civic captain initiative

In late August of 2024, The Team launched the Civic Captain initiative- a program focused on recruiting, training, and empowering student athletes to utilize their platforms to organize their peers to vote - in four states: Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.


We selected 27 Civic Captains for the inaugural cohort. We trained each of these Civic Captains to conduct voter registration, education, and GOTV on their campuses. They organized their own Voter Registration events, hosted a Watch Party for our All-Star Meeting, used their social media platforms to share important dates/resources, and executed an All Vote No Play Event to get out the vote. In the midst of their busy academic and athletic lives, in just 10 weeks of supported programming, this group of motivated student athletes engaged with almost 6,000 of their peers and generated nearly 2,000 voter actions, held 80 campus events, and facilitated 600+ voter registrations around National Voter Registration Day.

From August to November 2024, Civic Captains:


  • Served as champions of “The Team” programming on their campus and be a campus organizer.
  • Led volunteer voter registration and participation opportunities for student athletes focusing on the civic holidays, including All Vote No Play Day.
  •  Leveraged their social media platform to encourage civic engagement and voter participation among their peers, acting as a civic influencer. 
  • Improved institutional civic and voting practices within athletic departments and their campus at large.

Universities Represented by 2024 Civic Captains

Davidson College


Duke University


Elizabeth City State University


North Carolina State University


University of North Carolina

Eastern Michigan University


Michigan State University 


Oakland University 


University of Michigan 


University of Detroit-Mercy


Wayne State University 


Western Michigan University

Arizona State University


Eastern Arizona College


University of Arizona

Alvernia University


Drexel University


Franklin & Marshall College


Haverford College 


Lincoln University 


Penn State University


University of Pennsylvania

CIVIC CAPTAIN 2024 SPOTLIGHTS

DAKOTA KENNEDY

University of Arizona Softball

"My personal goal was to share information about the election and civic engagement with student-athletes on my campus. Many peers told me that they learned something new or that they were able to pass on information to others. I feel like it made a difference because we got so many people registered in the athletics department. We are young, but voting is something we can do. It is important for us to share our voices. I will use my skills to continue to promote civic engagement in the future, and take the skills I learned into my professional life, too."

JASMINE JACKSON

Elizabeth City State University Basketball

"I was the first student-athlete at my school to sign an NIL deal. I am proud that it was tied to such a positive and impactful cause as civic engagement. Athletic opportunities can be leveraged for good, especially when used to encourage others to participate in shaping their communities. As an athlete at an HBCU, my Civic Captain work highlighted the unique role that HBCUs play in shaping leaders who excel in sports and are committed to making a difference. The experience has shown me that athletes from HBCUs have the power to lead and inspire change, in sports and in society."

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