Student-athletes are integrally involved in all of the 10 programs at NCAA institutions selected this year to receive CHOICES program grants.

The grants, totaling nearly $300,000, bring to 117 the number of grants awarded since the CHOICES program began in 1991. About $2.3 million has been awarded to institutions since then.

Grants are extended on a three-year basis. The maximum amount of the grant awards decreases from $15,000 the first year to $10,000 the second year and $5,000 the third year. The approach is designed to encourage the institution to assume greater responsibility for maintaining the program.

The CHOICES program seeks to encourage NCAA institutions and conferences to implement and evaluate effective alcohol-education programs. Funded programs are designed to work toward the elimination of high-risk consumption of alcohol on college campuses by promoting low-risk choices.

The use of alcohol by college students who are under the legal drinking age and the heavy use of alcohol by students for whom alcohol is a legal substance continue to concern program administrators.

The NCAA awards CHOICES grants with support from Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. The NCAA education services group is responsible for administration of CHOICES. All of the 10 newly funded programs feature peer-education components in which student-athletes and other students receive training to lead teammates and classmates in discussions promoting alcohol education.

Many of the programs also feature such elements as media campaigns, community outreach and events offering alternatives to alcohol use. All of the programs have characteristics that have been common in CHOICES. They are campus-wide in focus and are built around athletics events, activities and/or personalities. All also emphasize, in some way, the choices students must make about alcohol use.

As a strategy integrated into many of their CHOICES prevention plans, schools also are reinforcing the healthy choices that most students make when it comes to alcohol use.

Recipients of the latest CHOICES grants are George Washington University; Lincoln Memorial University; Miami University (Ohio); Northeastern State University; Northwestern State University; St. Martin's College; State University College at Oswego; Washington University (Missouri); West Virginia State College; and the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.

Application forms for CHOICES grants to be awarded in 2003 will be mailed to member institutions in October. The forms and grant guidelines will be sent to athletics directors, chief executive officers and directors of student affairs. The deadline for applications will be in February 2003.

George Washington University

COLONIAL CHOICES

Uses educational presentations, information campaigns and awareness activities to inform the student body about the impact of alcohol on the body, alcohol use and alcohol abuse.

Supports students who choose to abstain from alcohol while encouraging high-risk drinkers to instead use low-risk behaviors.

Implements a social-norming strategy to correct student misperceptions of alcohol use on campus.

Provides students with a variety of non-alcoholic late-night programs that allow students to interact with peers in a positive environment.

Lincoln Memorial University

FOR A LIFETIME

Provides positive influences on student attitudes, perceptions and behavior.

Aligns with university mission of striving to provide students with "a foundation for a more productive life ... dedicated to individual liberty, responsibility and improvement."

Assessment elements include a CORE pre- and post-survey on alcohol use and perceptions.

Goals are to decrease high-risk alcohol-related behavior by 12 percent; decrease the number of policy violations by 15 percent; decrease the number of underage drinkers among residential students by 15 percent; and decrease the quantity and frequency of binge drinking by 8 percent.

Miami University (Ohio)

CHOICES

Includes student-athletes in the university social-norming campaign as a means to reach other students and increase channels of distribution to student-athletes.

Expands the number of student-athletes receiving risk-reduction education and evaluates the impact.

Addresses student-athlete participation in campus-wide programming and risk-reduction efforts.

Northeastern State University

S.M.A.R.T. CHOICES

Unifies, intensifies and expands existing campus programming.

Components include a certified student mentor course; a multidisciplinary approach to alcohol education, including programming during and after athletics events; an American Indian alcohol education program; and programs targeting freshmen, binge drinkers and underage drinkers.

Expands opportunities for students to socialize without alcohol.

Increases student awareness of alcohol-education programs and opportunities in and around the university campus.

Northwestern State University

CHOOSE HEALTHY OPTIONS TO INCREASE CHANCES OF EMPOWERING STUDENTS

Encourages reduction in underage drinking and supports healthy lifestyle behaviors.

Corrects the misperceptions of students, faculty and staff about the level and frequency of alcohol use and abuse among students.

Reduces the number of undergraduates who drink heavily, and increases the level of student involvement in health promotion efforts.

Promotes healthy social norms through a media campaign developed by students that focuses on misperceptions.

St. Martin's College

STUDENTS MAKING CHOICES

Uses a social-norming mass media campaign, delivered in part through athletics events and materials related to athletics events, to correct misperceptions about student drinking.

Implements skills training programs with student-athlete access across 11 varsity sports.

Students will be trained as peer educators to assist in the delivery of prevention programs.

Predictors of program success and implications for programs with student-athletes will be identified based on comparisons by year in school and by season in which student-athlete competes.

State University College at Oswego

BUILD OSWEGO PRIDE THROUGH CHOICES

Researches, develops, implements and evaluates an alcohol-education course for student-athletes and the general student body.

Addresses the role of alcohol in the lives of students-athletes and teaches positive decision-making skills.

Builds institutional pride and positive social involvement through the development of an alcohol-free homecoming celebration.

Promotes participation at alcohol-free athletics events and other campus-sponsored events.

Washington University (Missouri)

OUR CHOICES

Implements a research-based program and trains a select group of about 30 student-athletes as peer educators who will deliver three different intervention programs that have been proven to reduce high-risk drinking behaviors.

Uses student leaders from established campus groups.

Establishes peer education as a component of campus alcohol-prevention efforts.

Establishes program as a permanent part of campus alcohol-prevention efforts.

West Virginia State College

THE BUZZ ABOUT CHOICES

Includes an educational component and a series of activities that provide alternatives to alcohol abuse by college students.

Promotes responsible social norms that recognize the appropriateness of choices, including the choice not to drink. Emphasizes safe, responsible and legal drinking practices for those who choose to drink.

Incorporates the use of peer educators to bring alcohol education to students.

Incorporates the use of numerous media -- print, lecture and theatrical -- to send the message of awareness and prevention.

University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

PANTHER CHOICES: CHOOSING HEALTHY OPTIONS IN COLLEGE TO EXPERIENCE SUCCESS

Creates a campus environment that supports personal choices that are legal, appropriate and safe.

Deploys student-athletes as change agents, and uses athletics events as programming venues.

Combines efforts with existing campus programs, including student affairs groups.

Develops leadership potential of student-athletes through a mentoring program.

Develops alcohol-free recreation events in residence halls and student union; also implements a spring break "Contract for Life" campaign.