Client: Martin Methodist College (now University of Tennessee – Southern)
Service Category: Strategic Planning
Leadership Logistics LLC founder/general manager Jeff Bain was asked by Martin Methodist College’s Board of Trustees to assist the school’s varsity student-athletes by helping improve their grade point averages. A game plan was constructed that would formulate programming and then take immediate action to meet the college’s needs by improving student-athlete’s retention, and ultimately enhancing individual success and post-graduate opportunities.
To begin, three simultaneous studies were conducted to answer the following questions: one, what resources are already available within the college’s campus for this? Next, within the teams, what areas are in the most need of immediate transformation? Lastly, what are other institutions doing to enhance student-athlete success in the classroom and beyond?
These results were shocking to learn. First, resources on campus were very limited, shallow and understaffed. Second, the teams needed significant aid in all facets, with some areas even needing a thorough rebuild. Third, there were very few institutions in the nation that had any substantial programming of this nature. Many said that they did but could not produce much evidence beyond talking points.
Equipped with the findings of the studies, the next step was to determine what the college had in place already that could serve as a foundation for the game plan to install improvement upon. What strengths were present to help build and rectify the obvious weaknesses?
After first-hand conversations with a dozen institutions across America, Bain’s program for Martin Methodist College, “Success Over and Above the Rest,” or S.O.A.R., was born. Strong points from several universities, including a foundation from the University of Oregon Ducks Life Skills Program, provided strong points for S.O.A.R. to pull from.
The programming was devised into four sets (freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors) based on two subsets. The first subset was constructed toward academia for freshmen and sophomores, and the second was geared toward life skills for juniors and seniors. The programming blended enhanced current resources and programming on campus, along with both current campus personnel and outside presenters of businesses and alumni.
Within three years, substantial results were produced as the varsity GPA soared from 2.32 to 3.00. Bain’s game plan of a strong base built of accountability, resource availability, financial wellness, and influential career, leadership, and family skills helped enhance individual student-athlete success and ultimately provide post-graduate opportunities. S.O.A.R. has since become a shared and respected program across the nation.
