Abilene Christian University in Dallas founded the Center for Sports Leadership and Learning to nurture the sports performance metrics that aren’t easily tracked or analyzed. At the center, high-level athletes and coaches can take professional development classes, participate in academic programming, and join research studies that focus on critical challenges in sport.
According to Ben Baroody, executive director for ACU’s Center for Sports Leadership and Learning, leadership skills, emotional intelligence and mental health are performance essentials. “People,” he says, “are and always will be the ultimate competitive advantage.”
Abilene Christian University in Dallas founded the Center for Sports Leadership and Learning to nurture the sports performance metrics that aren’t easily tracked or analyzed. At the center, high-level athletes and coaches can take professional development classes, participate in academic programming, and join research studies that focus on critical challenges in sport.
According to Ben Baroody, executive director for ACU’s Center for Sports Leadership and Learning, leadership skills, emotional intelligence and mental health are performance essentials. “People,” he says, “are and always will be the ultimate competitive advantage.”
The center has partnered with the Texas Rangers as well as the Houston Texans, offering players and coaches the chance to earn college credits through online courses. Through academic programming, coaches and players can earn a bachelor’s degree in sports leadership and management or a master’s of science in sports leadership.Â
“Our goal? Equip sports leaders to build stronger cultures and more sustainable careers, on and off the field,” said Baroody. “We work to grow leaders who understand investing in themselves and others is not separate from performance, it is performance.”
In creating the Center for Sports Leadership and Learning, Baroody and his team at ACU wondered: We train our bodies long before game day. Why wouldn’t we do the same for our minds?
As a part of the center’s professional development programming, coaches and athletes get hands-on training to improve their emotional intelligence, pressure-driven decision making and championship mindset. Through the center’s consulting services, entire organizations can get customizable strategies to transform their leadership.
“The future of sports leadership demands a new level of adaptability, character and innovation,” said Baroody. “Our work integrates strategic clarity with grounded coaching to build cultures where leaders don’t just perform — they grow, adapt and lead in ways that stick. Whether in the front office, on the sidelines or inside the locker room, we partner with organizations to move beyond quick fixes and build lasting capacity from the inside out.”
