal relationships in the lives of student-athletes.
- Assist student-athletes in building positive self-esteem.
- Enable student-athletes to make meaningful contributions to their communities.
- Promote ownership by the student-athletes of their academic, athletic, personal and social responsibilities.
- Enhance partnerships between the NCAA, member institutions and their communities for the purpose of education.
- Encourage the development of leadership skills.
Each year, workshops and seminars will be held for the student-athletes and athletics department staff to educate them on issues such as sports nutrition, time management, drug and alcohol abuse, team building, eating disorders, diversity, and more. The workshop and seminar topics will be determined by feedback from the athletes and coaches, and departmental staff.
