Sports Education

at ACU Online

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Abilene Christian University prides itself on being a strong advocate for national sports teams, professional athletes, and industry-leading organizations seeking to increase their level of education while enhancing their legacy and impact in athletics. Through our existing degree programs and custom-built educational courses, your team or organization can have the opportunity to enroll in any of our online degrees for academic credit, or receive a unique set of fully online pathways catered toward meeting your educational priorities. Focused on building strong and lasting relationships with sports partners throughout the U.S., ACU is prepared to provide a quality education for your athletes’ maximum success. 

Read more about our featured partnership and remarkable sports education programs below. 

Featured Partnership

RangersU

An Online Learning Community Created Just For the Texas Rangers

RangersU powered by ACU is a unique partnership between the Texas Rangers and Abilene Christian University to shape educational content for Texas Rangers players and staff. The educational products have been jointly developed and all courses are delivered using ACU’s expertise in online learning making courses flexible and accessible for players and staff regardless of their location. Taught by ACU faculty members, Rangers staff and executive guest speakers, RangersU seeks to provide players and front-office staff members with the unique opportunity to advance their education and future careers.

RangersU Players Pathway Courses

RangersU Player Pathway courses are custom-designed courses for Rangers players and baseball staff. Students receive three hours of college credit for each course (six hours for each block). They are designed to be offered during the off-season and are delivered in both English and Spanish language sections. 

Press Coverage:
MLB.com: Class is now in session at Rangers University
The Athletic: ‘Rangers U’ partnership with ACU offers players, coaches chance to earn college credits

Learn More

RangersU leadership and mental performancePlayer Pathway Block 1

(seven weeks, Oct – Dec 2022)
Upon the successful completion of Player Pathway Block 1, students receive the RangersU Leadership & Mental Performance badge. 

  • Course: Leadership Development
    Provides an introduction as to how motivation and resiliency guides leadership development. Students learn how personal attributes potentially influence individual leadership styles. Students reflect on how their personal vocation and calling can potentially shape self-leadership skills.
  • Course: Mental Performance
    Provides an understanding of what cognitive psychology and mental performance are, the impact it has on performance, and how to use it. This course on mental performance is all about getting the mind and body to work together as a whole. What we’re trying to do is create elite-level performers: what separates elite level performers, nine times out of ten, is a mentality. 

RangersU_Multicultural&SocialPerspectivesPlayer Pathway Block 2

(seven weeks, Jan – Feb 2023)
Upon the successful completion of Player Pathway Block 2, students receive the RangersU Multicultural Communication & Baseball History badge. 

  • Course: History of Baseball
    This course is an introduction to the history, culture, and social norms around baseball. The course provides an overview of the major historical developments of the sport along with the ways in which baseball has shaped American society and American society has shaped baseball.
  • Course: Multicultural Communication
    In this course, students will practice becoming more aware of how interactions impact others. Students will also develop strategies for overcoming social blind spots in order to mitigate the risk of ineffective communication in cross-cultural settings.
sports education

Texas Rangers Staff Continuing Education

This fall, a group of Texas Rangers management staff participated in the first of four courses in a custom-designed management training program created in collaboration with Texas Rangers management.

Currently, more than 20 baseball coaches and operational staff members are enrolled in ACU’s Introduction to Conversational Spanish course. 

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Daryl JonesOffer your team the academic experience of a lifetime

Your team is worth investing in. And ACU can deliver a top-ranked education built on a market-driven curriculum and a holistic outlook on Christian service and leadership. Whether you’re looking to offer specific courses geared toward your team’s field of interest or want to provide others the opportunity to earn their college degree, ACU is committed to supplying a high-impact, low-cost education in an inclusive, virtual environment. Interested in partnering with ACU for your team’s educational opportunities? Contact Dr. Daryl L. Jones at daryl.jones@acu.edu to learn more. 

About ACU

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Degrees to fit your career goals. Online to fit your life.

Through ACU’s more than 40 online undergraduate and graduate degree programs, you’ll receive a powerful learning experience that combines Christian values, real-world skills and career-boosting connections. Our accredited degree programs are designed with busy working adults in mind. That means you can further your education at a nationally recognized university without the need to relocate – all while balancing the demands of work, life, and community.

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Newsweek 2023

One of America’s Best Colleges

This year, Abilene Christian University has been named one of America’s Top Online Colleges by Newsweek. Additionally, U.S. News & World Report awarded ACU in the top 10 of three categories – the only Texas university to do so – and was ranked in six out of eight highlighted categories, more than any other Texas college or university. Combine this educational excellence with the flexibility of an online format, and it’s easy to understand why earning your degree from ACU Online makes sense.

See Our Recent Rankings