Making the Connection

Making the Connection: Data-Informed Practices in Academic Support Centers for College Athletes ispractical and ideal for those who seek to use research to inform their individual and organizationalpractices. This volume is primarily intended for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, thoughscholars, researchers, teachers, practitioners, coaches, athletics administrators, and advocates ofintercollegiate athletics will also find it useful. It comprises a series of chapters that cover a wide range ofevidence-based approaches designed to enhance the practices of those who work closely with collegeathletes. Given the breadth of the field overall, this single volume is not exhaustive, but the currentconcerns, challenges, and themes of relevance to higher education researchers, practitioners, and others arewell addressed.The intent of the text is to spark conversation about how college and university constituents can reframetheir thinking about the importance of innovative research to careful, informed practice. Likewise, the contributors hope that it will inspire greaterawareness and action among practitioners, as well as advance scholarship in the area of athletics. Each chapter includes current research, and in somecases theoretical perspectives, which should assist practitioners enhance the well-being of college athletes. Each chapter also offers guided discussionquestions 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 uniqueopportunities for understanding a diversity of perspectives on evidence-based practices in support centers for athletes. In all, this volume provides arich portrait of data-driven practices designed to assist practitioners and others who work closely with college athletes, and lays the groundwork for anambitious and long overdue agenda to further develop innovative research that informs the practices of athletics stakeholders and improves the qualityof experiences for college athletes.