MCSR Athletics Program

Transforming Athletic Culture. Developing Leaders. Preventing Violence.

Athletic departments have enormous influence on campus culture. MCSR helps turn that influence into leadership.

MCSR’s Athletics Program partners with secondary schools, colleges, and universities to equip student-athletes, coaches, athletic staff, administrators, and campus leaders with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to prevent gender-based violence and create healthier, more respectful athletic and campus cultures.

Our approach is strength-based, interactive, and rooted in the real experiences of athletic communities. Rather than approaching participants solely through the lens of risk or violence, we recognize their capacity to lead, influence their peers, challenge harmful norms, and create positive change.

Through engaging training, storytelling, dialogue, mentoring, and practical exercises, MCSR creates opportunities for student-athletes and athletic department professionals to examine how masculinity, gender norms, relationships, and team culture influence behavior—and to develop healthier ways of showing up as leaders within their teams, departments, campuses, and communities.

From Awareness to Action

MCSR training goes beyond simply providing information.

Participants develop tangible knowledge, practical skills, and the ability to put those skills into action—on the field, in the locker room, in the classroom, across the athletic department, and throughout their communities.

What Participants Gain

KNOWLEDGE

Build a deeper understanding of masculinity, relationships, team culture, and violence prevention.

Participants increase their knowledge of:

• Healthy and unhealthy masculinity

• The connection between masculinity and gender-based violence

• Dominant and counter-narratives of masculinity on campus and in the community

• Social and emotional intelligence

• Intersectionality and healthy masculinities

• Healthy masculinity and bystander intervention

• The Social Ecological Model and Spectrum of Prevention

• Effective approaches for engaging student-athletes, coaches, athletic staff, and administrators

• Individual and group mentoring strategies

The result: Participants develop a stronger understanding of the social and cultural factors that shape behavior—and their role in creating change.

SKILLS

Turn knowledge into behaviors that influence people, teams, and culture.

Participants develop the skills to:

• Design and implement strategic violence-prevention programming

• Engage diverse audiences through credible messengers and culturally relevant approaches

• Recognize and challenge unhealthy gender norms and behaviors

• Model and teach social and emotional intelligence

• Help student-athletes and other members of the athletic community identify the difference between healthy and unhealthy masculine expectations

• Inspire members of the athletic community to practice behaviors that strengthen individuals, relationships, teams, and communities

• Connect healthy masculinity to bystander intervention and teach practical intervention strategies

• Facilitate meaningful conversations about accountability, consent, relationships, respect, and leadership

The result: Participants are better prepared to move from conversation to action and use their influence to positively shape the culture around them.

ABILITIES

Build the confidence and capacity to lead lasting change.

Participants strengthen their ability to:

• Communicate with confidence and authenticity

• Facilitate meaningful conversations about violence prevention and healthy masculinity

• Design and deliver engaging trainings, workshops, and presentations

• Develop programming that meets the needs of student-athletes, coaches, staff, and the broader athletic department

• Establish healthy professional boundaries within athletic environments

• Build trust and create safer spaces for dialogue and learning

• Use personal storytelling to connect with audiences and build sustainable relationships

• Serve as credible messengers and leaders within their teams, athletic departments, and communities

The result: Participants leave with greater confidence and the capacity to become influential leaders for healthier athletic and campus cultures.

The MCSR Difference

We Don't Just Deliver Training. We Develop Leaders and Transform Athletic Culture.

MCSR understands that athletic departments can be a powerful force in shaping how people understand leadership, relationships, masculinity, accountability, and respect.

That is why our training doesn't simply tell student-athletes, coaches, or athletic staff what not to do.

We help them understand who they can become—and the culture they can help create.

Using storytelling, facilitated dialogue, interactive exercises, mentoring, and real-world scenarios, MCSR creates an environment where members of the athletic community can reflect on their experiences, challenge assumptions, build emotional intelligence, and develop practical strategies for becoming positive influencers among their peers.

Our strength-based approach positions the entire athletic department as a partner in prevention and a leader in culture change.

Participants learn to:

Recognize
How gender norms, team culture, peer influence, and social expectations can shape behavior.

Reflect
On their own experiences, beliefs, relationships, and understanding of masculinity.

Respond
With practical strategies for communication, accountability, bystander intervention, and healthy relationships.

Lead
By using their voice, influence, and experiences to create healthier teams, athletic departments, campuses, and communities.

Creating Impact Beyond the Training Room

The goal isn't simply for participants to remember a training.

The goal is for the training to change what happens next.

MCSR helps athletic departments build a culture in which student-athletes, coaches, athletic staff, and administrators are better equipped to:

• Have healthier conversations about masculinity and relationships

• Recognize and interrupt harmful behaviors

• Support peers and survivors

• Practice accountability

• Promote respect and consent

• Strengthen emotional intelligence

• Become positive role models

• Create healthier team environments

• Contribute to a safer and more inclusive campus culture

A Culture Change Approach

MCSR works with athletic departments and campus partners to move from one-time training to sustained culture change.

Our approach can support:

Student-Athletes → Coaches → Athletic Staff → Administrators → Teams → Athletic Departments → Campus Communities

When the people with the greatest influence are equipped to lead differently, the impact can extend far beyond the individuals who participate in the training.

Build the Athletic Department Your Campus Needs

Every member of an athletic department has the potential to influence culture. MCSR helps turn that influence into leadership.

Partner with MCSR to equip your student-athletes, coaches, athletic staff, and administrators with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to promote healthy masculinity, prevent gender-based violence, strengthen relationships, and build a culture where everyone can thrive.

Bring MCSR Athletics Training to Your Campus!

Jason Page
Senior Director of National programs
(202)265-6530
Jpage@Mcsr.org