Four years after the inaugural Villa 7 Consortium, VCU and Nike have decided to add an all-inclusive Villa 6.

For all the coaches looking to eventually get into the invite-only Villa 7 (which has produced 35 Division 1 head coaches in since its inception in 2004), the 1st Annual Villa 6 Consortium will be held at the Palms Casino and Resort in Las Vegas on Monday, July 21.

Villa 6 will be open to everyone in the industry, but it’s certainly aimed at the mid and low-major guys and other assistants looking to take the next step.

It’s a terrific idea – and I’m not just saying that because I’m involved, either.

``It’s for guys looking to advance their career or increase their visibility,” VCU assistant athletic director Mike Ellis said. “Coaches that want to take the next step.”

The condensed one-day program begins at noon and concludes at 5:45 p.m. the day before everything gets going in Las Vegas.

Here is the agenda:

12:00 – Welcome
12:15 – The Journey featuring Florida associate head coach Larry Shyatt
1:15 – Secrets of Success featuring assistants Joe Dooley (Kansas),Russell Springmann (Texas) and Shaka Smart (Florida)
2:15 – Break
2:30 – From the Athletic Director’s Chair featuring Vic Cegles (Long Beach State), Keith Gill (American), Norwood Teague (VCU)
3:30 – The Anatomy of an Assistant featuring Dave Telep (Scout.com) and Jeff Goodman (FOXSports.com)
4:45 – What I’m Looking for in an Assistant Coach featuring Tulane’s Dave Dickerson and Drake’s Mark Phelps.
5:45 - Closing

If you have any questions, you can call VCU’s Mike Ellis at 804-827-0805 (office) or 804-921-1008 (cell) or mwellis@vcu.edu. Please RSVP no later than Wed., July 16.