Limited-resource institutions are invited to attend the NCAA Accelerating Academic Success Program (AASP) Conference. The AASP Conference provides a broad-based schedule of programming that benefits chancellors and presidents, athletics departments, academic advisors, registrars, development and those interested in the academic success of student-athletes. It also provides the opportunity for inter-institutional discussions on issues and solutions among individuals from institutions that may have similar missions, demographics, challenges and success.
2018 Dates and Location
The 2018 NCAA AASP Conference will be held in Orlando, FL on July 24 - 25, 2018. Here is a summary of each day of the conference:
- Monday, July 23, 2018 - Class 3 AASP Grant Recipients' Final Meetings
- Tuesday, July 24, 2018 - Conference Sessions and Reception
- Wednesday, July 25, 2018 - Conference Sessions
- Thursday, July 26, 2018 - Class 4 AASP Grant Recipients' Renewal Assessments and Class 5 AASP Grant Recipients' DiSC Work of Leaders session as well as Grant Recipient Orientation
This is a new location for the conference. We will be at the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld. The hotel rate and fee will be $149 per night (plus taxes). We have also arranged several benefits for attendees:
- For all AASP-eligible institutions, four (4) individuals from each institution will have transportation to/from Orlando and hotel (room and tax) covered by the NCAA.
- Complimentary parking during the conference.
- Complimentary Wi-Fi in guestrooms.
- Complimentary Wi-Fi in all meeting rooms.
- The conference room rate is available to attendees 3 days prior and 3 days post our event dates (July 22 - 26). Note this is subject to room availability.
Jonathan Mooney - Breakfast Keynote Speaker (July 25, 2018)
Jonathan Mooney is a writer and learning activist who did not learn to read until he was 12 years old. He is a graduate of Brown University’s class of 2000 and holds an honors degree in English Literature. Jonathan has spent his entire professional career as a social entrepreneur developing organizations, programs, and initiatives to improve the lives of marginalized groups. In 1997, as an undergraduate at Brown University, Jonathan co-founded Project Eye-To-Eye, a non-profit advocacy organization for students with learning differences. As the founding president and Executive Director, grew the organization from an undergraduate project conceived in his dorm room into a national organization, which currently has 38 chapters in 20 states working with over 10,000 parents, educators, and students. has also worked extensively to create career and college pathways to move low-income youth and adults out of poverty creating the Los Angeles Energy pathway program; The Urban Teacher Fellowship; and the Promo Pathway, an initiative Vice President Al Gore called “a model for moving at-risk youth into the creative economy.”
With the publication of Learning Outside The Lines (now in its 18th printing) when he was 23, Jonathan has established himself as one of the foremost leaders in the neurodiversity and learning revolution. His second book, The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal was published in the spring of 2007 to outstanding reviews in The New York Times Book Review, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune and many other national publications. Both books are considered foundational texts in the disability rights movement, the inclusive education movement, and the learning revolution and are used in undergraduate and graduate program at universities and colleges across the country including Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and Teachers College, Columbia University.
Jonathan’s work has been widely recognized for its innovation and social impact. In 1999, Jonathan was selected as a Harry S. Truman Scholar for Public Service. In 2000, Jonathan was selected as a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship. In 2002, the LD Access Foundation recognized his work for students with disabilities with the Golden Advocacy award. Previous honorees include David Boies, Judith Rodin, former President of The University of Pennsylvania, and former New Jersey Governor Thomas H. Kean. In 2008 Jonathan’s social impact work was recognized by the Lab School of Washington where he shared the stage with the Vice President of the United States, Joseph Biden.
Jonathan is a highly sought after speaker on neurodiversity, education reform, the learning revolution, and creating college and career pathways for at risk youth. He has lectured in 43 states and three countries. He has been featured and quoted in/on The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, USA Today, HBO, NPR, ABC News, New York Magazine, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe.
Conference Session Highlights
Each year, we organize new topics and speakers for the conference. Here are a few of the sessions that will be a part of this year’s conference:
- Fruitful Partnership - In this session, participants will hear from two AASP Class III institutions as they discuss advantageous cross-campus partnerships. Leslie Rowls will discuss how North Carolina A&T State University sought to increase the pipeline of qualified learning specialists by working with the Special Education program and Aaron Tillman will discuss the beneficial partnership between Florida A&M University athletics and its Social Work program.
- Understanding Student-Athlete Identity - Student-athletes balance multiple identities during their intercollegiate athletic careers. Join this session to hear two research practitioners discuss how student-athlete identity can impact academics and athletic performance and how administrators can motivate student-athletes during the critical time of identity formation.
- Recruiting for Athletics & Academics: APR from the Coach's Perspective - In this coaches panel, the audience will hear about recruiting philosophies and challenges as three coaches participate in a facilitated discussion on how to successfully recruit to be competitive athletically, while also meeting and exceeding APR benchmarks.
- Wisdom Chats: Leadership, Longevity & Lessons Learned - In this panel session, participants will gain valuable insight from long tenured directors of athletics as they discuss topics such as leading a successful program, academics, integrity, crisis management, and changing with the times.
Registration is now OPEN
To register for the 2018 Conference, click HERE. Please note that at the end of registration and in the registration confirmation email you will be provided Attendee Type and link to reserve a hotel room.
Credit card information REQUIRED when reserving hotel room
We have made a change to the requirements to reserve a hotel room for the conference. All attendees requesting a hotel room reservation will be required to provide credit card information. The credit card will not be charged when you submit a reservation request. This change was made to ensure that the hotel has credit card information or each reservation. Please note that if you are an individual for which the NCAA will cover the cost of hotel (room and tax only), your credit card will only be charged:
- incidental hotel expenses;
- for hotel nights beyond the 3 or 4 nights the NCAA covers; and/or
- do not contact us to cancel hotel room reservation and there is a fee for failure to cancel.
If you have any questions, please contact the Accelerating Academic Success Program Conference team at AASP@ncaa.org.