Mission Statement

The mission of the Bickerstaff Academic Center (BAC) for Student-Athletes is to assist student-athletes in planning their academic programs and to provide academic support services in order to enable them to achieve their educational goals, persist to graduation, and meet NCAA eligibility requirements.

Based on this mission statement, BAC has developed the following goals:

Goal I:   To serve as the central source of academic and NCAA eligibility information for student-athletes.

Advising situations addressed by the BAC staff include:

• Total program planning

• Assistance in the identification and clarification of educational and vocational goals

• Assistance in the interpretation of NCAA rules of eligibility

• Overall assistance with the University regulations and requirements leading toward graduation

• Interpretation of University Degree Audits, Graduation Evaluations and other University documents

Goal II:   To provide and coordinate programs and services for student-athletes with other service units on campus.

BAC utilizes unique academic assistance programs geared to foster personal empowerment and enhance classroom success. Both freshmen and new transfer student-athletes participate in transitional support programs designed to capitalize on the student-athletes' athletic skills, while learning to transfer those skills to classroom success. The BAC staff closely coordinates with essential academic support services throughout the University including:

• Learning Assistance Center

• Writer's Resource Lab

• Career Development Center

• Counseling and Psychological Services

• Student Orientation Advising and Registration (SOAR)

Goal III:   To provide a coordinated recruit visit program for prospective student-athletes.

The staff of the BAC has developed a two-prong approach in order to deliver information appropriate to prospective student-athletes. Pertinent academic information including General Education, courses in majors, and testing requirements are reviewed. Also highlighted are University wide academic support services as well as special programs developed just for the student-athlete.