If student-athlete well-being is to be a priority in the strategic planning of intercollegiate athletics, it must occur at the grass-roots level.

So said University of Georgia Athletics Director Damon Evans during a keynote speech at the 2005 NCAA Conference Intern Seminar in Indianapolis January 28. Evans, named the Georgia athletics director at the age of 34 in December 2003, wants to develop his institution into a leader in this area, and his remarks at the seminar emph asized a commitment to guiding principles as a road map for decisions to be made in student-athletes' best interests.

"I believe we have a responsibility to the student-athletes, who are the most integral part of our enterprise,'' said Evans, a former football student-athlete at Georgia. "They are the backbone of what we all do. Without them -- and a lot of people don't want to hear this -- we would cease to exist.''

Evans' goal is to mold the Georgia athletics program into a model for others to emulate both academically and athletically in the future. To accomplish this, Evans and Georgia rely on a mission statement that emphasizes a model of excellence while enhancing the lives of student-athletes and preparing them for life beyond athletics.

Before taking over his position at Georgia, Evans visited athletics departments at the University of Michigan; Stanford University; the University of Nebraska, Lincoln; the University of Southern California; and the University of California, Los Angeles, to take a closer look at how those institutions conducted business.

"We are in the business of educating and developing young people,'' Evans said. "We are a part of an institution of higher learning. Accordingly, our objectives must be in line with those of the institution, and in line with the purpose is a vision statement that outlines where we want to go.''

He said athletics departments can strengthen their brand by setting and not deviating from the guiding principles of education, integrity, and enhancing the well-being not only of the university as a whole, but also of the student-athlete.

Evans cited as an example of not deviating from those principles an ESPN request to televise a Georgia football game on a Thursday night. The institution was being offered $300,000 to move the game from a Saturday, but Evans said sticking to the guiding principles made it clear that Georgia should decline the offer.

"Money is not going to drive us,'' he said. "If we had a Thursday-night football game on the Georgia campus, we're going to upset the academic environment in the middle of the week. So if education is one of our guiding principles, we don't want to go against that.

"At Georgia, people usually show up two or three days before a football game. If we (played Thursday night), we would be asking those individuals who have purchased season tickets and have a five- or six-hour drive and still hope to do what they normally do when they arrive on campus to upset their work week. It puts undue pressure on them. For me the decision was simple. That's how we use our guiding principles.''

In addition to hearing Evans' keynote speech, seminar participants attended breakout sessions on networking for professional advancement, motivational leadership and ethical issues in intercollegiate athletics.

Established in 1989, the conference intern seminar is an annual event that provides interns with networking opportunities and career-development skills, as well as opportunities to discuss pertinent issues in intercollegiate athletics.