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CPS athletic leaders propose July football leadership conference for CMAQ schools, seek sponsors
Summary
CPS athletic director Josh Harden and Principal Gary Tate proposed a one‑day summer leadership conference for football players from CMAQ schools to build leadership, social‑media literacy and life‑after‑sports skills. Organizers estimated a $20,000 budget for venue, meals and speakers and asked the board and council to help secure sponsors and a site.
CPS Athletic Director Joshua Harden and Principal Gary Tate presented a proposal for a CMAQ Football Leadership Conference for high‑school players, describing a one‑day summer event during football camp that would combine documentary screenings, panel discussions with alumni, workshops on recruiting and name‑image‑likeness issues, and strength‑and‑conditioning sessions.
Harden said the district expects roughly 400 student athletes from CMAQ schools to participate and that the conference would replicate successful girls’ and women’s leadership events the district has held. ‘‘We were able to raise $20,000 for project connect…and have done that for five years,’’ Harden said when discussing prior fundraisers linked to athletics.
Principal Gary Tate said the conference is intended to broaden student horizons and help athletes develop leadership skills: ‘‘Their responses will sometimes give them favorable outcomes or unfavorable outcomes, and that's what we want to be able to teach them during our leadership conference.’’ Organizers estimated a budget of about $20,000, citing food and venue as primary costs, and asked elected officials for help identifying a venue and sponsors for the July event.
Board members and councilors expressed strong support and suggested outreach to alumni and pro/college teams for presenters and sponsorship. The organizers said they plan to bring all players from each school’s team and to break breakout sessions by grade and topic; they also indicated interest in adding a girls’ conference or extensions for other sports in future years.
Next step: CMAQ athletic directors will assemble sponsorship packets and save‑the‑date materials; organizers asked for assistance with venue and sponsor outreach and said a final date and site will be confirmed after follow‑up with stakeholders.
