NCAA

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 AASP Conference Recap

The 2018 NCAA AASP Conference was held in Orlando, FL on July 24 - 25, 2018. This was our first year at Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld.

2018 Keynote Speakers

Jonathan Mooney

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.

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. 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.

Dr. Jeffrey O’Brien - Institute for Sport and Social Justice

Dr. Jeffrey O’Brien, Vice President, Institute for Sport and Social Justice, will present “Harassment in Your Midst? Your culture will make or break you.”

Many institutions feel unprepared to respond to the challenges of proactively addressing sexual harassment and sexual assault with more than a band-aid approach. This session will provide an engaging, interactive overview on these issues and offer insight into best practices for operationalizing your culture to address harassment, and any form of behavior that serves to divide your campus.

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 heard from two AASP Class III institutions as they discuss advantageous cross-campus partnerships. Leslie Rowls described 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 discussed 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.  This session featured two research practitioners who explained 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 heard 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 gained valuable insight from long tenured directors of athletics as they discussed topics such as leading a successful program, academics, integrity, crisis management, and changing with the times.