Mark Gumble was hired at UCF in August, 2005 as the director of Academic Services for Student-Athletes. Gumble came to UCF after serving in a similar role at San Diego State University and Binghamton University.

Upon his arrival to UCF, Gumble established the Knight's Education Enhancement Program (KEEP); an academic mentoring program for all new and at-risk student-athletes. He also expanded the tutorial program at UCF within his first year of service. Since then Gumble has expanded ASSA resources and recruited an outstanding staff, which now includes six full-time employees with advising responsibilities and a learning specialist.  Each of these initiatives helped UCF student-athletes reach new levels of success in the classroom.

The average team-GPA has exceeded 3.0 in four of the past six semesters, including the last three consecutive terms.  UCF has placed more student-athlete on the Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll than any other institution in the Conference during each of the past three years.  UCF set a new benchmark for the conference in 2009 by placing a record 232 students on the Commissioner’s Honor Roll.

The graduation rates of student-athletes have also climbed during Gumble’s tenure.  During the past two years, the federal graduation for student-athlete has jumped 20 points and is now higher than the general student population at UCF.  The NCAA Graduation Success Rate for student-athletes at UCF is currently at 76%, which represents the second highest mark in school history.

The Academic Progress Rate (APR) for teams at UCF is also on the rise.  Eleven of UCF’s 16 teams have shown increases in the past four years.  Those with the biggest gains include football (57), baseball (29), and men’s soccer (24). Since the inception of the NCAA Academic Performance Program in 2003-04 UCF teams have earned a perfect single-year APR score of 1000 on 19 occasions.  Teams that have scored 1000 include: baseball, men’s cross country, men’s golf, men’s tennis, women’s basketball (twice), women’s cross country (twice), women’s rowing, women’s golf (3 times), women’s softball (twice), women’s soccer, women’s tennis (twice), and women’s volleyball (twice).

Gumble attributes the academic success of the student-athletes at UCF to his staff’s commitment to academic integrity and excellence, which are two of the tenets of the UCF CREED.  The development of the Knight’s Education Enhancement Program is also an important component to reaching new levels of success.  More than 45% of UCF student-athletes participate in this state-of–the-arts mentoring program, designed to develop academic and time management skills for all new and at-risk student-athletes.  The addition of the new learning specialist has helped in increasing the effectiveness of this program as has increasing the numbers and availability of CRLA certified tutors.
A dual graduate from Binghamton University, Gumble earned his Bachelor's degree in English in 1988 and a Master's degree in social science there in 1993. As a student-athlete at Binghamton he was a three-time All-American wrestler and won a national championship.  He still holds the school record for most wins in a career.

Gumble was named head wrestling coach of his alma mater in 1988. During his nine-year coaching career, Gumble coached 13 Academic All-Americans and four national place winners.  Seven of his teams ranked in the top 25 nationally.  In 1994, he created the education enhancement program for student-athletes at Binghamton and served as the director of that program until 1998.

Gumble has been inducted into five halls of fame, including high school, college, NY wrestling coaches and NCAA Division III Wrestling coaches.

Gumble worked at San Diego State University from 1998 through 2005 and served as director of Student-Athlete Academic Services for five of those years. Gumble was instrumental in increasing the graduation rates, number of scholar-athletes, and team GPA's during his years of providing leadership at SDSU.

Regarded as an expert in the field of academic success, Gumble received training from the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletes (N4A) to serve as an academic consultant for Division I institutions.  The National Wrestling Coaches Association has utilized Gumble’s consulting services to educate coaches throughout the country for the past two years.  The sport of wrestling has experienced the second greatest improvement in APR scores of any NCAA sponsored sport during the past two years.  Gumble has been an active member of the N4A for more than 15 years and has been a facilitator at the NCAA Leadership Conference on three different occasions.

Kristy Belden is the lead advisor for the football and men's and women's golf programs, as well as Assistant Director of Academic Services for Student-Athletes in the SABRE Center at UCF.

She was honored with the 2007 NACADA Outstanding Advising Certificate of Merit and 2006 UCF Excellence in Professional Academic Advising Award. Shareff Rashad, the 2007 UCF Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year awarded Belden with the Scholar-Athlete Inspiration Award. During Belden's time at UCF, the Football program has been honored with the 2005 UCF Most Improved Academic Award. In addition to academic advising, Belden has assisted with the CHAMPS/Life Skills program and is an adjunct instructor with the College of Education, where she teaches SLS 1501, a student life skills course for student-athletes.

She received Bachelor's degree in psychology from St. John's University (N.Y.). There she was a member of the track and field team, competing in the sprint events.

Belden received a Master's degree in educational psychology-sport psychology from Florida State University, where she researched perfectionism and procrastination tendencies among collegiate student-athletes. During that time, she also spent two years working as an assistant academic counselor in FSU's athletic academic support department and as a sport psychology consultant for FSU's men's and women's swim program.

Sarah Hill is an Assistant Director in Academic Services for Student-Athletes (ASSA) and has been working at UCF since the fall of 2000. She began her career in ASSA as an advisor with the football program before working for five seasons as the lead advisor for the men's basketball program. Hill currently serves as the lead advisor for the women’s basketball, women’s soccer and women’s novice rowing teams.

Hill is a graduate of the 2005-2006 Leadership Enhancement Program and has been an active member of the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics (N4A) for over eight years. She is also a member of the National Academic Advising Association and the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACADA). She has presented at the national conferences of N4A and NACADA as well as The First Year Experience.

During her tenure at UCF, Hill has earned four Golden Apple Inspiration awards from her student-athletes. She received the 2009 “Pride in Customer Service Award” from Student Development and Enrollment Services at UCF. Last year, under Hill’s guidance, the UCF women’s basketball team earned an APR score of 1000, and was honored with the 2009 Most Improved GPA award. Hill also serves as an adjunct instructor with the College of Education, teaching SLS 1501 to incoming students.

Hill received both a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and a Master of Arts in sociology and criminology from Arkansas State University. During her undergraduate years, she was a member of the varsity track and field team competing in the long and triple jump. While in graduate school, she worked as an assistant coach of both the men and women's track and field teams at her alma mater. While there, she helped ASU earn three (indoor and outdoor) men's conference championships and one women's conference championship. Hill also helped coach two female NCAA All-Americans in the field events. She also volunteered in the athletics department while in graduate school, assisting the academic advisors with scheduling of courses, tutoring and coordinating study hall. Hill also worked in the Sociology/Criminology Department as a graduate assistant, assisting several professors with research.

Originally from San Jose, California, Hill is married to Isaac Hill and the couple have three children - Isaac, Jr., Samarah and Victoria.  Aside from spending time with her family, Hill enjoys traveling and staying active in her church.

Jennifer Alger has been with Academic Services for Student-Athletes since January 2004. She is currently the lead advisor for men’s basketball, baseball and volleyball. In addition to advising, Jennifer is the liaison with UCF Orientation Services.  She began her career with ASSA as an assistant academic advisor for the football team while earning her MBA and Master's degree in sports business management from the DeVos Sports Business Management Program at UCF.

During the 2008-2009 academic year, the baseball team achieved a record high 3.25 cumulative team GPA under Jennifer's direction. Thirty-nine of her student-athletes were honored as Scholar-Athletes in the fall and thirty-four received honors in the spring.  

Jennifer is a member of the National Association of Athletic Academic Advisors (N4A) and has presented at the national level for the past three years. In addition, she works together with UCF's College of Education as an adjunct professor in Strategies for Success in College (SLS 1501).

Jennifer received her Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from St. John's University (NY). While at St. John's, Alger was a member of the swim team, competing in the individual medley and distance freestyle events. After graduation, she worked for Drug Free America Foundation in St. Petersburg, FL as a research specialist, aiding in the development of projects geared toward drug awareness and prevention.

Eric joined the Academic Services for Student Athletes staff  in January 2009.  He is currently the lead advisor for softball, woman’s track & field, and Cross Country and oversees all aspects of ASSA Tutoring Services.
Prior to joining the ASSA staff, Eric spent one year at The University of Akron as the Coordinator of CHAMPS/ Life Skills and Tutoring Services.  He has also served as Coordinator of Multicultural Recruitment at Gustavus Adolphus College, Director of the Intercultural Student Center and Resident Director/Advisor for the McNair Scholars Program at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

A native Central Floridian, Eric is a 1997 graduate of Apopka High School.  In 2001 he earned his B.A. in Human Services with a Minor in Psychology from the University of Minnesota, Morris and in 2004 his M.A. in Sports Management from Minnesota State University, Mankato. While at Morris, Eric was co-captain for the Cougar football team and named to the Dean’s List on five occasions.   Eric was also named Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Academic All-American and was the recipient of the Arthur Ashe Jr. Scholar Athlete award. 

lmoser@mail.ucf.edu

Lisa has been with Academic Services for Student-Athletes since June 2008. Prior to arriving at UCF, she completed a graduate assistantship with the University of Oklahoma Athletics Department in a similar role. Her duties include program coordination of the Mentor Program, working with student-athletes with diagnosed learning disabilities, and coordination of testing and assessments.

Lisa earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from California State University, Fresno where she rode for the Fresno State Equestrian team. Prior to Fresno, she started out at Medicine Hat College in Alberta, Canada where she was a basketball athlete. Her Master's degree was completed at the University of Oklahoma in Adult and Higher Education.

Originally from Alberta, Canada, Lisa enjoys running and working out in her spare time. She is currently training for the Boston Marathon 09.

sball@mail.ucf.edu

Shelby Ball is in her first year at the University of Central Florida. As a Coordinator of Academic Advising Services at ASSA, she oversees men’s soccer, men’s tennis, and varsity rowing. She also manages the SABRE Center Computer Lab, and is an active member of the National Association for Academic Advisors (N4A).

Shelby earned her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from The University of Texas at Austin in 2007. She went on to attain an AACSB-Accredited M.B.A in Sport Management from Florida Atlantic University.  In the process of earning her master’s degree, Shelby served as an intern at the Student-Athlete Center for Academic Excellence at FAU, where she mentored, tutored, and advised football and basketball student-athletes, in addition to the university’s other NCAA-sponsored athletic teams.  

lmblack@mail.ucf.edu

Lindsey Black joined the ASSA staff as a full-time advisor in June 2009. Her current role includes being an advisor for Football, Women’s Tennis, and the Spirit Program. She also has taken part in creating and implementing the Shining Knights Summer Bridge Program where she co-teaches the student-athlete section of the student success course (SLS 1501) at UCF.

Prior, Lindsey served as the Lead Graduate Assistant in ASSA and was the Assistant Advisor for football. She mentored students from Football, Spirit, and Women’s Golf. Lindsey worked for two years in this capacity as she completed her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and pursued her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership at UCF.

Lindsey is currently an active member of the N4A (National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics) and was selected to participate in their PDI (Professional Development Institute) New Practitioner’s Track in the summer 2009. Lindsey is also a member of NASPA (National Association of Student Personnel Administrators) and attended their national conference in Seattle, Washington during spring 2009. In addition, Lindsey was honored with the UCF Operational Excellence Award for Graduate Assistant of the Year 2009.

Originally from Cocoa, Florida, Lindsey came to UCF to pursue her dream of working in higher education. She is very passionate about her job and loves empowering student-athletes to strive towards their best. In her spare time, Lindsey loves to be near the water soaking in the sun, a true Floridian!

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