The NCAA is making major progress on its most ambitious initiative yet to address the lack of minorities in the football coaching ranks.

NCAA committee and staff members, along with representatives from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), the Black Coaches Association and the NFL, are formatting the NCAA Coaches Academy, which will kick off in conjunction with the AFCA convention in January.

The academy is an approach organizers hope will have the same impact in football coaching that the recently created Leadership Institute for Ethnic Minority Males has had on advancing minority athletics administrators in college sports in general.

"The NCAA Coaches Academy will close the gap in the excuse-making business," said Ramapo College Athletics Director Eugene Marshall. "People won't be able to say that candidates haven't been properly schooled or they don't know how to deal with the intricacies of coaching both on and off the field. They won't be able to say that candidates haven't learned from quality people. At the end of the day, people won't have any more excuses."

Marshall, who chairs the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee (MOIC), said the training the academy offers will be important, but the exposure participants will receive may be what most enhances their chances of being hired.

"I know there are some minority coaches who are offended by the notion that coaches of color need more training," Marshall said, "but along with the training comes exposure, which may be more important than anything else. As we know in this day and age, perception is reality. If a coach is perceived to be a better candidate because he's gone through this program, then it's worthwhile. The academy will serve as a finishing school for those coaches who aren't getting the opportunities."

Presidential commitment

The academy is the product of recommendations the MOIC made to the Football Study Oversight Committee in 2002. The minority hiring issue has been on presidents' radar screens as well, which produced a Division I Board of Directors decision last fall to create a coaches academy of comprehensive workshops to include interview preparation, networking, résumé building, media training and other areas for ethnic minority coaches at all levels. The Board also urged that a mentor program be developed to pair veteran high-profile head coaches with selected minority candidates for networking and one-on-one skills enhancement.

The program became real in January when the NCAA Executive Committee and NCAA President Myles Brand committed $180,000 to the initiative. In March, the NFL expressed a desire to become more involved and kicked in $70,000 toward the academy. Now all that's left is to develop the programming.

So far, organizers have set up three primary components. The first is what's being called an "Advanced Coaching Program," which is a three-day workshop to be conducted at the front end of the AFCA convention. Those sessions will focus on communications (public speaking, booster/alumni relations, interviewing skills, relationships with players and parents); fiscal responsibilities (fund-raising, budgeting); building a successful program (managing staff, relationships with presidents, administrators and community); moral and ethical considerations (sports wagering, agents, NCAA rules compliance); and academic issues (academic support, eligibility standards). Current minority coaches with at least four years of coaching experience may apply for this segment of the program.

The second component is an "Expert Coaching Program" aimed at coaches with at least six years of experience. This session will be conducted in conjunction with the Black Coaches Association convention beginning in June 2004. The program is designed to develop innovative coaching approaches, strengthen relationships with players, introduce new game strategies, provide game-day coaching skills and address off-field concerns.

Finally, an "Executive Coaching Program" will be conducted for a 12-month period beginning January 1 for selected coaches with at least eight years of coaching experience. This component is the mentoring part of the academy, where participants will travel to meet with assigned "executive coaches" twice during the year. The program provides veteran high-profile head coaches and athletics administrators (directors of athletics or conference commissioners) with selected participants to assist with career development, networking and exposure opportunities.

Rochelle Collins, NCAA director of professional development, said one of the challenges in developing the framework was to make it more than an entry-level portal. In other words, the academy would work best for those coaches with at least some experience and not for recent student-athletes or graduate assistants who want to break into the field.

"The goal is to create an initiative that will help as many coaches at as many levels above entry as possible," Collins said. "The academy is for coaches who have experience and who desire to be a Division I-A head coach."

A similar model of advancing existing administrators has worked well for the Leadership Institute, also the product of an MOIC recommendation. Collins said of the first class, 11 participants received new positions or promotions. One in fact became an athletics director. One member of the second class already has been hired as an AD.

The curriculum for each of the three academy components has not been nailed down, but organizers say they will provide "football professionals and recognized leaders in higher education and intercollegiate athletics" to serve as faculty.

Marshall emphasized that the exposure is part of the curriculum.

"Though not all the coaches who go through the academy will need every bit of the curriculum," he said. "But the exposure is important. As we found out with the Leadership Institute, we had some seasoned administrators who learned a lot from each other. They interacted, made contacts and formed stronger relationships. These are crucial components. The more exposure we can give minority coaches on a national front, the better chance they have to get jobs.

"Athletics directors, as I do, look at how people respond to the types of tasks and issues the academy will present -- can that candidate stand up in front of my boosters, alumni, trustees, faculty and college community? That's what you look at when you hire. Academy participants will be skilled in all of those components."

Application materials for the Advanced Coaching Program at the AFCA convention will be distributed later this month and will be available online (www.ncaa.org). Coaches who want to participate will need to submit the application and a personal statement, as well as a letter of recommendation from their athletics director or head football coach by August 1. A selection committee will review application materials and notify applicants of their enrollment status. The academy will enroll no more than 20 football coaches in the first year.

Participants in the Expert Coaching Program held in conjunction with the BCA convention will be nominated by athletics directors and head coaches.

The academy will enroll no more than 10 participants for this component.

No more than five coaches will be invited to participate in the Executive Coaching Program, which is the mentoring component.

Though the entire Coaches Academy is designed as a progression, it is not necessary for participants to have completed all three components to be considered "graduates." In fact, the decreasing available spots for each component make such a progression impractical for all participants.

"The Academy is designed to address the needs of coaches with varying levels of experience," the NCAA's Collins said. "Some already are in a position to be invited to the mentoring component, while others might benefit more from the initial segment. The academy has some built-in flexibility to help as many coaches as we can."

The NCAA Coaches Academy

Mission

To assist ethnic minority football coaches with career advancement through skills enhancement, networking and exposure opportunities and to raise awareness regarding the substantial pool of talented ethnic minority coaches.

Objectives

To increase the understanding and application of skills necessary to secure head coaching positions.

To increase the understanding and awareness of competencies necessary for success in head coaching at the intercollegiate level.

To motivate assistant coaches and coordinators to pursue careers as head coaches at the Division I-A level.

To introduce ethnic minority football coaches to senior-level coaches and administrators through a mentoring program.

To raise public awareness of the existing talent pool of ethnic minority football coaches.

Participants

Ethnic minority football coaches with a desire to secure head coaching positions at the Division I-A level. Ethnic minority head coaches in Division I-AA, Division II and Division III, as well as assistant coaches and coordinators at all levels, are eligible to attend.

Faculty

Recognized leaders in higher education and intercollegiate athletics, and football professionals.

Programs

Advanced Coaching Program (a three-day workshop held in conjunction with the AFCA convention each January that focuses on communication, fiscal responsibilities, building a successful program, moral/ethical considerations and academic issues). Four years of coaching experience recommended.

Expert Coaching Program (a four-day workshop held in conjunction with the BCA convention each June that focuses on developing innovative coaching approaches, strengthening relationships with players, providing game-day coaching skills and handling off-field concerns). Six years of coaching experience recommended.

Executive Coaching Program (a 12-month mentoring program that pairs participants with veteran high-profile head coaches and administrators). Eight years of coaching experience recommended.

How to apply

Application materials for the Advanced Coaching Program will be available later this month. The application, letter of recommendation from the director of athletics or head football coach and a personal statement from the applicant shall be submitted by August 1. A selection committee will review application materials and notify applicants of their enrollment status.

Participants in the Expert Coaching Program are selected through a nomination process. Participants in the Executive Coaching Program are selected by invitation only.

Institutional responsibilities

Institutions must provide travel and lodging costs for participants in the Advanced Coaching Program. There are no registration fees. The academy shall provide meals and program materials. Upon completion of the academy, institutions are eligible to apply for scholarship funds to defray lodging costs. There are no institutional fees for participants in the Expert or Executive Coaching Programs.