HIGHLIGHTS. v 2015 NCAA Convention. v The Autonomous 5. v Sharing the Warmth. v DI SAAC Video Contest. NCAA President Mark Emmert student-athletes.

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1 The mission of the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is to enhance the total student-athlete experience by promoting opportunity, protecting student-athlete well being, and fostering a positive student-athlete image. FEBRUARY 2015, ISSUE 20 HIGHLIGHTS v 2015 NCAA Convention v The Autonomous 5 v Sharing the Warmth v DI SAAC Video Contest On January 14th, the Division I National SAAC came together in Washington, D.C. at the 2015 NCAA Convention. The 2015 NCAA Convention was a monumental event in college athletics (Washington, D.C. pun intended). While in attendance, the student-athletes on DI National SAAC were present at receptions, NCAA business sessions, luncheons, and the NCAA Honors Celebration, along with their DI SAAC committee meetings. One of the many highlights of the convention was the SAAC Conference liaison luncheon. This gathering gave the DI SAAC representatives an opportunity to meet their own conference liaisons in order to collaborate and make suggestions, hold debates, and discuss future initiatives of DI SAAC. This meeting resulted in the compilation of a clear list of priorities, which we hope will aid in a successful alignment of all 32 conferences SAACs. Over the next few years, this alignment will help to streamline the communication process throughout all Division I NCAA President Mark Emmert student-athletes. with DI National SAAC.

2 2015 NCAA Convention Co ntinued During the NCAA Convention, two studentathletes were provided with the opportunity to attend the first ever Division I Council meeting. Within the new NCAA governance, the Council will be responsible for passing legislation and handling the day-to-day functions of the Division I membership. In addition to that, this year student-athletes were represented on the Board of Directors for the first time. The Board of Directors is responsible for Nunc cursus magna quis handling the strategic direction of the association. The new positions that student-athlete representatives are holding within the new governance structure are what DI SAAC has been striving to achieve for the past 26 years, in order to raise the volume of the student-athlete voice. The NCAA has demonstrated a strong commitment to this voice and made this evident when the SAAC chairs from all three divisions were invited to sit on a question and answer panel during the keynote luncheon. Events such as the keynote luncheon are usually reserved for high profile speakers to speak to the membership; however, this year the NCAA provided the student-athlete voice with the spotlight. During the final meeting of the NCAA convention, National SAAC sat in on the Division I business session. This meeting was attended by all delegates from Division I. Chair of DI National SAAC, Kendall Spencer, took the opportunity to thank all of the delegates for their support of student-athletes and to encourage continued growth of this alliance. This Convention marks the final in-person meeting for the members rolling off the committee in July. The services of these veteran members, and those who represented before them, have paved the way for the future of DI SAAC and the student The heri tage of the past is the athletes they represent. Their leadership has proved seed that b rings f or th the impactful, as it has guided the NCAA into a new chapter. harvest of the future. - National Achieves Building, Washington, D.C. Written by: Dusty Paige & Devon Tabata Division I National SAAC Co-Vice Chairs 2

3 Over the last several months the NCAA has undergone tremendous change; the biggest and most controversial change was the formation of the autonomy group for the "Autonomous 5" conferences: Big 12, Pac 12, SEC, Big 10, and ACC. The 2015 NCAA convention hosted the first meeting of this body and witnessed the passing of several key pieces of legislation. During this meeting 80 members of the Autonomous 5 were present, including 15 student-athlete representatives, three from each conference. It s important to understand what the formation of this group will mean for all student-athletes moving into the future. Autonomous legislation will be proposed and voted on solely by the 5 conferences. If legislation is passed for the 5 conferences, the implementation of each proposal is simply optional for all other conferences. This model is intended to allow the higher resource conferences to provide additional resource-based opportunities for their student-athletes. One important facet of this model is there are three studentathletes from each conference in the autonomy structure with voting power. Now, student-athletes not only have a voice representing their interests and values, but are able to affect change reflecting those same interests. During the 2015 NCAA Convention, there were four key pieces of legislation that were debated and voted on by the autonomy group: concussion safety protocol, insurance against loss of value, full cost of attendance, and no athletic reasons for allowing reduction or non-renewal of scholarships after they are awarded. There were elaborate debates over these proposals, through a diverse forum in which the needs of student-athletes moving forward were the primary focus. The result of the voting included the autonomy model itself passing, the concussion safety protocol passing, insurance against loss of value passing, full cost of attendance passing, and no athletic reasons for allowing reduction or nonrenewal of scholarships passing. Several amendments to the full cost of attendance did not pass. Written by: Rachel Scott, Big 12 Representative 3

4 As administrators, athletic directors, presidents, chancellors, SWAs, FARs, and student-athletes prepared to travel to Washington, DC for the annual NCAA Convention; the DI SAAC saw an opportunity to engage the collegiate athletic community with the community members of greater Washington, DC. The Community Service Team planned and implemented a winter clothing drive to benefit a Washington, DC-based nonprofit company that assists victims of chronic homelessness. Flyers were created and distributed to Convention attendees. After the meetings concluded, I became overwhelmed by the amount of donated scarves, hats, gloves, coats, and socks. It took some work to fit everything into the trunk of my car, but we eventually made it all fit. Our first task, communicating our plan to attendees, was straightforward and successful. The second part, collecting items, was exciting; it was a visible lesson of how our voice, our invitation to donate clothes, could turn into positive action. Finally, we were tasked with delivering the winter clothes to the non-profit organization. After determining a time and place, I took my car full of donations to the organization and was assisted by three strong, eager men. They carried everything inside and I quickly followed behind to try and take a picture to be shared through the DI SAAC Twitter or Facebook accounts. I was surprised by the excitement of the men crowded around the box of donations as soon as it was set on the ground. It was in that moment that I realized that the true intention of our community service initiative was not to capture a picture to display on social media. This project was driven by love for others and a desire to provide an opportunity for a connection between the NCAA Convention participants and the citizens of Washington, DC. Written By: Stephanie Burry, Patriot League Send in your SAAC IT s ON US video to enter to WIN $5,000 towards sexual assault prevention! Deadline: March 17 th For more contest info visit: /committees/2015-division-inational-saac-video-contest 4

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6 SAAC MEETINGS NCAA LEGISLATION Education 6