January 17-18, 2002

NOTICE OF INTENT  Authorization to Create an Undergraduate Minor in Coaching Science; Montana State University-Bozeman

THAT:  The Board of Regents of Higher Education authorizes Montana State University-Bozeman to award the Minor in Coaching Science.

EXPLANATION:  In requesting authorization to offer a Minor in Coaching Science, Montana State University-Bozeman recognizes that no other university or college in Montana offers students who are primarily interested in teaching in the public schools an opportunity to combine their major preparation for teaching with a minor in the coaching field.

The public schools of Montana, like the rest of the United States, experience annually a serious shortage in professionals prepared to coach the young student athlete. This minor would not only prepare undergraduate students to coach, but also make them more marketable in the state and the region.

In addition to the general coaching classes offered by the Department of Health and Human Development and sport-specific offerings by many of the coaching staff of MSU athletics, there are numerous additional existing courses whose content would serve to prepare future coaches. Examples of those courses are: Basic Health Care in Sport and Exercise, Nutrition for Sports and Exercise, and Foundations of Exercise Science.

The curriculum is being developed in collaboration with the Montana High School Association to assure that state needs are being appropriately addressed. Cooperative relationships with the public schools exist to facilitate placement of future coaches into the community in "student coaching" roles.