On the Job with Athletic Advising

The Bulletin spoke with Paul Edwards, coordinator of athletic advising.

What do people think you do?

“They think we work for the department of Intercollegiate Athletics, but we work for Student Affairs. Many people think the office is just for dealing with NCAA eligibility issues.”

What do you really do?

“We coordinate a comprehensive day-to-day academic support program for students that compete in 20 Division I sports. We’re academic advisers, we certify NCAA continuing-eligibility, we are the first contact for academic difficulties, and we refer athletes to different campus programs like Services to Students with Disabilities. We check with faculty to monitor student attendance and performance in classes. We help coordinate statistics for graduation rates, retention and academic performance. We also answer academic-related questions from various media outlets.”

Describe your office.

“We have two full-time counselors that have both graduated with their bachelor’s and their master’s degrees from Sacramento State. We work in close consultation with the Athletic Resource Center, which is a study area, computer lab and an academic mentoring center for student athletes.”

What surprises people?

“Whenever I describe what I do, people say it sounds like a fun, fulfilling job. It’s fun working with our students on academic matters and then getting to watch them in their competitive, athletic settings, too.”

What’s your biggest challenge?

“It’s trying to get student athletes to put as much consistency into academics as athletics. They are naturally motivated to do so in athletics, as they’re talented in that area. There’s a challenge to work with students who may not have as much confidence with their academic skills.”

What do you get asked the most?

“‘Paul, are you busy? Because I just have a quick question,’ which comes from almost every student that walks in here. My answer is, ‘There’s no such thing as a quick question when it comes to athletics, eligibility and academics.’”