When the CHAMPS/Life Skills Program was launched in 1994, 46 institutions of higher education participated during that inaugural year. Now as the program's 10-year anniversary approaches, 472 institutions are on board.

The impetus for the CHAMPS/Life Skills Program was to provide student-athletes -- a group facing pressures and demands not typically faced by student-body peers -- assistance with regard to the adaptation of their eventual departure from competitive sports. The mission of the program still is "to develop and enhance the life of the student-athlete through educational programs and resources focusing on gender equity, student-athlete welfare and life skills."

There are five "commitments" that are the essential components of the instructional materials the NCAA provides for CHAMPS/Life Skills coordinators. Those commitments are to academics, athletics, personal development, career development and community service.

Currently, few educational resources and text materials detail the CHAMPS/Life Skills Program for the mainstream student-athlete or athletics administrator. Those that do include the 1996 book by West Virginia University's Ed Etzel called "Counseling College Student-Athletes;" the 2000 publication by Meeker, Stankovich and Kays called "Positive Transitions for Student-Athletes: Life Skills for Transitions in Sport, College & Career;" and the textbook "If I Knew Then What I Know Now -- Life Skills for Success From Today's Student-Athlete Leaders" that was published in 2003 by Bell. The latter is the first of its kind to offer peer-to-peer advice among the student-athlete population.

Over the last 10 years, a great deal of money, time and attention has been devoted to educate and train student-athletes to be more aware of how they can transfer the skills they learn on the playing field or court to augment their personal and career choices.

The CHAMPS/Life Skills Program is unquestionably a meritorious initiative. However, I propose that the nature of the CHAMPS/Life Skills Program is so versatile that it could be developed as a graduate-level course for those who desire to counsel intercollegiate student-athletes. I believe that curriculum based on the CHAMPS/ Life Skills Program would enhance any sport management and/or sport psychology degree.

The benefits would be threefold. First, this type of supplemental elective would meet the ever-changing needs and interests of students who are preparing for careers in intercollegiate athletics. Second, the unique needs of student-athletes have been clearly articulated; therefore, training individuals about this particular group while in graduate school is essential to achieving the CHAMPS/Life Skills mission.

Finally, the information would reach a large population of students if the delivery method is "interdisciplinary." For example, if the course used an interdisciplinary approach, expert instruction in counseling education, sport administration, sport psychology and health education could all be used to professionally prepare those entering the profession before becoming CHAMPS/Life Skills coordinators. As a result, those entering the intercollegiate athletics profession would have a strong foundation and knowledge about the program and as such, their "transition" into the CHAMPS/ Life Skills coordinator position would be much more efficient.

Some institutions already have picked up on this idea. Springfield College, for example, offers a graduate-level course called "Life Skills Programming for Student-Athletes," which prepares students to teach or offer workshops on life skills to student-athletes.

The CHAMPS/Life Skills Program is entering its second decade as a successful model for integrating student-athletes into post-intercollegiate life. Institutions would do well to build on that success by integrating the life-skills curriculum into their graduate-level programs.

David J. Kelley is an adjunct professor in sport administration at Xavier University.