National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics

 The Steve McDonnell Professional Development Institute (PDI) is comprised of five individual tracks, each dedicated to providing a robust, transformative professional development experience for industry professionals. Two tracks (Leader/Manager & New Practitioner) focus on professionals at specific junctures in their career while the other three tracks (Learning Specialist, HBCU Professionals, and Student-Athlete Development) emphasize intensive training in a specific career track regardless of years in the profession. 

1. New Practitioner (NP): The NP track is designed for professionals who are somewhat new to the field (working less than 5 years) and want to grow their skills, knowledge, and best practices for serving student-athletes in an advising or similar capacity. Faculty are experienced Advisors, Directors, Associate & Senior Associate Athletic Directors. 
2. Learning Specialist (LS): The LS track is designed for current or aspiring learning specialists at the high school, two-year college, or four-year college levels. Topics include evaluation, learning disability testing models, successful collaboration with other academic staff, and best practices for work with underprepared students or students with learning differences. Participants can be new to the field or have multiple years working as a learning specialist. Faculty members are current Directors of Learning Resources, Learning Specialists, and experienced Administrators. 
3. Student-Athlete Development (SAD): The SAD track is designed for professionals who work in or aspire to work in the growing field of student-athlete development at the collegiate, high school, or professional level. Participants can be new or have multiple years of experience in the field of student-athlete development.  Program development, funding models, national trends, and collaboration with campus and athletic department staff are areas of focus for this track. Faculty are current student-athlete development directors, directors, and experienced administrators. 
4. Leader/Manager (LM): The LM track is designed for professionals who have been hired as or have demonstrated the potential to serve as an  Assistant/Associate Athletic Director or Director of Student-Athlete Support Services soon. Topics include staff and budget management, leadership and management, campus climate & culture, and strategic planning among others. Participants can have a background in either advising, student-athlete development, or as a learning specialist. Curriculum and mentoring are provided by current sitting Directors, Associate & Senior Associate Athletic Directors.
5. Executive Track (NEW FOR 2024): The Executive Track is designed for professionals who are serving in an executive leadership position or aspire to work with the senior leadership of an athletic department. Participants may have started out in advising, SAD, or as a learning specialists, and now are serving as a Chief Operating Officer, Deputy Athletic Director, SWA, Senior Associate Athletic Director, or any other senior level positions where their responsibilities are now heavily involved with the day-to-day operations of an athletic department. Faculty are current Athletic Directors, Deputy Athletic Directors, or other senior level administrators that have worked their way through advising, SAD, Learning support, and are now serving in their current capacity.