Dr. Vic McCracken currently serves as ACU’s Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR). The FAR serves as a bridge between faculty and athletics and serves as the chair of the Faculty Athletic Committee (FAC). Members of the FAC serve on one of three subcommittees.
- The Student Travel and Approved Absence Policy subcommittee reviews and approves each team’s Advance Absence Approval forms and discusses policies related to approved absences.
- The Student and Staff Awards subcommittee recruits and reviews student-athlete applications for prestigious NCAA and conference awards and ensures the outstanding academic achievements of student-athletes are recognized and celebrated within the ACU community. Faculty are encouraged to recommend student-athletes in their courses for Student-Athlete of the Week awards.
- The Exit Interviews subcommittee compiles information from students who will no longer be continuing their participation in ACU athletics (due to graduating, transferring, having exhausted their eligibility, etc), to gain insight into the challenges and opportunities faced while participating in ACU athletics.
Nick Dill, Director of Football Academics, highlighted the academic staff’s role as a liaison between coaches, faculty, advisors, and the registrar’s office. Their primary responsibilities include promoting academic progress through biweekly grade checks, coordinating tutoring (3–4 hours weekly), and overseeing study halls. They also manage logistical issues such as schedule adjustments, withdrawals, and challenges arising from the transfer portal—where athletes sometimes enter ACU courses after the semester begins. A major barrier noted is maintaining attendance and self-motivation, with coaches occasionally intervening directly when academic concerns arise.
Claire Rawlings, Executive Associate AD and Senior Woman Administrator (SWA), provided a broader institutional perspective, emphasizing how national trends—such as increased transfer activity due to the transfer portal, NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) opportunities, and potential revenue sharing—are reshaping collegiate athletics. She noted that transfer students often face credit loss and adjustment issues due to differing academic expectations across universities, including stricter attendance and in-person class requirements at ACU. She noted that many students are coming from institutions where athletes are only enrolled in online courses. This means that these students may have never attended an in-person course before. She also underscored ACU’s faith-based mission, which uniquely shapes the student-athlete experience by fostering spiritual and academic growth. Unlike some institutions, ACU requires athletes to be enrolled in residential (on-campus) courses, with exceptions typically limited to graduate programs pursued online.