By Staff
Coaching Management, 13.9, October 2005, http://www.momentummedia.com/articles/cm/cm1309/bbncaagrant.htm
When Austin College first sponsored a club softball team two years ago, athletic administrators wanted to elevate the sport to varsity status. But one thing stood in the way: money. Now, with the help of a Strategic Alliance Matching Grant from the NCAA, that hurdle has been overcome, and the Sherman, Texas, school plans on fielding a varsity team beginning in the 2006-07 season.
The Strategic Alliance Matching Grants were created to assist institutions and conferences seeking to enhance ethnic and gender diversity among their athletic and administrative coaching staffs. For those receiving the grants, the NCAA funds 75 percent of a newly created position in its first year, 50 percent in its second year, and 25 percent in its third year. In total, approximately 20 grants are awarded annually among Division II and III institutions.
Austin Vice President for Student Affairs and Athletics Tim Millerick says that the grant will be instrumental in getting his school’s new softball program off the ground. “This money will be a tremendous help, because until now we couldn’t get the funds together for a full-time position,” he says. “The grant allows us to phase it in. Ever since we first decided that we wanted to make softball a varsity sport, the personnel issue has been the only thing holding us back.”
With nearly 50 grant applications from D-III schools considered by the NCAA this year, the selection process was highly competitive. Millerick believes Austin was chosen because its new coaching position is a perfect fit for the mission of the grant program. In addition to Head Softball Coach, the job carries the title Assistant to the Director of Athletics and includes responsibilities in the administrative side of the athletic department. “The new coach is going to help me create an assessment plan, assist with our institutional self-study, and aid in our transition to a new conference next year,” he says. “That is substantial administrative work, and I think making that kind of opportunity part of the job description impressed the NCAA.”
For more information on the NCAA’s Strategic Alliance Matching Grants, visit: www1.ncaa.org/membership/governance/division_III/d3_initiatives/strategic_alliance_grant