Scholar-Baller™ is a committed team of educators, administrators, professional athletes, and entertainers dedicated to educating today’s youth about the importance of academics using sports and entertainment.

Established in 1995, the Scholar-Baller™ movement evolved in response to concerns that the student-athlete’s athletic role increasingly superseded the student role. In order to address this issue, the founding members of Scholar-Baller™ developed a groundbreaking program to bridge the gap between education and sport utilizing student-athletes’ passion for entertainment and athletics. As a result, the Scholar-Baller™ program has produced unprecedented outcomes in student retention and academic achievement.

Scholar-Baller™ is a nonprofit organization inspiring youth to excel in academics using incentive based educational programs that recognize the cultural power that sport and entertainment have in the development of character in a manner that transcends race, gender and class.

Scholar-Baller™ strives to harness society’s passion for Sport Entertainment to transform the mindsets of America’s youth to embrace the power of education and the pursuit of knowledge and consciousness.

Program Components
Scholar-Baller’s™ program is made up of four key components:
1. Education. The Scholar-Baller™ curriculum is a culturally innovative and incentive-based program that bridges the gaps between academic and social achievement, utilizing society’s interest in athletics and popular culture.
2. Research. The Scholar-Baller™ research division assesses the program’s effectiveness and performance in quantifiable terms to develop new Scholar-Baller™ intervention strategies and cultural incentives as needed to assure program success.
3. Mentoring. The Scholar-Baller™ mentoring program connects Scholar-Baller™ professional athletes with collegiate student-athletes, and Collegiate Scholar-Baller™ student-athletes with students at the K-12 level. Mentors become positive role models that encourage an environment of learning through sport and entertainment. Scholar-Baller’s™ core values are self respect, perseverance, industry, vision, success and humility. Adherence to all of these values in the contests for academic and social achievement is what makes a "Baller.”
4. Incentives. Scholar-Baller™ motivational incentives are a work in progress that consist of our increasingly recognized game-day patches for uniforms, recognition certificates, and Scholar-Baller™ apparel and accessories, both generic and customized. All materials are available in with a ThinkMan™ or a ThinkWoman™ graphic.

Scholar-Baller™ is armed with entertainers and athletes that value education and are dedicated to sending the message that mediocrity will not suffice in any area of life. Upon completion of the program, participants possess a clear understanding of the need to achieve more, to be constantly improving and embrace the concepts of integrity, compassion and respect.

Program Qualifications
Scholar-Baller™ incentives are only available to certified Scholar-Ballers™ through their team which is licensed by Scholar-Baller™ or by directly contacting Scholar-Baller™ at info@scholarballer.org. Individuals wishing to obtain Scholar-Baller™ materials will be required to submit proof of membership on an athletic team and a grade point average of at least 3.0 for the most recent semester. For graduates, proof of a cumulative 3.0 is is required.

Program Curriculum
The Curriculum comprises six principles:
1. Identity. Principle 1 helps students rethink the values associated with athletic success to include academic success.
2. Competitive Spirit. Principle 2 establishes the value of competing with passion and character.
3. Scholar-Baller™ Paradigm. Principle 3 showcases examples of the Scholar-Baller™ standard that exist in entertainment, sports and business.
4. Purpose, Vision, Mission, Goals. Principle 4 teaches a path to setting and achieving goals while examining internal and external motivators.
5. Decision Making System. Principle 5 encourages exploration of the long-term effects of good and bad decisions.
6. Living Scholar-Baller™. Principle 6 puts students in real-life situations where they must display character and leadership.

Program Fees
In 2006, the NCAS partnered with Scholar-Baller™ to offer NCAS members access to Scholar-Baller™ at a discounted rate.

The full Scholar-Baller™ Curriculum including training, site-visits, assessment, annual reports, and one-year curriculum content for incoming freshmen is available to NCAS members for $5,500. That is a 50 percent discount when compared to the $11,000 normal fee.

License fees are also discounted by 50 percent to $750 vs. the $1,500 normal fee. This includes educational branding, marketing and advertising as well as research on how student-athletes with Scholar-Baller™ status feel about the Scholar-Baller™ I.M.A.G.E. (Intellectual Messages in Athletics that Garner Excellence) they represent.

Please visit www.scholarballer.org for further information or contact Keith Harrison at 407-823-1516 or keith@scholarballer.org.