 |
|
February
2006
|
Athlete Retirement Institute Premiers at SDSU“Is there life after sport?” This is a question many athletes may ask themselves as retirement looms. Leaving the world of sports can be a life-altering experience for many former athletes. After a lifetime of self-discipline, rigorous activity, and competition, it can be difficult to segue into a less demanding life. To help address this issue, SDSU has embarked on helping retired athletes through its brand new Institute for Athletes in Retirement and Transition (IART). The IART was developed to support retired collegiate, elite, and professional athletes through various programs, including research and publications, mentoring, advising, and nationwide networking. Conceived by Scott Tinley, former professional athlete and current instructor in the Graduate College of Business Administration’s MBA Sport Management Program, the program will enlist the support of teams, leagues, complimentary organizations, and individuals and groups in providing assistance to athletes who require this highly specialized form of guidance in their retirement. The idea for an Athlete Retirement Institute began when Tinley was doing graduate research in the area during the late 1990s. Working closely with other SDSU faculty, one question kept reoccurring: ‘Why is there not a central location, whether real or cyber, that a retiring player in need of various kinds of assistance can go to access information?’ The catalyst for embarking on the project came in late 2004 with the advent of the newly-offered MBA Sports Business Management Program. With the support from Associate Dean, Jim Lackritz and Dean Gail Naughton and the CBA, the Institute turned from idea to reality. “For every former professional athlete that leaves the world of sport with some degree of stability, there are hundreds, at all levels of sport, that suffer through the idiosyncrasies of emotional trauma connected to major life change,” says Tinley. “This group has identified a unique sub-culture of men and women who could benefit from the services of this institute. Beyond that, research opportunities transcend sport retirement and should be applicable to many of current society’s challenging life transitions.” The IART will develop a number of athlete-centric opportunities with a primary focus on research, networking, and mentoring. With the Institute's ties to SDSU, IART will be able to access resources that will facilitate the growth of programming. “Our plans include managed growth based upon research-supported needs and available resources,” said Tinley. “Specifically, we will be creating an advanced database of topic-specific resources, partnerships between athlete-orientated programs and a community service-based mentoring program. Every institute of higher learning owes much to its surrounding community. This may seem a narrow niche but it’s a powerful one.” And as a non-profit (501c-3) entity, IART will not charge the athletes fees for any services and will rely on volunteer efforts and local and national financial support. This June, IART will be holding the first ever topic-specific conference. Dubbed Life After Sport – Athletes in Transition, the conference will be held June 2-4 at SDSU, attracting academic researchers, local and national retired professional athletes and interested sport business professionals. Additional information can be found at http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~iart/programs.htm. “San Diego is rich with former players from a variety of sports who are willing to help other younger athletes determine future opportunities for living quality and fulfilling lives,” Tinley said. “And SDSU is home to a number of well known academics who are interested in contributing to the body of knowledge in this area. About Scott Tinley |
|
|
|
 |
