The NCAA, known sometimes for its alphabet soup of affiliates, committees and working groups, served up an entire caldron recently with a summit of acronyms ranging from NASPA to ACPA to NACDA – all for the benefit of student-athletes.

The summit held this winter at the NCAA national office was much more than a JUMBLE quiz, as representatives from about two dozen education-based organizations gathered to collaborate on how to better serve the college student-athlete population.

“All of the organizations that have been working hard over the years to support student-athletes beyond their athletics experience found out they were not alone,” said Tim Millerick, who as vice president for student affairs and athletics at Austin College served as the facilitator for the summit that included student affairs professionals, counselors, campus housing officials, academic advisors, career-development personnel and student-athletes.

Indeed, as NCAA presidents and chancellors in all three divisions have called for further integrating athletics within the educational mission, athletics departments have sought resources to aid the cause. Summit attendees found ample partners.

“The summit itself allowed for the exchange of base information from all of these organizations, and now these groups need to keep working together to find ways to benefit student-athletes,” Millerick said.

Becky Ahlgren-Bedics of the NCAA educational affairs group said the idea was to forge partnerships among groups who have similar missions regarding student-athlete academic success and enhancing their college experience. That prompted NCAA staff members to identify all the national organizations that could influence student-athletes, from academic advisors to career-services people to athletic trainers to college counselors.

Each group gave a 15-minute presentation, setting off light bulbs across the room. Most campuses either have staff who are members of these various groups or know of the services they provide, Millerick said. In that way, the summit revealed that it’s easier than participants might have thought beforehand that a similar interaction could occur on their own campus.

“The conversation about what groups could do to work together around issues for student-athletes has begun. In that regard, the summit served as a table-setter for information and possibilities,” he said.

The easiest connection for most campuses may be between the athletics department and student affairs. Many athletics staffs are reporting to student affairs these days. Millerick in fact is thusly titled as vice president of student affairs and athletics.

He said the NCAA’s engagement of student affairs in general is a good move, because that’s where the touchpoints are to serve student-athletes and to support athletics.

But it’s also key for athletics administrators and coaches to realize all the other support groups that are out there, he said, especially since parents and guardians are looking for more life-learning for their students in a struggling economy.

“I’m hearing more and more in recruiting where coaches, particularly in Divisions II and III, are making big comments about these types of things – academic success and careers and balancing the collegiate experience, and now coaches and athletics departments need to come through on those conversations,” he said. “Academic success, character education and life skills development are important aspects to follow up on when you start making promises to kids and parents and other family members.”

That’s where athletics gets an assist from organizations with a history of addressing certain situations or characteristics common among the student-athlete population.

“Many entering freshmen have come through life knowing only the perspective of a ‘jock,’ and they come to college to grow and develop, and these kids need help interpreting life,” Millerick said. “There’s a lot going on for these kids, and campuses are looking for all the resources they can get to help their athletes get a meaningful and broad-based education.”

That means various types of health services, development of communication skills, planning for career placement and other general life skills.

“The NCAA membership needs to be aware that these broad-based discussions are occurring and that it’s a good model to emulate at the campus level,” said Ahlgren-Bedics.

She said the summit helped update participants on “the state of the student-athlete.”

“All of these people have an interest in student development,” she said. “While the future is yet to be defined, the goal is to develop models that facilitate student-athlete well-being.”

Millerick said a follow-up summit could be in the offing, or at least a couple of sessions for smaller groups.

“We didn’t stage the summit because of any crisis,” he said. “Rather, it was to help campuses become more aware of the resources through these various organizations. We thought, ‘Let’s get them all in a room and see where it takes us.’ Those next steps are best defined by the creativity of the people involved and the true needs on campus, which may vary by institution.”