Long Beach City College Athletics provides strategic and intentional support to guide student-athletes through their academic journey while enrolled. The Long Beach City College Athletic Student Success Program is committed to empowering student-athletes to achieve academic and athletic excellence while preparing for life after sport. The mission is to provide a holistic support program, a game plan, that recognizes student-athletes’ unique needs and experiences and is committed to advancing racial equity and support for underserved students by leveling the playing field and improving student academic outcomes by addressing racial equity gaps. 

The critical program FUEL, within the Athletic Student Success Program, offers research-based “wrap-around” services to equip student-athletes, specifically targeting the most vulnerable students with the skills and guidance needed to achieve their personal, academic, and professional goals. Within the framework, FUEL becomes an intrusive and intentional program component that focuses programming elements on our student-athletes’ minds, bodies, and future identity development. F.U.E.L. Framework Used in Everyday Life. Fuel your MIND, Fuel your BODY, Fuel your FUTURE. The pillars will provide support in the areas of performance psychology and connection to mental health services, nutritional education and workshops, systems of academic support, and student-athlete development related to autonomy in life after sport.

In alignment with the LBCC’s Strategic Plan goals, this program promotes transformation through a comprehensive and integrated structure of support services that guide the student-athletes through their experience at LBCC and reduce racial, ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic gaps. FUEL provides the structure to equip student-athletes with the skills, knowledge, and dispositions to focus on achieving educational outcomes.

There are seven areas for students to master that create the most optimal chance to transition from college to a career successfully, including; developing competence, managing emotions, developing autonomy, establishing identity, developing mature interpersonal relationships, clarifying purpose, and developing integrity. The FUEL concept addresses several of the areas identified and supports the notion of intrusive support in determining the factors outside of the classroom that impact academic success metrics such as GPAs, units completed, certificates and degrees awarded, transfers a.) number of transfers b.) transfer rate, and persistence a.) fall to fall persistence, b.) fall to spring persistence. Recognizing that students of color historically are impacted by these factors, including housing and food insecurities, familial responsibilities, financial instability, or access to basic services (i.e., power, internet, etc.), the Student-Athlete Success Center is committed to closing those gaps. Significant efforts of research have identified the following groups as the most impacted, by 1.) race and ethnicity (Latinx/Hispanic, Black/African American Pacific Islander) 2.) race, ethnicity, and gender (Latinx/Hispanic, Black/African American Pacific Islander, male/female) 3.) economically disadvantaged, and 4.) Extended Opportunity Programs and Services. The Long Beach City College Athletic Student Success Program FUEL will identify those underserved and our most vulnerable student-athletes and provide them with a holistic support program and equitable resources to thrive both on and off the field.

If you would like to support these efforts that directly impact our LBCC Student Athletes please contact Gina Mascaro, at gmascaro@lbcc.edu.