Podcast Points: New Grant Enables Character Formation for Student-Athletes

Baylor University recently received a $50,000 capacity-building grant for the Educating Character Initiative, to fund cooperative work between Baylor Athletics and Truett Seminary Faith and Sport Institute, which will enable Baylor to deepen work in character formation for the Baylor student-athlete experience. Paul Putz of the Faith & Sports Institute in Baylor’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary, along with Cori Bolts and Kenny Boyd of Baylor Athletics, joined this week’s Baylor Connections podcast to discuss their collaborative efforts to better serve student-athletes through stronger Christian character development. 

Podcast Points with Paul Putz, Cori Bolts and Kenny Boyd 

The Grant 

• Paul Putz, Ph.D., director of the Faith & Sports Institute, addresses how the grant is designed to build a foundation that involves collaboration and inviting voices into the conversation. 

• When discussing the opportunities this grant can provide to student-athletes, Cori Bolts of Baylor Athletics acknowledges how athletics should operate by thinking about the student-athlete beyond “when they arrive but thinking about their journey to become a Baylor student-athlete.” 

Role of Individuals 

• Bolts recognizes the impact the “role of individuals” has on helping student-athletes do life through a faith lens. With the stressors put on student-athletes, Bolts highlights how critical it is for people to respond to the athlete’s vulnerability and point them back to Christ while walking them through practical resources available to them. 

• “Anyone in athletics might be called on in a moment to play a pastoral care role when a student athlete is ready to open up,” said Derek Smith, host of Baylor Connections. 

Be the Difference 

• “What is so unique about Baylor is you are pursuing elite-level athletics where winning matters, but you are not throwing in the towel on the character formation piece,” Putz said. 

• Putz describes how Baylor is set apart as a Christian university, and this leads to the vision of forming people who can be leaders in the world. He emphasizes the importance of the sports experience in building future leaders. 

Out in the World 

• Putz points out how people in Baylor Athletics are pursuing Christianity, and the grant gives students a chance to connect with Baylor Athletics as they learn what it looks like to be a Christian in sports. 

• Kenny Boyd of Baylor Athletics voices how “the biggest thing is the partnership of what we can continue to do for our student-athletes that goes beyond what we are offering in our services and care. That it can be more long-lasting.” 

The Successes 

• “My hope is that we will begin to see shifts in people’s interactions with student-athletes, shifts in the student-athlete experience overall, and how much they are finding value in being a student-athlete at Baylor and a student at Baylor because of the byproduct of what this grant is and the work being done with this grant will provide,” Bolts said. 

• Putz touches on the successes that he can see coming from this grant: feedback leading to some practical takeaways across what Baylor Athletics is doing, creating a framework for greater collaboration across campus and the possibility of a long-term investment in a program beyond just this year. 

LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION  

Listen to the full conversation with Paul Putz, Cori Bolts and Kenny Boyd on the Baylor Connections podcast.  

ABOUT BAYLOR CONNECTIONS  

Baylor Connections with host Derek Smith goes in depth each week with Baylor leaders, professors and more, discussing important topics in higher education, research and student life. Baylor Connections airs on Fridays at 11 a.m. CT on KWBU 103.3FM in Waco. The podcast is also available online or by subscription to Baylor Connections on iTunes.  

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY 

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Learn more about Baylor University at www.baylor.edu.