Innovative Research Into Practice in Support Centers for College Athletes: Implications for the Academic Progress Rate Initiative

Concerns about the educational experiences of Division I athletes are pervasive. Finding meaningful ways to strike a healthy balance between athletics and academics has been an ongoing struggle for colleges and universities, and this article emphasizes the need for and value of innovation in current practices. The article introduces the Career Transition Scorecard, a practitioner-as-researcher model that fosters evidence-based practices among higher education professionals as they improve the well-being of Division I athletes. Drawing from the proposed model, the article includes suggestions for new ways of thinking about the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s current Academic Progress Rate initiative. This work should encourage higher education practitioners and key internal stakeholders of athletics to consistently and formally examine program data disaggregated by subgroups such as race/ethnicity, gender, and type of sport and to develop and implement new, responsive intervention strategies that improve desirable academic outcomes for athletes.