For this assignment, I connected with Danielle Cohea, who works at Old Dominion University as the Senior Associate Athletics Director of Compliance, Conduct, & Regulatory Affairs. I reached out to her by stopping by her office, and she was super helpful and kind enough to share some info about her work and career. Danielle actually graduated from ODU herself and came back in 2022 to take on this leadership role. Before returning, she worked at Cleveland State University for 12 years, helping with all kinds of the behind the scenes in college sports, mostly focused on making sure student-athletes followed NCAA rules, stayed eligible, and got the support they needed. One thing that stood out in our conversation was how passionate Danielle is about helping student athletes understand the rules and succeed. She’s all about doing things the right way and making sure athletes know what’s expected of them. That inspired the idea for my project. For The Quest, I came up with a campaign idea called “ODU Game Plan.” The goal is to help student-athletes better understand NCAA rules and how to stay eligible but in a way that’s easier to follow and way more engaging than just sitting through long meetings or reading handbooks.

What the Campaign Would Include

 Short Videos

• 1-minute clips where athletes or staff bust common myths.
• Example: “Can I post about my NIL deal? What’s allowed?”

Fun Quizzes

• Instagram stories or Canvas quizzes where athletes can test their knowledge on compliance stuff.

Workshops

• Kickoff event during orientation for new athletes.
• “Compliance Café”: Monthly hangout where you can grab snacks and ask questions.

NIL Chat: A session focused on name/image/likeness — what’s okay and what’s not.

Promo Stuff

• Emails and social media posts to spread the word.
• Stickers, wristbands, or small giveaways to make it more fun.

When It Would Happen

Month	What Happens
August	Kickoff workshop
September	First video + first Compliance Café
October	NIL talk + Instagram quiz
November	Check-in event + second video
December	Wrap-up + feedback survey

Talking to Danielle and learning more about what she does, I realized compliance is a huge part of college sports, but it doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. It’s also easy for athletes to get confused or overwhelmed by the rules. So, I thought What if we made it easier and more relatable? That’s how the idea for “ODU Game Plan” came about. I used some of the things we’ve learned in class like how to communicate with different audiences and how media can be used to teach and built a simple campaign that could actually help people.