From January 14-17, student-athletes of all sports from DI to DIII converged at Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn. during the annual NCAA Convention. The Convention serves as an opportunity for over 3,000 attendees of all levels to celebrate achievements, vote on legislation, and hear educational sessions about pressing issues affecting collegiate athletics.
Four student-athletes represented the SCIAC, spread out across three schools in different committees and/or programs.
Junior
Rachel Roxarzade, a tennis player at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, and
Katie Chou, a swimmer for the Sagehens, participated in the Convention’s student immersion program.
Roxarzade said she had the opportunity to connect with DIII student-athletes and administrators, listen to guest speakers, attend various conferences and meetings and witness Pomona-Pitzer alumna
Alex Turvey be named NCAA Woman of the Year.
She cited getting the opportunity to sit in on the SCIAC athletic administrators meeting as the most impactful moment of the program.
“Personally, I loved attending the SCIAC committee meeting to hear how much thought goes into each individual sport and how rule implementations are not taken lightly,” Roxarzade said.
Roxarzade elaborated that she had preconceived notions about policy and other decisions made by higher-ups in the conference, but attending the committee's meeting opened her eyes and gave her a new perspective.
“As a student-athlete, certain policy decisions may not always make sense to me, but after sitting on this meeting, the DIII ssues Forum and voting session, I learned how much intent is actually put into every single decision that impacts the lives of student-athletes and how there are many factors at play,” Roxarzade said.
She explained that she was unsure what to expect, but just went with the flow, ready to absorb information at every turn and would recommend any student-athlete who has the opportunity to attend do so.
“There is something for everyone at this Convention - come with an open mind, ready to learn and walk, love your sport and push yourself to talk to others even if it feels scary. In general, I would say you'll get out of the Immersion program what you make of it,” Roxarzade said.
Also present at the convention were the Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAAC) from every Division, each meeting twice over the course of the convention. Student-Athlete Advisory Committees are in place to give a voice to student-athletes about any given situation or problem that may arise.
The SCIAC’s SAAC representative,
Jacqui Brandon, a junior water polo player from California Lutheran University, attended the Convention and said the SAAC voted in favor of women’s wrestling as the 91st and newest championship, and that it passed unanimously in their committee before being voted in by administrators the following morning. Brandon emphasized that the SAAC serves to amplify the voices of student-athletes nationwide on big stages and small, and to give them an opportunity to have a voice in decisions being made that could directly affect them.
“Overall, the main goal of National SAAC is to improve the student-athlete experience and give them a voice at places like the NCAA Convention. I am proud to have been able to represent not only CLU at this event, but also the SCIAC,” Brandon said.
Brandon, a chair of the Sports Ethics & Fan Behavior subcommittee of the SAAC, said that the subcommittee was created last summer after increasingly hostile behavior exhibited by fans and teams alike was becoming more and more prevalent. She said that there is a new focus on strong social media presence and direct contact with teams to help set a new standard for how to act at sporting events.
“Our overall goal is to promote positive sportsmanship and share why understanding fan behavior and the actions of competitors is important,” Brandon said.
Hanna Hrstic, a senior member of the swim & dive team from Chapman University, went to the Convention in her hometown as the digital & social media intern with the SCIAC.
She said she was able to sit in on the DIII Commissioners' Meeting and participate in both the DIII Issues Forum and the SCIAC meeting with all attending members of the conference, where she was able to learn the complexities and processes of policy-making in college sports.
“It was an eye-opening experience that deepened my understanding of Division III athletics. Through these meetings, I came to realize the multiple layers of governance that shape policies and decisions within the NCAA,” Hrstic said.
Hrstic continued that attending the Convention gave her a much better idea of how college sports and its conferences are able to balance policy while making sure everyone that needs to be heard has a voice.
Observing this process firsthand gave me a clearer perspective on how both the NCAA and individual conferences craft policies that define their identity while prioritizing the well-being and development of student-athletes,” Hrstic said.
To learn more about programming and other opportunities offered by the NCAA, click
here.
Follow the SCIAC on Threads (@theSCIAC), X - formerly Twitter (@theSCIAC) and Instagram (@thesciac) with hashtags #SCIACtion and #SoCalSoGood. Watch all home SCIAC games, matches, and meets online through FloSports: https://flosports.link/SCIAC