The NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committees recently posted their "Commitment to Student-Athlete Excellence" guide on NCAA Online (www.ncaa.org). As a former student-athlete and current chair of the Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, I speak on behalf of all student-athletes when I say thanks to the NCAA and the collaborative efforts of its member institutions in providing both current and recruited student-athletes with this valuable information.

This "living document" was drafted at the request of all three Student-Athlete Advisory Committees. Campus, conference and national SAACs represent the interests and voice concerns of student-athletes. At the campus level, the SAAC bridges the gap between student-athletes and administrators and deals with issues that pertain to each individual campus. Organized, multisport conference SAACs meet to discuss and review the concerns of student-athletes throughout the conference. Nationally, SAACs are composed of conference representatives, at-large members and independent members who work on improving student-athlete welfare and the student-athlete experience across the division.

Keeping that in mind, the NCAA worked with student-athletes to create the Commitment to Student-Athlete Excellence to benefit and raise the level of awareness of the advantages that exist for collegiate student-athletes.

The initial declaration of the NCAA mission on the SAAC home page prefaces the commitment to excellence by indicating the NCAA's dedication to student-athlete welfare and the importance of both the educational and athletics environments in which the student-athlete participates.

The guide, which is separated by division, cites 10 principles: academic services, awards, benefits, competitive environment, health and safety, individual development, recruiting, financial assistance, student-athlete involvement, and sportsmanship and ethical conduct.

Each principle is linked to division-specific information about student-athlete expectations in that regard. For example, by clicking on "health and safety" in the Division II Commitment to Student-Athlete Excellence, viewers can learn the restrictions under which student-athletes prepare for contests (four hours per day, 20 hours per week; two hours per day and eight hours per week during the off-season, etc.) and the medical benefits they can expect (expenses for medical treatment, surgical expenses, preseason dental exams, etc.).

Similarly, under "recruiting," information is provided about what is legislatively permissible and what isn't during a student-athlete's recruitment.

Each area of the Commitment to Student-Athlete Excellence serves to (1) educate the participant, (2) encourage the student-athlete to realize and gain the maximum advantage of what their institution makes available to them, (3) dispel the myths often associated with the life of the student-athlete and (4) equip student-athletes and administrators with the information needed to adequately share with others.

The NCAA worked with student-athletes to create the document to raise awareness of the advantages that exist for collegiate student-athletes. Student-athletes are recognizing this commitment to excellence and firm dedication to enhancing their emotional, mental, social and athletics success. This guide represents the interests and voices the concerns of all student-athletes.

The guide already has received widespread appreciation from student-athletes. At a recent conference meeting about the guide, student-athletes applauded the concise, bullet-style organization, the use of headlines, and brief explanations of intent and advantages. They agreed that it would have been useful as a recruited student-athlete.

Overall, this document strongly suggests and supports that student-athletes should be involved in matters that affect them. Student-athletes should have a role within the governance structure of the NCAA and should have a strong representative voice with the student-athlete advisory committees at the campus, conference and national levels.

The NCAA listened to us -- the student-athletes -- in preparing this tool.

We come in all shapes, sizes and colors. We play various sports and come from all types of backgrounds. But we are all college student-athletes; we all go to class; we all compete to win.

And in the final moments, when our eligibility is exhausted, we can look back at our experience and share the same smile, wipe away the same joyous tears and exclaim, "We are student-athletes. We excelled, and the schools we had so much pride in were, indeed, 'committed to our excellence.' "

Brianna S. Williams is chair of the Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and a former women's basketball player at Mount Olive College. <