License to Thrive

NCAA "Champions" magazine

The NCAA launched a new quarterly magazine in January, and its first splash highlighted the worldwide effort to achieve equal opportunity in athletics.

NCAA Champion magazine debuted at the Association’s annual Convention featuring a cover picture of Barry University’s Maya Ozery, a soccer student-athlete who fought for equal rights for female athletes in her native Israel. Ozery took the fight all the way to the Israeli parliament.

“It wasn’t just about soccer,” Ozery told Champion, “at least not in my eyes. That’s why I felt the battle was so big. It was much more about giving equal opportunity to women and girls to play sports and have an equal chance to have something that, unfortunately up to that point, wasn’t common.”

David Pickle, executive editor of Champion, said such messages will be common in future issues of the magazine.  “I believe the NCAA stands for opportunity, much more than people may realize or acknowledge,” said Executive Editor David Pickle. “It’s not surprising that so much of the first issue focused on opportunity because, in many ways, it’s what we’re all about.”
 

The inaugural issue also included a profiles on Ivy Group Executive Director Jeff Orleans (highlighting his role in the creation of Title IX); Ron Stratten, one of the first African-American football coaches of the modern era; Metro State Athletics Director Joan McDermott; and Eastern Connecticut State Athletics Director Joyce Wong.

In addition, the January issue featured detailed articles on the 25th anniversary of Prop 48 (landmark academic-eligibility legislation), the psychological and physiological effects of winning and losing, and the NCAA’s challenging membership structure situation.  The magazine also featured news from the previous quarter, including an “NCAA Insider” section focusing on governance issues, and a comprehensive, photo-intensive review of NCAA championships from the previous quarter.

“The mission of our magazine is to illustrate how good people do great things to support intercollegiate athletics, and I believe the first issue was exactly on target,” Pickle said. “So many people work behind the scenes to build real links between athletics and education. It’s time that somebody told their stories.”  Subscriptions to NCAA Champion magazine may be purchased for $15 through the publications section of NCAA.org. An online version of the magazine is also available through NCAA.org (click on NCAA Champion Magazine on the panel on the right-hand panel).  Subsequent issues will be printed in April, July and October.

To learn more abou the NCAA Champions magazine, go to ww.ncaachampionmagazine.org