REPORT OF THE

NCAA DIVISION I STUDENT-ATHLETE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

The NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) submits the following report from its January 4-6, 2007, meeting.

1.      ACTION ITEMS.

a.      Selection of Student-Athletes to Division I and Association-Wide Committees. The committee recommends that the NCAA Division I Management Council approve the following appointments to the respective Association-wide and Divisional committees:

(1)     NCAA Olympic Sports Liaison Committee:  Tyler Kupper, University of Delaware, (Colonial Athletic Conference), and

(2)     NCAA Division I Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Subcommittee on Agents and Amateurism:  Noel Larson, Northern Arizona University, (Big Sky Conference).

b. Ratification of Chair and Selection of Vice Chair. The committee recommends that the Management Council ratify Anna Chappell, University of Arizona (Pacific-10 Conference) as chair and Kerry Kenny, Lafayette College (Patriot League) as vice-chair.

2.      INFORMATIONAL ITEMS.

a.      Legal Issues.  Elsa Cole, NCAA general counsel, provided SAAC members with an overview of her role within the national office and several insights into the legal environment that the association operates in when considering policies.  Additionally, she highlighted several cases involving anti-trust and employment issues faced by the association. 

b.      Presidential Task Force on the Future of Division I Intercollegiate Athletics. SAAC members reviewed several student-athlete well-being priorities within the Task Force’s final report in conjunction with the SAAC strategic plan in an effort to further the priorities identified by both groups.

c.      Legislative Issues.  The committee continued legislative discussions and revisited several proposals previously identified for comment by SAAC.  Proposals selected for comment by SAAC involve a variety of topics including amateurism, recruiting, eligibility, awards and benefits, playing and practice seasons and financial aid. A summary of this document is available for the membership and Management Council for their January and April meetings [Attachment].

d.      Division I SAAC Newsletter.  In an effort to assist with the timely distribution of the SAAC newsletter, members endorsed implementation of a production schedule and deadlines for the newsletter, as well as clarified the roles of members participating in the publication.  It was noted the newsletter will continue to be available to student-athletes three times a year (fall, winter and spring).

e.      Male Practice Players.  SAAC members were provided an overview of the Committee on Women’s Athletics’ recent position statement regarding male practice players and current status of the issue within all three divisions.  Additionally, SAAC was notified that the survey instrument developed to better understand current practices on campus involving male practice players is scheduled to be mailed to the membership following the convention.  SAAC encouraged the membership to involve student-athletes when institutions complete the survey.

f.       Joint Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Meeting.  President Myles Brand joined SAAC members in attending the Association-wide menu session, “The Fusion of College Basketball, Racial Diversity, Media, Art and Urban Life.”  Following the session, Dr. Brand participated in a discussion with SAAC regarding the session.  In an abbreviated agenda, Becky Ahlgren-Bedics distributed a time demands questionnaire and requested feedback from the SAAC members.  Finally, each divisional SAAC provided an update to the group.

g.      Division I SAAC Website.  Members of the website planning team provided the full committee with suggested additions and enhancements to the Division I SAAC website.  SAAC supported the recommendations and will look to incorporate the changes in the coming year.

h.      Tax-Exempt Status Update.   Jeramy Michiaels and Matt Burgemeister, NCAA intern, provided an overview of the tax law basis for the tax-exempt status of intercollegiate athletics. In addition, they provided SAAC members a summary of the NCAA’s response to the inquiry from the House Committee on Ways and Means regarding how intercollegiate athletics furthers the educational, tax-exempt purpose of the NCAA and higher education.  

i.       Conference Updates.  SAAC members shared on-going conference initiatives including community service programs, social network policies, conference-driven leadership programs, and enhanced student-athlete participation within the conference governance structure.

j.       Attendance.  As requested by the NCAA Division I Management Council, the attendance list for the January meeting is as follows:

Conference	School	Name	Sport	Present
America East Conference	University of Albany	Bradley Daniels*	Baseball	Yes
Atlantic 10 Conference	Xaiver University	Dana Hunter	Women’s Swimming and Diving	No
Atlantic Coast Conference	Wake Forest University	Michael Piscetelli*	Men's Track and Field	Yes
Atlantic Sun Conference	Jacksonville Uni versity	Matthew Dobbins	Baseball	Yes
Big Twelve Conference	University of Oklahoma	Brittney Schumann	Gymnastics	No
Big East Conference	University of Pittsburgh	Megan McGrane	Women’s Volleyball	Yes
Big South Conference	Winthrop University	Beth Waggoner	Women’s Volleyball	Yes
Big Sky Conference	Northern Arizona University	Noel Larson	Women’s Golf	Yes
Big Ten Conference	University of Minnesota	Benjamin Hanson	Men’s Cross Country/Track and Field	Yes
Big West Conference	University of the Pacific	Danielle Neault	Field Hockey	Yes
Colonial Athletic Conference	University of Delaware	Tyler Kupper	Men’s Golf	Yes
Conference USA	University of Tulsa	Brandon Diles	Football	Yes
Horizon League	University of Illinois at Chicago	Corey Steven	Women’s Tennis	Yes
Ivy Group	Dartmouth College	Johnathan Ball	Men’s Basketball	No
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference	Siena College	Patrick Henry II	Men’s Soccer	Yes

Conference	School	Name	Sport	Present
Mid-American Conference	Bowling Green University	Stephanie Swiger	Women’s Volleyball	Yes
Mid-Continent Conference	Western Illinois University	Jarrell Johnson	Football and Men’s Track and Field	Yes
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference	Morgan State University	Aidah Aliya Rasheed	Women’s Tennis	Yes
Missouri Valley Conference	Illinois State University	Ryan Brown	Men's Golf	Yes
Mountain West Conference	University of New Mexico	Kimilia Davis	Women’s Track and Field	Yes
Northeast Conference	Mount St. Mary’s University	Lani Gholston	Women’s Track and Field	Yes
Ohio Valley Conference	Southeast Missouri State University	Matt Carter	Baseball	Yes
Pacific 10 Conference	University of Arizona	Anna Chappell	Women’s Basketball	Yes
Patriot League	Lafayette College	Kerry Kenny	Men’s Basketball	No
Southeastern Conference	University of South Carolina	William Brown	Football	Yes
Southern Conference	Western Carolina University	Emily Pierce	Women’s Soccer	Yes
Southland Conference	Southeastern Louisiana University	Jerren Pierce	Football	Yes
Southwestern Athletic Conference	Southern University, Baton Rouge	Brittany Jefferson	Softball	No
Sun Belt Conference	Florida Atlantic University	Megan Coyne	Women’s Soccer	Yes
West Coast Conference	Santa Clara University	Blossom Marimpietri	Women’s Cross Country/Track and Field	Yes
Western Athletic Conference	Boise State University	Katie Street	Women’s Golf	Yes

Conference	School	Name	Sport	Present
Others:
Management Council	University of Mi nnesota, Twin Cities	Joel Maturi, Athletics Director	Big Ten Conference	No
Management Council	Texas State University – San Marcos	Tracy Shoemake, Associate Athletic Director	Southland Conference	Yes
Management Council	Belmont University	Betty Wiseman, Assistant Athletic Director	Atlantic Sun Conference	Yes

            Note: * identifies final meeting

k.      Future Meeting Dates.

a. July 19-21, 2007; to be determined.

b. November 16-18, 2007; Indianapolis, Indiana.

c. January 10-14, 2008; NCAA Convention; Nashville, Tennessee.

Committee Chair:  Michael Piscetelli, Wake Forest University, Atlantic Coast Conference

Committee Vice-Chair:  Anna Chappell, University of Arizona, Pacific-10 Conference

Staff Liaisons:  Vanessa Fuchs, NCAA Membership Services

Kelly Groddy, NCAA Membership Services

                        Curtis Hollomon, NCAA Education Services

                        Jeramy Michiaels, NCAA Manager of Broadcasting