The Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee has worked diligently to ensure college athletes’ time is properly balanced among academics, athletics and other educational pursuits.
During its Oct. 1-2 meeting in Indianapolis, SAAC reiterated its support for all seven concepts related to time management set forth by the Division I Student-Athlete Experience Committee.
Legislative proposals related to time management will be subject to a vote at the 2017 NCAA Convention, set for Jan. 18-21 in Nashville, Tennessee.
“Getting time management re-established is big,” Connor Donnelly, co-vice chair and student-athlete on the golf team at Sacred Heart University, said. “We hope we can get some wins at Convention. We want to continue to move forward and keep our voice as strong as possible.”
- National SAAC confirmed the following priorities for the 2016-17 academic year: educating fellow college athletes about NCAA rules and governance; unifying the student-athlete voice; and focusing on academics, amateurism, recruiting, time demands, mental health and transfer issues.
The committee hopes to align the timeline for these priorities with that of the Division I Board of Directors in order to be proactive and prepared for continued discussion on these topics.
Brady Bramlett, committee co-chair and a former baseball student-athlete at the University of Mississippi, felt the committee’s discussion regarding amateurism will be a particularly important topic for the board to focus on during the 2017-18 academic year.
“Our discussion surrounding amateurism and the 21st century student-athlete was healthy and constructive,” Bramlett said. “Moving forward, our committee will stress that the aim of the Association is not sports entertainment, but rather higher education through competitive excellence in athletics.”
Other business
- SAAC members reviewed the proposed Division I membership legislation. This provided an opportunity for committee members to learn more about the proposals, which will enable them to garner feedback from fellow student-athletes in their conferences and on their campuses.
- Additionally, the committee reviewed the initial draft of a questionnaire that will be used to inform prospective student-athletes of the time commitments associated with being a college athlete, as well as a resource with questions to drive recruiting conversations on this topic. The questionnaire will be subject to further review and discussion at the convention.
- SAAC plans to further review the impact of the summer schedule on student-athletes across all sports.