“NAT: Being a student-athlete is more than just a game!”
The Nor’easter Adopt-a-Team (NAT) program is an initiative with the goal of creating mutually-beneficial relationships between UNE faculty and varsity athletics teams. Through this program, faculty members will have the ability to become increasingly involved in a particular sport and serve in a mentor role to the student-athletes.
The Adopt-a-Team program gives student-athletes access to a faculty member who can come to better understand the challenges of being a student-athlete, and articulate those issues to the faculty. The faculty mentor will be able to help these student-athletes balance their responsibilities as effectively as possible. The program will illustrate to the student-athletes that the University is supportive of the dual commitment to excellence in sports and to the Institution’s overall academic mission.
The program is designed to allow for some flexibility with regards to the exact role that faculty members play with their teams. Ideally, when a faculty member is formally assigned to a sport, the mentor will meet with the head coach and the Athletics Academic Advisor to discuss ideas or ways that they can best serve the team. Over time, the faculty member is expected to establish an ongoing professional relationship with the coaching staff and student-athletes that allows for open communication. The NAT program would also like the faculty mentor to meet with the student-athletes to discuss how to balance participation on a team with strong academic performance. In many cases, the faculty member will have valuable information in terms of ways to develop good relationships with professors, effective means to participate in class and ways to seek help academically.
The varsity teams are expected to reciprocate the involvement of faculty members by incorporating them into the daily routines of the team. This can take many forms, but the coaching staff should keep the mentor apprised of the team’s practice and game schedules. The coaches will find other creative ways to involve the mentors with the student-athletes – which could include traveling to away events, attending team dinners, speaking at team meetings, participating in practice sessions, etc.
For more information on the Nor'easter Adopt-a-Team program and the role of the Team Mentors, contact Dawne-Marie Dunbar (ddunbar@une.edu / 221-4456).
Click here for an application form
Current Team Mentors:
Basketball, Men's
Dawne-Marie S. Dunbar - WCHP Department of Nursing
Basketball, Women's
Shireen Rahman - WCHP Department of Exercise and Sports Performance
Cross Country, Men's and Women's
Marguerite J. Aube - WCHP Department of Nursing
Field Hockey
Katie J. Hawke - WCHP Department of Exercise and Sports Performance
Golf
Heath Pierce - WCHP Department of Exercise and Sports Performance
Ice Hockey, Men's
Kristen Bailey - WCHP Department of Exercise and Sports Performance
Ice Hockey, Women's
Paul Visich - Program Director, WCHP Department of Exercise and Sports Performance
Lacrosse, Men's
Heath Pierce - WCHP Department of Exercise and Sports Performance
Lacrosse, Women's
Amanda L. Hare - CAS Department of Psychology
Soccer, Men's
Chris Rizzo - WCHP Department of Exercise and Sports Performance
Soccer, Women's
Casey Boucher - WCHP Department of Exercise and Sports Performance
Softball
Edward J. Bilsky - COM Division of Pharmacology/Center of Excellence in Neurosciences
Swimming
Leah S. Bymers - CAS Department of Marine Sciences
Volleyball
M. Cookie Mankowski - WCHP School of Social Work
