USCAA

In this capacity, the Director must be responsive to the demands of several dramatically different worlds. The Director interacts with Intercollegiate Athletics Department personnel; the athletic coaches are in close contact with the Director regarding student-athlete recruits, active student-athlete academic and study requirements/eligibility; the Director strongly identifies with the academic community as an academic resource person for student-athletes.

The person in this position is a member of the academic eligibility certification team; serves as the primary advisor for all men's basketball and track & field student-athletes; tracks and reports student-athlete academic progress and reviews programs; and establishes effective communication systems with campus academic, administrative, athletic offices and NCAA representatives.

The person in this position will serve as instructor for both freshman student-athlete classes (one credit in the fall and one credit in the spring) within the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. This involves curriculum development and teaching of the course. In addition, the person in this position will be responsible for developing the curriculum for a one-credit course for junior student-athletes. This will involve developing the curriculum and obtaining campus approval for awarding credit for the course. The primary focus of the course will be professional development and transitioning from being a collegiate student-athlete to becoming a member of the workforce and not being a student-athlete. The person in this position will need to conduct extensive research in the areas of student-athlete identity and the issues with transitioning away from that identity when their sport is done.

The person in this position will be tasked with developing and coordinating an internship position that specifically addresses diversity and inclusion initiatives in the Athletics Department. This will entail developing the role description, priorities, and responsibilities for the intern; selecting an appropriate person to serve in the internship; supervising and managing the work product of the intern. The person in this position will also coordinate with campus Career Services to establish the awarding of academic credit for the internship experience.

The person in this position will work with coaches to meet with potential recruits during their visits to campus. In this role, this person will be responsible to exposing the recruit to all of the services and support provided to our student-athletes, as well as the campus resources and highlights to encourage them to enroll at Montana.

Finally, this position will serve as coordinator of the mentoring program. This responsibility involves selection, training, supervision and evaluation of graduate student mentors. The person in this role will develop and deliver the training curriculum throughout the semester for the mentors. Mentors provide general assistance to student-athletes who are identified as at-risk, or in need of more in-depth assistance.

This position will report to the Senior Associate Athletic Director.

The person in this position has a high level of autonomy in decision-making and requires a high level of independence.

The academic image of the student-athlete is directly affected by the support and efforts provided by the Athletic Academic Services office. This position is crucial to the athletic and academic retention and success of student-athletes. Most importantly, the position determines what guidance and academic advice to provide to the student-athletes and what help must be provided to ensure that NCAA rules are being met and the students remain eligible. The position has the authority to make decisions for the program and the adherence to the NCAA regulations regarding academic performance. Therefore, the position is fully responsible for designing the academic strategies to fulfill the goals of his/her responsibility areas.

Athletic Department employees and those University employees outside the Athletic Department with NCAA rules compliance responsibilities are subject at all times to NCAA Bylaws 10.1 and 11.1 regarding ethical conduct and the responsibility to positively contribute to a campus culture of NCAA rules compliance. Failure to conduct oneself as such will result in disciplinary or corrective action up to and including immediate discharge.

Required Skills

• Master's degree is required to serve as an instructor of academic courses.
• Demonstrated experience in athletics or higher education
• Demonstrated experience in establishing and monitoring policies and practices related to academic success.
• Demonstrated experience providing one-on-one advising to students. Ability to work with a diverse population of students and abilities.
• Ability to handle stress, multiple tasks, and the ability to handle conflict.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct advising experience in a collegiate athletics setting.
• Experience working with men's basketball student-athletes.
• Experience developing diversity programming.