What happens when the world of college athletics changes faster than the systems designed to support its athletes — and what does it take to keep the work human?
In this episode of the Leading the Pack Speaker Series, BIOS Director Peter Miller sits down with Shayla Yon, Director of Academics & Career at UW-Madison Athletics, for a candid conversation about the work behind the scenes in college sports.
Yon has worked in academic services at five institutions — Arizona, Kansas State, UNC Chapel Hill, Georgia, and now Wisconsin — navigating vastly different environments along the way. She currently chairs UW-Madison’s Blueprint Committee, leading a department-wide effort to reimagine how the Badgers support their student-athletes. Her perspective on what’s changing in college sports, and what should never change, is worth hearing.
“Whenever students walk in my office, it instantly re-centers me,” Yon says. “It reminds me — it’s not about me. It’s about supporting them.”
About Shayla Yon
Shayla Yon is Director of Academics & Career at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she has worked since 2023. She serves as an academic advisor for the Badger softball and wrestling programs and chairs the Blueprint Committee, an initiative reimagining how UW Athletics delivers individualized support to its student-athletes. Prior to Wisconsin, she held academic services roles at the University of Georgia and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She earned her M.S. in Academic Advising from Kansas State University, where she also worked as a graduate assistant in the athletic department, and her B.A. in Elementary Education from the University of Arizona.
This conversation was recorded in March 2024, at which time Shayla served as Associate Director of Academic Services.