MACOMB, Ill.  -  Western Illinois University running backs coach Thad Ward is one of 26 football coaches the NCAA has invited to its Football Coaches Academy, May 27-29, in Indianapolis. The Academy, designed to assist those who one day hope to be head coaches at NCAA colleges and universities, will be held in conjunction with the Black Coaches and Administrators Convention in downtown Indianapolis.

According to the NCAA, the Academy is designed to reinforce various aspects of securing, managing and excelling in head football coaching positions at the intercollegiate level. All participants are current football coaches at NCAA colleges and universities who have up to eight years of experience coaching football.

The NCAA Diversity and Inclusion department administers the program, which prepares coaches for many of the situations and issues they will experience at the head coaching level through targeted program sessions and networking opportunities with current head coaches and athletics administrators. The NCAA National Office does not have the authority to mandate hiring decisions at its member colleges and universities, but it provides the coaches with opportunities to further enhance their skills and exposes them to key decision makers at NCAA colleges and universities.

“One of my goals professionally is to be a head coach some day,” said Ward. “I feel blessed to have been afforded this opportunity that will help me become a better coach in a lot of different areas.”

Workshops at the Academy will focus on communication, fiscal responsibilities, building a successful program, compliance considerations and academic issues. Topics will range from media and booster relations to fund-raising, community relations, gambling issues and academic success.

Also this summer, Ward is serving as a coaching intern with the Baltimore Ravens. He participated in the weekend mini-camp earlier this month and will return for several more weekends throughout the summer prior to working at the Ravens' training camp.

“I am really grateful to Coach Patterson not only for nominating me for the academy, but also for allowing me to have this big learning opportunity with the Ravens,” said Ward. “It will be incredible to work so closely with some of the best coaches in the business, and I'm hoping to bring back a lot of knowledge to next year's group of running backs.”

Ward has been with the Leathernecks four years, producing four 1,000-yard rushers and three Walter Payton Award candidates, including Herb Donaldson who finished among the nation's top three finalists in 2008. Last year, Ward coached the school's first Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Year since 2003, as Donaldson led all of Division I in both rushing (162.2 ypg) and scoring (12.0 ppg) while becoming the all-time leading career rusher for both Western Illinois and the conference. The Leathernecks led the league for a second consecutive season and ranked sixth nationally in rushing offense (251.55 ypg). Ward's ground game combined for 33 rushing touchdowns, the most ever tallied by a Western Illinois team in an 11-game schedule.