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Making the Connection: Data-Informed Practices in Academic Support Centers for College Athletes is
practical and ideal for those who seek to use research to inform their individual and organizational
practices. This volume is primarily intended for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, though
scholars, researchers, teachers, practitioners, coaches, athletics administrators, and advocates of
intercollegiate athletics will also find it useful. It comprises a series of chapters that cover a wide range of
evidence-based approaches designed to enhance the practices of those who work closely with college
athletes. Given the breadth of the field overall, this single volume is not exhaustive, but the current
concerns, challenges, and themes of relevance to higher education researchers, practitioners, and others are
well addressed.
The intent of the text is to spark conversation about how college and university constituents can reframe
their thinking about the importance of innovative research to careful, informed practice. Likewise, the contributors hope that it will inspire greater
awareness and action among practitioners, as well as advance scholarship in the area of athletics. Each chapter includes current research, and in some
cases theoretical perspectives, which should assist practitioners enhance the well-being of college athletes. Each chapter also offers guided discussion
questions that are ideal for use as the basis of further conversation in the classroom setting.
Adopters of this text will benefit from leading voices in the field who delve into complex issues, shedding new light and presenting unique
opportunities for understanding a diversity of perspectives on evidence-based practices in support centers for athletes. In all, this volume provides a
rich portrait of data-driven practices designed to assist practitioners and others who work closely with college athletes, and lays the groundwork for an
ambitious and long overdue agenda to further develop innovative research that informs the practices of athletics stakeholders and improves the quality
of experiences for college athletes.
