Joe Baker
Athletic Director
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
I start connecting with my student-athletes at the beginning of the school year. We have eligibility meetings with each team before they start practice, and I conduct those meetings myself. So from the very first time they get together as a group, I'm standing there in front of them, setting the tone.

Then, on the very next Sunday of the fall semester, we have our Fall All-Sports Meeting when we do programming--one year, we'll do a program on diversity, another year we'll do alcohol, another year we'll do eating disorders. Again, I'm the guy in front of them, leading the meeting and talking to them.

The more opportunities your student-athletes have to interface with you, listen to you, and get to know you, the more faith and trust they'll have in what you're saying and what you're trying to do. So every afternoon at about 3:30 p.m., I get up from my desk and go for a walk around the building. I stick my head into the practice rooms, the strength center, the field house, the gym. I make a point of walking around the halls, saying hello to people, letting them know I care, letting them see me in as many situations as possible.

I'm at every home game from August to May--that's a priority for my schedule. It's an opportunity for our athletes to see me in the stands supporting them. At our indoor contests, I sit on the student side, right by the door, so when our student-athletes come in, I'm one of the first things they see.

Sitting there, I can also say hello to every student and every athlete who walks in the door. It's a matter of putting myself in as many situations as I can where the students will have access to me.

My secretary says to me, "I can't believe the number of students you've got going in and out of your office all day long!" Well, isn't that why we're here? I don't want my door closed, and I don't want to sit there all day long, playing with papers. That's not what I think I'm supposed to do. I want to make myself accessible and helpful to my student-athletes. That's why I come to work every day.

Anita Barker
Athletic Director
California State University-Chico
One of the best ways to get to know your student-athletes is to travel with them. It gives you time to be with them, and gives them time to see you as a person, away from campus, and away from your office. I recently had the experience of traveling with our men's soccer program, and because of logistics, I had to drive one of the vans. So we were together in a car for two hours, and the natural thing is just to strike up conversations.

I came through the profession as an athletic trainer, so it's very comfortable for me to initiate conversations with student-athletes and find out what's going on in their lives. I always ask them, "Where are you from? What high school did you go to? Do you have brothers and sisters?" I want them to understand that I'm interested in knowing them as people.

I try to maintain an open door policy for my student-athletes, and I'm lucky to have a door that opens into the hallway. I try to keep it open during the afternoons, so they can just pop in and say hello. And once a day, I make a swing through the training room to check on people, because it's a great way to connect.

As athletic directors, we have to realize that our student-athletes may be intimidated by us. It's up to us to make the effort to let them know we care about them. I try to stay up on their progress, so I can compliment them or ask questions about their competitions. If I can get them talking about their performance, that will open the door to everything else.

William Martin
Director of Athletics
University of Michigan
Essentially, I do a couple of things. One, I have an open door policy at all times, and I'll talk to student-athletes about anything except how much playing time they're getting or matters related to their coaches. I also hold informal dinners every month, when I meet with about 15 student-athletes from different sports. They get to know each other, and we all talk about issues of concern: What are their challenges as student-athletes? How can we help them? How can we improve their student welfare?

I always ask the question, "If you had a magic wand and could change one thing in the athletic department at Michigan, what would it be?" The first year we tried it, the answer was unanimously to help them register for classes, so they could get their classes in the mornings and free up more of their time in the afternoon for practice. So that's what we did.

The meetings have been a lot of fun. I've enjoyed them, and I think the student-athletes have too.

Gary Grace
Athletic Director
Wartburg College
One of my favorite things to do is to visit practices as they're either beginning or ending, which is a good time to visit with student-athletes. Typically, I'll get there before the coaching staff arrives, and congratulate the student-athletes for something they've done, give them some recognition. Over the course of the season, they get used to me being there. I might just hang around for five or 10 minutes, and we might not talk about much, but it's a valuable opportunity for building relationships.

From time to time, I eat over in the student cafeteria, because it's a great way to have informal conversations about a lot of things. I'm going to eat anyway, and they're going to be there. If I'm dealing with an issue here on campus, I will ask a group of students, "What do you think?" I can get some pretty honest answers that way, and that will tell me what action to take.

The key is figuring out informal ways to make contact with your student-athletes, and the best are those that just present themselves over the course of a regular day. So if you're out in the hallway or if you're around a practice, it's a great time to visit with your student-athletes. You want to provide an informal environment that will allow them to open up to you. And you want to speak to them in a way so that they know you are genuinely interested in what they're doing.

Dr. Sue Willey
Director of Athletics
University of Indianapolis
It's important to be visible, and to make a point of talking to student-athletes as they're getting ready for practices and winding down after competitions. I meet with each team individually, initiate sessions with freshmen, and have exit interviews for seniors. I'm also very active with our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee program, which gives me an in for knowing our student-athletes. It's also about having an open door policy and letting student-athletes know that I'm here and willing to help.

Hal Smith
Athletic Director and Head Men's Basketball Coach
Malone College
The most important thing is just to keep your door open. Once kids know that it's possible to talk with you, and that you're interested in their issues, they'll get the word out. But they need to feel they can freely share their concerns with you without repercussions.

The other thing I do is meet once a month with a group of athletes from each team. They're captains of teams, or seniors, or just leaders. Generally, I don't have much of an agenda when I meet with them. I'm there to talk about things from my perspective and listen to them.

Kevin McHugh
Athletic Director
College of New Jersey
Meeting with the Student-Athlete Advisory Council is a great way to interact with athletes from every team, but it's a formal way to do it. So along with the formal ways, I've tried to find informal ways, where my position is not necessarily something that they're thinking about.

We have student-athletes who work at our concessions stand, and on occasion, I'll work along with them, giving them a hand and getting to know them. It's a different way of interacting with them, where I'm stirring hot chocolate and handing out hot dogs, and we're working side by side. I try to lead by example, and when I'm working with my student-athletes, they see me as someone who's willing to roll up his sleeves and work hard. And it gives us an opportunity to interact that we wouldn't have otherwise.

We have a community service project where every month we send a different team to the local soup kitchen, and often I'll drive the kids there and then work the soup kitchen with them. It's a really great way to get to know a group of 15 or 16 kids at one time, because we're out of our typical element, in a different setting.

Another really good way is working out with them. I try to take advantage of the athletic fitness room, because I get to meet kids in an informal setting. They're there for the same reason I am, and it's very relaxed, very social. Students get to see me sweating, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, and that gives us something in common. It's easier for them to relate to me than when I'm walking around in a suit and a tie. And if they have a problem, it makes it more likely they'll come to my office to talk about it.

When I'm in the weightroom, or working side by side in the soup kitchen, or setting up chairs for an event, it breaks down those formalized boundaries. I'm meeting them on their turf, and it makes a big difference.