UCD Student-Athlete Development Program
Part I: Vision Statement
The vision statement for the committee of UCD athletics is “The UCD is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence for athletes in all areas ranging from the field to academics. We look forward creating all round and professional athletes not only in California, but the whole of the United States of America.”
At UCD we believe that a great program for athletes should be the one which generates enthusiasm and pride among all the athletes, the students of the institution, and the community that is served by the university. Cowley and Domb (2012) explain that the strong public relation that will be created through this department will be able to help the institution qualitatively, as well as quantitatively when it comes to finances, as more sponsors and students will wish to be the part of institution.
The strength of UCD’s vision is that it has the right goals and values that drive the performed actions on a day to day basis. Sundquist and Spizman (2013) inform that the values are the key to the core competencies of the UCD, which sets us aside in relation to other departments in other institutions. UCD is currently seeking to build on its past successes and move onto the next level of success. Such status can be achieved through having a look into our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
The goal of UCD is to direct the students and serve the athletes along a path that will simply combine the needs for academic pursuit and participation in athletics. The main function of the UCD is to work with the university and community having an aim to achieve the set vision. This will give them the opportunity to be more professional in their endeavors, as they pursue athletics career in future.
Part II: The Core Principles
Excellence: Every UCD athlete is required to act and demonstrate high levels of excellence. We have also managed to set out a great policy which guides our athletes when it comes to meeting their academic goals; at the same time, they continue to pursue their athletic goals. The UCD has a great committee that understands the goals of the department, and those who have greatly managed to set the right goals for the department. Cowley and Domb (2012) observe that this provides a sense of leadership, which means greater levels of achievement.
Integrity: All our athletes are expected to act with integrity in social life and as they engage in sporting activities. We understand that in sport, the most frank and sincere people are always available. Cowley and Domb (2012) affirm that this is the reason as to why in our evaluation we will use the same athletes to ensure that they can be able to evaluate each other in terms of performance. Sincerity in evaluation is what makes up our concept of integrity.
Loyalty: The athletes will be required to exercise high levels of loyalty to the university, the UCD, the state, and to our loyal fans.
The above values are important, since they will help UCD to define its current position and then align it to the vision of where the department wants to be. The above qualities are held very close to the hearts of each member of the UCD society. It is important that the members of the UCD understand such values and strive to ensure that they have followed the path that is defined by the value to achieve the goals that have been set through the vision.
Part III: SWOT Analysis and Success Metrics
The current state of the program
Strengths
The first strength that we can utilize for positive development is the fact that we are the key affiliates of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Sundquist and Spizman, (2013) state that this outs the association at a strong position in terms of having an access to information from the NCAA and be able to gain an access to compete with some of the biggest competitions in the country.
The university administration also makes up a huge part of our strengths due to the fact that it has managed to provide the UCD with the required material and motivational support in all the areas that are important in ensuring that we meet our goals.
Weaknesses
Our weakness is the fact that we have not yet managed to appoint a director to UCD, a position that is very important in terms of ensuring that we are able to operate on a daily basis with an aim of ensuring that we attain our goals.
UCD has not managed to draft a schedule for the athlete’s contests, especially when it comes to competing with other members from the lower divisions of competition. Sundquist and Spizman (2013) confirm that this will heavily undermine our competitive position when it comes to playing against the athletes that are less technical.
The UCD has not managed to come up with a policy on performance measure through which the athletes and their coaches will be rated. The UCD has generally relied upon the fact that winning is a proper indication of success, a factor that is very dangerous, especially when it comes to ensuring long term success.
Opportunities
There are several eligible applicants who have shown their interest in getting the Athletics Director position. This provides us with an opportunity to select the candidate with the best credential who will be able to lead the UCD towards the set goals.
There are new students coming into the institution, which will provide a pool of good athletes who can be able to join the UCD and get the best form of training to be the top athletes.
There are more funds that are being anticipated from the university administration which will be the tools to acquire new materials and facilities for the athletes to train.
Threats
UCD is operating under an environment of great competition with several teams working in the best strategies through which they can be able to outmuscle UCD from its high position.
The inclusion of professional teams into the college leagues for the purpose of competition may undermine the UCD, as some good students may be tempted to join the professional ranks.
As explained by Sundquist and Spizman (2013), the amount of reported injuries are the threats to the UCD even as it strives to start the season on a high note. Some sponsors could have the cold feet in terms of investing into the team, given the number of injuries that have been reported so far.
What we are looking for in a successful program?
The UCD currently recognizes the role bestowed upon it, which is to serve the university and the student athletes. Cowley and Domb (2012) are of the view that in order to have a successful program, the UCD is geared towards ensuring that it provides the opportunities to the student athletes to develop their talents as well as develop their educational performance.
The UCD strives to ensure that it comes up with a program that is able to ensure good personal integrity and sportsmanship among the athletes. In UCD, we are striving to have a program that creates teams and each of the athletes is required to be loyal to each of the team members and be able to function within the team.
A successful program can only be created through building in our strengths and reducing on our weaknesses. We should be able to look at the opportunities that may arise and build on them, as we cut the amounts of threats that may come our way.
Evaluation of the department, AD, coaches and teams
The 360 degree formal evaluation, where each of the members of the department is provided with an opportunity to anonymously evaluate each other will be utilized in the evaluation of the director, coaches, and their teams. Cowley and Domb (2012) confirm that in tandem with this approach, the committee will be responsible when it comes to collecting the gathered responses and then giving the results to the institution’s management.
The forms of evaluation will be created in such a manner that members who have been evaluated will be able to learn and make the changes as per the requirements. The process of evaluation will have the questions that are related to the roles of the department, the athletic director, the coaches and the teams. The evaluation period should be set at the end of each competitive season to get the correct position as to the performance of the teams and the tasks of their coaches.
The respondents will not be required to show their identities but to give their sincere opinions on the different elements that will be provided in the questionnaire. As observed by Cowley and Domb (2012), the intention of the research will also be stated out rightly in order to avoid a case where the respondents are not aware of the importance of the process. The rating scale that will be used is simple, on the scale the performance of a person will be rated from 1 to 10.
Part IV: Budget and Sports
At UCD, we are not only running a cost center but we are also operating a revenue center that is able to generate some important income to the institution even as we get some financing from other sources. Below is an operating budget that we look forward to utilizing.
UC Davies
- Athletic Director Fee$
- Coaches, Instructor, Outfitter Fees$
- Team Tournament Entry Fees $
- League/Association Dues $
- Facility Rental $
- Travel $
- Equipment $
- Misc. Expenses $
Total Expenses $
The budget has been created with an understanding that there will be various sources of funding which will be directed towards funding the department for the upcoming season. From the budget we have indicated that the amounts are projected, and the actual figures will only be determined after the actual spending takes its effect in the course of one year. The budget for this year has been prepared based on the actual budget that was used in the previous season. The variances that occurred in the previous period, together with new cost elements, have been considered when the new budget was created (Cowley & Domb, 2012).
The specific sports that we will sponsor are listed below:
- 100 metres, both men and women
- 3,000 metres steeplechase, both men and women
- 800 metres
- 10,000 metres
- High jumps
- Discus throw
- Long jump
- Javelin throw
We will sponsor these games, especially because they superbly fit into the current budget in terms of the needed equipment. More so, there are higher chances of easily excelling in these fields, based on the experience and the talent we have at our disposal, so we will be looking forward to maximize on that.
Part V: Conclusion
UCD is doing well at the moment, and is on course to perform even better than it did in the previous years. The biggest task that UCD is facing this year is to select the most suitable AD from the long list of qualified applicants. The key to success is to get an individual with the best credentials, which will be able to guide the UCD towards its set goals.
In the process of selecting an AD, we are looking for an individual with experience in athletics and with a reputation for success. This is an individual that will be able to maintain the core values of the organization, which are integrity, excellence and loyalty. The most important thing is to ensure that the director of athletics understands the main goals that have been set by the UCD and applies all his/her abilities in order to achieve the set goals.
The budget has been created for the current financial year after a deep analysis of the budget that was created in the previous financial year. The set budget must be followed properly and be adhered to ensure that every cost is directed toward its set goals in the best way possible to avoid the possible misappropriations.