The Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is experiencing what most every other NCAA committee already knows: Asking for funding is one thing, but receiving it is another.

At its April 5-7 meeting in Denver, the Division I SAAC reaffirmed its desire to establish two regional leadership conferences, modeled loosely after the national NCAA Leadership Conference, that would provide even more opportunities for student-athletes to experience training and development as leaders on their campuses.

Though the SAAC floats budget requests infrequently, it believed the regional leadership conferences were worth the effort. Now it's a matter of gaining the ear of the Division I Budget Committee, and eventually the NCAA Executive Committee. What makes the trek even more daunting is the fact that, once again, funds for new Division I initiatives are tight.

The SAAC began its quest at the Division I Management Council's April 8-9 meeting, when SAAC Chair Mike Aguirre from Arizona State University and Vice-Chair Dylan Malagrino from Syracuse University explained to the Council that regional conferences would train student-athletes to become "confident change agents" on their campuses. The conferences also would allow student-athletes the opportunity to experience a leadership conference atmosphere while tackling issues of a more regional nature, such as weather constraints on seasonal participation; issues with regional sports participation (such as field hockey, lacrosse and water polo); or social issues that pertain to a particular region, such as the Confederate battle flag.

However, the two three-day conferences would cost about $125,000 apiece, which may be a squeeze play on the Division I budget. The Division I Budget Committee has set aside the necessary funds for 2003-04, pending approval of the regional leadership conference concept from the Management Council. The Council didn't appear to have a problem with the concept of regional leadership conferences, but it struggled with sacrificing some championships initiatives in order to ensure that funding would be available.

The Championships/Competition Cabinet has asked for just over $1 million in new Division I championships initiatives for 2003-04, but the Division I Budget Committee has tentatively approved only about 75 percent of that, with the remainder set aside for the leadership conferences. The Council, however, paused when it learned that some championships enhancements -- particularly seeding initiatives in soccer and softball -- might be compromised. Some Council members thought student-athletes might be better served with the championships enhancements. One member even said that the seeding procedures in championships were at a "critical stage."

Aguirre and Malagrino emphasized that the SAAC wasn't forwarding its request lightly. They also noted that regional leadership conferences were moving ahead in Divisions II and III. The Division II Management Council, in fact, endorsed a model for a pilot conference to be held in 2003.

In the end, the Council agreed that the Management Council members of the Budget Committee should convey "the tenor of the Management Council discussion" to the remainder of the budget committee. That leaves the budget committee apparently as the group that must choose what's in and what's out.

Issues on the horizon

In addition to the discussion about regional leadership conferences, the Division I SAAC began work on what might become the next comprehensive issue from the perspective of student-athletes, and that is balancing the time demands placed on them as students and as athletes.

The SAAC reviewed a letter from a student-athlete who expressed concerns that the 20-hour rule may not provide enough time to allow student-athletes to develop their athletics skills. That concern is juxtaposed against other well-documented concerns that student-athletes may in fact spend too much time with athletics pursuits and not enough in the classroom.

SAAC members agreed that the issue should be raised at the conference level before the national SAAC meets again in July. That dovetails with another discussion the SAAC will have in July about deregulation of Bylaw 17 (playing and practice seasons). That discussion will focus on nonchampionship segment activities, skill instruction and voluntary workouts.

The time-demand issue also is part of the Division I SAAC's strategic plan for 2001-03. The committee, in fact, reviewed that document and agreed that the following would be high-priority goals during the next year:

Issues regarding time demands on student-athletes;

Aligning the cost of college attendance and employment opportunities for student-athletes to the general student body;

The provision of 24-hour, year-round comprehensive insurance coverage for student-athletes; and

Developing a communication link to the Division I Board of Directors to further enhance the information it receives regarding student-athlete issues and to provide an opportunity for feedback to the Board on those issues. For example, the SAAC may request that a Board member attend a portion of or all of one SAAC meeting per year, while a SAAC member would attend a portion of or all of one Board meeting annually.

The SAAC also agreed to further enhance the plan by including the following objectives:

Study the financial aspects of athletics, such as the amount of money spent on individual student-athletes above and beyond institutional athletically related financial aid; and

Assess diversity of student-athletes and access individuals have to intercollegiate athletics (for example, changes in academic standards, graduation-rate calculations).

The committee agreed to further discuss the timeline and responsibilities of the plan during a teleconference before the committee's July meeting.

Other highlights

Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
April 5-7/Denver

Reviewed information from the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee regarding the use of American Indian mascots, nicknames and imagery. The Division I SAAC developed a position statement saying that the group supports the elimination of American Indian mascots and nicknames at NCAA member institutions.

Approved drafts of two educational tools that will be placed on the Division I SAAC Web site, which contain helpful information related to developing successful institutional and conference SAACs.

Reviewed a document listing the accomplishments of the Division I SAAC since 1999. The committee directed staff to post this information on the Web site.

Provided suggestions as to how to improve the educational materials and the dissemination of information regarding nutritional supplements (for example, discussion sessions on institutional campuses with nutrition experts, television ads, bookmarks).

Discussed forming ad hoc subcommittees of "high-profile" student-athletes to assist the SAAC in addressing issues in men's basketball and football.