This chapter focuses on how student services support community college student athletes. Included are policy recommendations to help institutions develop programs to facilitate community college student athletes’ current and future academic success. Student Services and Student Athletes in Community Colleges Jason Storch, Matthew Ohlson From admissions to academic counseling, athletes will benefit from intense integration of support services and life-skills development programs to help balance the demands of their academic responsibilities and participation in athletics. Additionally, student support services at community colleges, even though attempting to assist students to graduate, must also be aware of the numerous four-year transfer issues that have an impact on student athletes’ athletic eligibility. In addressing the needs of a diverse clientele, student ser- vices must focus on both retention of student athletes as well as recruitment of some athletes by four-year institutions. In this chapter we discuss the student services that are essential to equip student athletes with the skills needed to achieve current and future goals. There is a glaring void in the available research focusing directly on the ser- vices afforded to student athletes in community and junior college settings. Our recommendations offer practitioners an abundance of strategies. These strategies have been used in one of the nation’s most successful athletic pro- grams. Though based on a four-year model, the recommendations include many of the same components required of an effective student support pro- gram for student athletes at two-year institutions of higher education. The Need for Student Services Higher education faculties often perceive student athletes as lacking the edu- cational skills needed to succeed academically (Hobneck, Mudge, and Turchi, 2003). Yet when compared to their nonathlete counterparts, graduation and 75 7 NEW DIRECTIONS FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGES, no. 147, Fall 2009 © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) • DOI: 10.1002/cc.379