Athletics Dept. rebrands student-athlete development program
As part of its commitment to the growth of all the young men and women who wear the Garnet and Black, South Carolina Athletics recently rebranded its student-athlete development program with the launch of Gamecock CEO.
“Gamecock CEO stands for Commit, Engage, and Own It,” said Megan Stoltzfus, Director of Student-Athlete Development. “Those words were intentional because there is an entrepreneurial spirit with this generation and our students. Being a CEO is something a lot of our students aspire to, and we wanted to move away from the idea that you just show up for a program and sit through an hour-long lecture and then you leave. We want students committed before they walk in the door for an event. We want the students engaged in professional development, leadership programming, mentorship programming and then owning it!
“They have so many opportunities, and I think sometimes they can get wrapped up in who they are as athletes and forget they have ownership of who they want to become once they leave South Carolina. That ‘own it’ piece isn’t just on the professional development side, but also on the personal development side.”
The goal of the student-athlete development program has always been to educate, inspire and holistically develop student-athletes in three phases; as they transition into college, during their time at South Carolina, and in preparation for life after graduation. Stoltzfus said the re-branding effort is two-years in the making.
“When I came on board, we wanted to switch the focus for student-athlete development to be a little more all-encompassing and really focusing on the professional development side,” Stoltzfus said. “We wanted something fresh and new that would resonate with the student-athletes. We revamped a lot of the programming and have tried some new things. Now that we feel we have a good foundation; we’re enhancing the opportunities for the student-athletes.”
“Student-athletes will engage in weekly professional development sessions and Zoom meet-ups with Lettermen.”
The evolution of the program, which has included the Beyond Sports Student-Athlete Professional Development and Summer Internship Program, has been well-received by student-athletes.
“Through these opportunities I have found ways outside of my sport to pursue interests in volunteering and research while branching out and gaining confidence in my leadership,” said senior swimmer Emily Cornell.
Senior Assoc. A.D. Chris Rogers & tennis junior Megan Davies
“I didn’t really know where I would go after graduating, but thanks to the Beyond Sports Program, I was able to get an internship that served as a direct pipeline to my current job,” said track and field alumnus Ryan Bermudez, who is finishing up a postgraduate internship with the NCAA.
Athletics Director Ray Tanner has consistently stressed the importance of providing a championship experience in all phases of life for South Carolina student-athletes, in and out of the competitive arena, and Gamecock CEO encompasses professional and personal development, leadership development, and service.
“We completely revamped our financial education in partnership with Founders Federal Credit Union,” Stoltzfus said. “That’s something all of our freshmen go through, and then our Beyond Sports summer interns go through a more intense version of that later. Our sophomores go through ‘Dress Like a Pro,’ which we have also enhanced thanks to our suit partners, Brent Skinner and Granger Owings, to educate our student-athletes not on just professional dress, but also how to dress in formal attire, business casual and everything in between. Once they engage in that program, they have the opportunity to receive a custom-fitted suit their junior year.
“We also have an annual networking night, which we’ve opened up to all student-athletes. We typically have more than 200 student-athletes and over 90 employers from across the Southeast in attendance.”
One of the new programs that was launched this spring just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic was “SPURS UP,” which stands for Seniors, Prepared, United and Ready.
“This was an opportunity to get all of our senior student-athletes in one room, so we could talk through that ownership piece and self-efficacy and dive a little deeper into those things they absolutely will need to know once they leave the University,” Stoltzfus said. “We had former student-athletes lead a men’s and women’s group, and then had them come together in round table discussions about finances, relocation, and how to determine which job is the best fit, and then the Human Resources Department on campus came in and gave them a presentation on things such as benefits and how to prepare for that first paycheck.”
Additionally, a new opportunity called Generation Gamecock has expanded into a three-tiered program where student-athletes can be mentored by senior staff and former student-athletes. The third tier of the program has student-athletes matched up as mentors with local middle school students.
Additional new programming will begin soon.
“This will begin as early as June 2020 with our Summer Huddle Series, in partnership with the Gamecock Letterman’s Association, where student-athletes will engage in weekly professional development sessions and Zoom meet-ups with Lettermen to discuss topics such as branding and executive image, athletic identity, financial decision making, and virtual networking,” Stoltzfus said.
The student-athletes also have the opportunity to receive their own business cards to be used at networking nights and career fairs.
In addition to the various existing programs, South Carolina Athletics has partnered with Game Plan in order to be better equipped in unifying the student-athlete experience, which offers custom e-learning content.
“We’re just really excited about all of this,” Stoltzfus said. “I’m so thankful for all of the hard work that Carmen Rollizo and Caroline Neil (our Assistant Directors for Student-Athlete Development) have put into the enhancement of our department. Our senior staff has given us a lot of support to expand student-athlete development and grow it into something that just makes more sense to our student-athletes today.”
