March 25, 2013

Bronx, N.Y. - Fordham University Athletics, in association with the Janssen Sport Leadership Center, announced today the formation of the Fordham Athletics Leadership Academy which will help the Rams develop the next generation of Fordham leaders both in competition and life.

The Fordham Athletics Leadership Academy, which will launch this fall, aims to cultivate, test and aid the school's student-athletes and coaches as they works towards becoming world-class leaders in athletics, academics and life.

As the world-wide leader in Sports Leadership development, the Janssen Sports Leadership Center offers cutting edge, comprehensive, and customized sports leadership training for college and high school athletic departments around the world. Working with some of the nation's top colleges including North Carolina, Michigan, Illinois, Arkansas, Baylor, Pitt and over 200 other schools across the nation, the group has helped develop student-athletes and coaches into world-class leaders on and off the playing fields, through engaging and interactive Leadership Summits, Retreats, and Academies. According to the company, 85 percent of participants at the schools said the program had a positive effect on their team's performance, and at Michigan, 100 percent of student-athletes improved their leadership scores.

The academy will provide comprehensive and innovative leadership development through education, interactive workshops, 360-degree feedback, one-on-one coaching, peer mentoring and online training. The new program is designed to expand the Fordham student-athlete experience to include lessons learned on and off the playing fields that can be transferred to lessons that each participant takes with them when the graduate.

"I'm excited that we are able to partner with Jeff Janssen and Greg Shelley to create the Fordham Athletics Leadership Academy," said Director of Athletics David Roach. "It will not only help develop leaders on our teams but also on campus and is something that each student-athlete will take with them when they start their careers. It will also assist our coaches in creating successful programs. The Leadership Academy will enable us to attract and retain extremely talented student-athletes and will augment the Fordham principle of cura personalis."

From 100 to 125 student-athletes will be involved with the Fordham Leadership Academy annually, split into three different groups. Student-athletes can be nominated by their coaches and teammates to be selected for the Academy and every Fordham varsity team will have representatives in all three groups. Each team will also have one coach participating in the program, which will hold six sessions per year.