Athletics Strategic Planning Team Charge From the President
The University of Northern Colorado is committed to building a competitive NCAA Division I athletics program that offers student-athletes exceptional academic and athletic opportunities. Creating and sustaining a successful program will require deliberate planning, priority setting and investment.
The Athletics Strategic Planning Team will recommend priorities, goals and timelines for a longrange strategic athletics plan that will be Northern Colorado’s road map to success in Division I and the Big Sky Conference. Four primary considerations will guide the committee’s recommendations: Big Sky Conference core sport requirements, gender equity, student-athlete academic success and funding opportunities.
Student-Athlete Academic Success
Northern Colorado emphasizes the “student” in the student-athlete. We are committed to giving student-athletes the tools and resources to succeed academically and to become productive citizens of a changing and diverse society.
Big Sky Conference Core Sport Requirements
The Big Sky Conference requires members to offer 14 core sports. Since adding men’s cross country and men’s and women’s indoor track and field to meet this requirement, Northern Colorado offers 19 sports—second in the Big Sky to Sacramento State’s 20. However, Northern Colorado’s athletics budget is the lowest in the Big Sky at $6.2 million.
Gender Equity
The NCAA and the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights require institutions to make every effort to give similar attention to women’s and men’s sports. This can be measured by matching the proportion of male to female student-athletes to that of the student body, demonstrating continual development of programs to match interests and abilities of the underrepresented sex, or providing programs to meet interests and abilities identified in periodic student body surveys.
Funding Opportunities
Revenue-generation potential, fund-raising prospects, competitiveness and marketing are crucial elements of athletics funding. The committee should also consider the percentage of funding expected from sources including student tuition and fees, commercial activities and donations.
By December 15, 2006, the Athletics Strategic Planning Team should recommend to the president a framework for a 10-year plan that includes key interim milestones. The athletics planning timeline matches that of the long-range academic planning effort under way on campus. Creating the framework for both plans by mid-December will allow us to use them in planning the 2007- 08 budget. Long-term, the plans will help align budget, capital investment and fund-raising decisions with Northern Colorado priorities.