California State University, Northridge (CSUN) is like most of the more than 1,000 institutions of higher learning participating in NCAA intercollegiate sports programs. The chances are remote that its students will be among this spring’s Final Four basketball competitors or major winners in another collegiate sport.
Some of CSUN’s student-athletes are emerging from the pack academically, however, by virtue of CSUN’S partnership with the NCAA in the organization’s Accelerating Academic Success Program (AASP).
The AASP, now in its third year of a three-year funding cycle, is an effort by the NCAA to help so-called “limited-resource” institutions receive extra human and technological help for student-athletes who are often unprepared to master the academic requirements of being a full-time student and the demands of a full-scale athletic obligation.
“There are so many schools that need the funds and so many students who would benefit,” says Dr. Brandon Martin, director of intercollegiate athletics at CSUN, a member of the Big West Conference. “We’ve learned that when you provide academic support for a student their potential is unlimited.”
CSUN and AASP
CSUN, now in the third year of a $900,000 NCAA grant, was one of the first six recipients of an AASP grant. The funds are spread over three years with the receiving institution agreeing to match part of the funds each year in cash and in-kind support.
With the NCAA boost, CSUN acquired more campus space for its Matador Achievement Center (MAC) that opened in 2013, which Martin calls the “hub” of the accelerated effort. When the center opened, the school hired four additional staff members to oversee advising, mentoring, tutoring and the office, as well as additional mentors and tutors. “It [the grant] allowed us to have a more comprehensive academic support unit,” he says.
