LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – Last week, UNLV Athletics welcomed former professional athletes Ryan Hollins and James King to campus to lead multiple seminars on the topic of productive cultures.
Hollins, who played in the NBA for 10 years after his collegiate career at UCLA, and King, a former NFL player who played collegiately at Central Michigan and is now an attorney, teamed up with UNLV's Executive Director of Compliance Barrett Morris. The trio met with UNLV student-athletes, coaches and staff, discussing topics such as anti-bullying, language, civility and behavior most conducive to a championship culture.
"Continuing to develop and invest in our culture is essential to providing our student-athletes with a first-class experience," said UNLV Director of Athletics
Desiree Reed-Francois. "Ryan, James and Barrett did an excellent job and we appreciate their expertise in leading these training sessions. Empowering our people with the necessary skills and education on real-world issues will strengthen our efforts as we strive toward our mission of graduating leaders, winning championships and excelling in all that we do."
Three seminars were held over a two-day period, Oct. 7-8. The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee met on Sunday evening, while the coaches participated in a session Monday morning followed by the athletics department's administrators in the afternoon.
"I would like to thank Desiree for reaching out to the Office of Compliance and requesting this training," Morris said. "Since her arrival at UNLV she has proactively worked with our office to improve the culture in Athletics. Because of the wonderful professional and personal experiences of my friends and co-presenters, Ryan and James, we were able to provide unique training sessions, tailored to the Athletics Department, including real-life examples of bullying and also real solutions to change culture. We have received great feedback and I know the training has had a positive impact on our Rebel family."
Featured as curriculum developed by the UNLV Athletics' Student-Athlete Development unit, the training was part of The Whole Rebel Academy, which is a collaborative and comprehensive endeavor providing proactive education towards total person development, engaging student-athletes through four areas of growth: personal, professional development, community outreach and leadership/character development.
"It was a privilege to provide training with Barrett and James, educating the UNLV Athletics community on best practices in anti-bullying, sports compliance, creating healthy culture, and conflict resolution," Hollins said. "Hats off to the Rebels for being proactive and putting their student-athletes, faculty, and coaches first. All too often we forget the true value of a healthy working and school environment."
The goal of The Whole Rebel Academy program is to support the development of a well-balanced lifestyle on and off the field. Recognizing how important mental health is to student-athletes, it strives to foster personal development opportunities covering a wide variety of topics.
"As a student-athlete, it was incredibly rewarding to have the opportunity to hear from James and Ryan," said UNLV women's soccer senior Isabella Myers. "It was eye-opening to hear true, engaging stories from two former professional athletes. One thing I took away from the discussion was how important it is to utilize the resources that we have available to us. Not speaking up can ultimately be detrimental to performance and/or mental health."
