BLOG: Associate AD Crawford Visits NCAA for Pathway Leadership Program

CSUN Athletics' Associate Athletics Director for Marketing, Branding and Fan Development Dawn Ellerbe Crawford is visiting the NCAA offices in Indianapolis for the prestigious Pathway Program. Twenty-five senior-level athletics administrators, who have committed to becoming directors of athletics, were selected for the 2017 program, which is designed to elevate those in senior-level positions within athletics administration to the next step as a director of athletics. The year-long program is an intensive, experiential learning opportunity for selected participants. More information is available here.

Crawford will be blogging about the 2017 NCAA Pathway Program for gomatadors.com.

I am headed to the NCAA National Office in Indianapolis!

I am excited to be one of 25 administrators chosen to be a part of the 2017 NCAA Pathways Program. This leadership program is designed to help senior level administrators focus their

goals and help navigate a strategic path towards the Athletic Director's seat, by building their leadership, management and decision making skills. Participants are also paired with a mentor who is a current NCAA athletics director and will get the opportunity to connect with a university chancellor or president. My mentor will be Peter Roby, Athletics Director at Northeastern University.

It is a yearlong program that starts today and will continue with quarterly meetings throughout the year. Our final meeting will be held at the NACDA (National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics) Convention in June 2018 in Washington, DC.

Acceptance into this program comes right on time for me as I was just assigned sport administrator responsibilities for CSUN's track & field and cross country programs. In addition to that new role, I currently oversee the marketing, promotions and game day experience for the athletics department. I love what I am currently doing at CSUN from developing new marketing initiatives to providing our fans with an excellent game day experience and look forward to the opportunity to increase my overall knowledge of Athletics as part of the Pathways Program.

9862 — Crawford arrives at the NCAA National Office

The pre-work assignments (readings and video modules) for the program were thought-provoking and provided insight and guidance on building a corporate culture, and mapping out a strategic plan for an organization. There will be opportunities to participate in governance meetings and media interview training. Skill building sessions will include values clarification, media training and diversity and inclusion.

My goal for the program is to be a sponge, and soak up all the information I can to make myself better and positively impact CSUN Athletics. My combined experience as a student-athlete, Olympian coach and administrator have provided a good foundation for a career in athletics. I look forward to building on that experience during the program to develop a realistic plan that will take me to the next level.

Each time I am at the NCAA National Office, I am inspired by a quote from Althea Gibson, which hangs on the wall of the meeting room that bears her name. "Preparation implies hard work and diligence whether or not you are an athlete, astronaut, actress, head of a corporation or family."

Well, I am prepared to get to work.

BLOG: Associate AD Crawford Visits NCAA for Pathway Leadership Program

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