When the NCAA Division III membership overwhelmingly adopted Proposal No. 50 (Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committees) at the 2000 NCAA Convention, it took a major step forward in making the development of student-athlete advisory committees a priority at every NCAA Division III campus and conference.

The passage of Proposal No. 50 requires each Division III multisport member conference to establish a conference student-athlete advisory committee by August 1, 2001, as a condition and obligation of membership. This will allow Division III student-athletes to become more involved at the regional and national level. It also will permit conferences to address concerns specific to their members by providing them with the authority to establish the responsibilities and compositional requirement of their committees.

The NCAA Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee initiated this proposal for numerous reasons, but most importantly, to open the communication lines among the many student-athletes competing in Division III athletics.

There are several benefits that result from the establishment of a conference student-athlete advisory committee. It provides a vehicle in which student-athletes can take an active role in the organization of the policies and procedures that affect them. Conference committees extend beyond campus committees by allowing student-athletes to interact and communicate with other student-athletes in their area. Much like administrators need the exchange of dialogue with their peers, so do student-athletes. This allows them to engage in discussions with similar individuals to swap ideas to better their campuses and strengthen their conference.

A conference truly can benefit by bringing its student-athletes together. Conferences often are perceived as being removed from the student-athlete. Whether conferences are highly organized and staffed independently or are loosely organized and established for competition purposes only, they often are construed as a bureaucracy of rules, policies and procedures. A conference student-athlete advisory committee allows the student-athlete voice to enter this structure.

One such conference that has benefited from the establishment of a conference committee is the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). The WIAC first established its group during the 1998-99 academic year. I (Amy Huchthausen) had the pleasure of serving on this committee and acted as its chair during this initial year. The conference student-athlete advisory committee is considered equal to all other sport committees in the WIAC's governance structure. During our first year, we recommended a change to the awards policy for conference championships that eventually was approved and implemented by the athletics directors. It was at the suggestion of the conference student-athlete advisory committee that the conference was able to effectively change a policy to better serve its student-athletes.

Conference student-athlete advisory committees also serve as a method of communication between the national committee and those student-athletes they represent. The NCAA Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is composed of 24 individuals charged with representing the 127,000 student-athletes who compete in Division III athletics.

While it is easy for those of us on the national committee to inform our respective campuses, it is a very small percentage in comparison to the total population. Conference committees allow for information to reach a larger number of student-athletes. Most importantly, though, it provides a vehicle to receive feedback on critical issues and legislation that directly affects the Division III student-athlete.

Implementation of a conference committee can take several forms. The important thing is that it provides a method in which student-athletes within the conference can exchange ideas and receive information. Some committees are composed of one representative from each institution, while others are composed of two individuals. Some committees meet twice a year, others meet once a year. Some groups meet via conference call during the year.

Conference offices must decide what is manageable from a budget and equity perspective. The committees are mandated, so they must be implemented in some form. However, a student-athlete advisory committee in name only violates the intent of the legislation, and more pointedly, violates the voice of the student-athletes.

A conference student-athlete advisory committee provides opportunities for student-athletes to share and interact with peers. It allows them to be informed on current issues that face Division III and better understand their place and responsibilities as an NCAA student-athlete. Division III athletics provides a unique and healthy relationship between administrators and student-athletes. Conference student-athlete advisory committees will enhance that relationship; they will strengthen the links among conference, institution, administrator and student-athlete.

It may be daunting at first to attempt to set up a conference committee, but everyone should be aware that there are many resources that are available to aid in this process. Besides being able to contact other conferences that have established committees, the national committee can help as well. All of us have experience with student-athlete advisory committees, and part of our job is to be of use to the membership as informational tools in situations such as the establishment of conference committees. Our e-mail addresses can be found on the NCAA Web site, and we would all welcome the chance to be able to help anyone with this process.

Although all new student-athlete advisory committees inevitably will go through some growing pains, the positive impact that conference committees will have on student-athletes around the country will be overwhelming. Never before has there been such an opportunity to communicate with so many student-athletes in so many different places. Conference student-athlete advisory committees will complete the chain: national committee -- conference committee -- campus committee. Conference committees will be the arena in which the ideas of campus committees are discussed and passed on to other committees.

Let's not be frightened by the prospect of setting up conference student-athlete advisory committees; rather, let's look at this as a unique opportunity to allow student-athletes to take on leadership roles and share ideas and experiences with their peers.

Amy Huchthausen is the assistant director of compliance and championships at the Missouri Valley Conference and a former softball student-athlete at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. John Galgano is studying law at Pace University and is a former baseball student-athlete at Manhattanville College. Both are members of the Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and serve as the Division III SAAC's two voting representatives on the Division III Manage ment Council.