NFL/NCAA Administrators Academy: Shaping Future Leaders in Football

The NFL/NCAA Administrators Academy stands as a collaborative initiative designed to cultivate the next generation of leaders in football administration. By equipping young professionals with essential skills, resources, and networking opportunities, the academy paves the way for their advancement in collegiate and professional football.

Genesis and Evolution

Lamarr Pottinger, associate director of NCAA leadership development, emphasizes the academy's mission: "We designed the academy to equip young professionals seeking opportunities in football administration at the collegiate and pro level with professional development resources and the necessary skills to plan for and attain roles within this space." The success of the NFL/NCAA Administrators Academy showcases how NCAA leadership development continues to study trends and evolve programming in order to meet the needs of our membership.

Program Structure and Key Components

The academy employs a multifaceted approach, combining intensive in-person sessions with ongoing mentorship to foster both personal and professional growth.

Intensive In-Person Program

The core of the academy is a multi-day, immersive experience featuring:

Networking Opportunities: The academy emphasizes connection-building, initiated with a networking reception.
Expert-Led Curriculum: Guest speakers, representing college football programs, NFL clubs, and subject matter experts, deliver curriculum touchpoints. Topics included thoughtful leadership, effective communication, strategic thinking and planning, influence and negotiation. Particular focus was placed on navigating career paths in football and the administrative roles that cohort members could aspire to in the future.
Interactive Sessions: Participants engage in interactive sessions led by top executives from the NFL, NCAA, college conference offices, and NFL clubs, providing a comprehensive look into the modern sports business landscape.

Mentorship Program

Following the in-person component, participants transition to a five-month mentorship experience. They are paired with a mentor from the sports business industry-either within the NFL or collegiate athletics-who will guide them. This mentorship is really important because that's the follow-up. What did you learn? How are you going to use those things?

Impact and Takeaways

Academy participants consistently highlight the program's transformative impact on their careers and perspectives.

Expanded Knowledge: "This academy provided great insight to fill in what I previously did not know about navigating the sports industry as a young professional," said academy participant D'Gary Wallace, graduate assistant football coach at Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Career Advancement: Camille Wilson, a former tennis student-athlete at Agnes Scott and current football operations and team logistics analyst for the Houston Texans, shared, "This program personally has landed me in an ideal job for myself. Being able to be at the Texans because of this program, it just means so incredibly much to me."
Personal Growth: "I learned a lot about myself and also how to work with other folks who may not have the same personality type as me or ways that we just work in different spaces," said Mya Johnson, assistant director of student-athlete development at Oregon State.
Maximizing Opportunities: "One takeaway from the academy is just to make the best out of every opportunity you receive, especially an opportunity like this to get in front of so many people from the league and from the NCAA," said Thomas Williams, a McLendon Future Leader and diversity, equity and inclusion assistant at Georgia. "I just learned so much about opportunities I didn't even know existed, different career fields, things I can look into and things I can take back to my student-athletes.

Notable Figures and Contributors

The academy draws upon the expertise of prominent figures in the NFL and NCAA, including:

NFL Leaders: Roman Oben, vice president of football development; Nana-Yaw Asamoah, senior vice president of partnership strategy and new business; Aaron Perez, senior director of strategy and operations; and Leslie Satchell, a senior consultant. Camille Wilson, a former tennis student-athlete at Agnes Scott and current football operations and team logistics analyst for the Houston Texans, also spoke to the attendees.
NCAA Leaders: Felicia Martin, senior vice president of inclusion, education and community engagement at the NCAA, helped attendees develop their own "playbook" to achieve personal and career goals.

Eligibility and Selection

The NFL/NCAA Administrators Academy is offered at no cost to selected learners. Learners must be a current intern, graduate assistant or in the first two years of full-time employment within an athletics department at an NCAA member school, conference office, affiliate organization or the NCAA national office. Individuals must have completed a bachelor’s degree to be eligible to apply for the NFL/NCAA Administrators Academy. Selection is based on responses to application questions. Applications are scored on a 60-point scale across the categories below. Question 4: What type of role would you like to have within the NFL and/or football administration? Additional questions?

Albany State University's Participation

Albany State University is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II-level intercollegiate athletic program. The university currently field teams in 11 sports: women's volleyball, women's tennis, women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, softball, men's and women's track and field, women's soccer, baseball, and football. In his role at Albany State, Wilson has played a pivotal role in the day-to-day operations and logistics of the Golden Rams Football program, contributing to its organization, efficiency, and overall success. Evan Gray, P.A.W. Wilson's selection places him among a national group of rising professionals in the football industry who will engage in a transformative leadership and development experience.

A Commitment to Growth

"From the opening reception to the closing remarks, the academy cohort members demonstrated their commitment to learning, growing and being their best personal and professional selves," said Daniel Van Norton, senior manager of football development at the NFL. Cordavien Suggs, a former Mississippi State football player and a McLendon Minority Leadership Initiative Future Leader working at his alma mater, said, "It's just been a tremendous opportunity to grow and develop."

Read also: Crafting Your NCAA Profile

tags: #NFL #NCAA #administrators #academy