Athletics Career Hub

Bucknell asks our student-athletes to prepare for every competition with discipline, resilience and purpose. We owe them the same preparation for life beyond the game. By investing in the Athletics Career Hub, we can help every Bison student-athlete recognize the extraordinary value of their student-athlete experience, connect it to meaningful opportunity and carry the lessons of the playing field into lives of leadership and impact.”

— Tim Pavlechko ’91, Vice President for Athletics & Recreation

Bison student-athletes learn to compete at the highest level. The Athletics Career Hub makes sure they carry the discipline, drive and grit from the arena into their careers. 

The decisions that shape a student-athlete’s future happen long before the final whistle — in how they build relationships, learn to lead, explore careers, gain experience and learn to translate what they do on the field into what they can do in the world. At the most competitive programs, career preparation is becoming as intentional as athletic preparation. Bucknell has an opportunity to lead the Patriot League in doing both.

The Athletics Career Hub gives more than 700 student-athletes the people, programs and connections to turn discipline, leadership, teamwork and resilience into professional advantage. By bringing the Center for Career Advancement into Athletics, Bucknell builds a career experience around the distinctive demands of student-athlete life and creates a pipeline that connects employers and alumni to some of the most proven talent on campus.

The goal: Every Bison student-athlete in a meaningful career or graduate school within six months of graduation.

Every student-athlete. Every stage.

From day one: Personalized career guidance starts at admission and is built around training and competition, so student-athletes prepare for life after sport while they are still competing.

Along the way: A dedicated CCA Liaison, two Career Accelerators, academic success coaching and a student-athlete enrichment and leadership offering that connects student-athletes with alumni, employers, internships and micro-internships.

At launch: Employers and alumni meet graduates whose experience has already taught them to lead, perform under pressure, work as a team and respond to adversity, and who know how to show it.

Bison student-athletes launch ready to lead, pairing the lessons of competition with professional experience and a network that opens doors.

What your gift makes possible

• A permanent home for career success for athletes. An endowed Athletics Career Hub & Student Success program supports a dedicated CCA Liaison, two Career Accelerators, academic success coaching and a Basketball Life Skills Adviser.
• Dedicated people. Career Accelerators deliver high-touch, individualized coaching, employer connections and industry-specific guidance built around the student-athlete schedule.
• Experience that counts. The Student-Athlete Experiential Learning Fund supports internships, micro-internships and other career-building experiences before graduation.
• Skills for life beyond sport. Student-Athlete Life Skills programming develops the professional, financial and personal skills that carry Bison from competition to career.

Recognition Opportunities

• Athletics Career Hub: $10 million
• Career Accelerators: $2.5 million per position
• Student-Athlete Experiential Learning Fund: $100,000 minimum program endowment
• Student-Athlete Life Skills: $100,000 minimum program endowment
• Founding Donor: $250,000