Division I is in the late stages of deciding whether to allocate funding for regional leadership conferences. The Division I Management Council at its meeting last month deferred its decision to October, pending receipt of final budget requests for 2003-04 Division I championship initiatives.

From the Division I student-athlete perspective, regional conferences are the natural expansion of the national conference held each May. The proposal is to divide Division I into six regions, two of which will host a regional conference each year. Institutions will send two student-athletes and either a coach or an administrator, and those participants will create a self-directed project, learn the skills to accomplish it, and then implement the project when they return to campus.

The regional conferences would develop a diverse group of student-athletes who will actively participate in and experience a multitude of challenging and thought-provoking activities. Yet, the focus of the conferences would be different from the national session. For example, the regional conferences would develop confident student-athlete leaders and effective change agents by enhancing leadership qualities, building regional networks with other student-athletes, opening dialogue with coaches and administrators and addressing region-specific issues. If the regional conferences simply are able to reach more student-athletes, then the benefits seem to be obvious.

But the regional conferences will do more than just directly and positively affect the lives of thousands of student-athletes. Approval of this initiative would show support of and commitment to student-athlete welfare, which is important in light of outside organizations challenging the NCAA mission. The conferences also would:

Promote diversity with an educational angle that breaks down stereotypes.

Shrink the "trust gap" by improving communication between student-athletes and coaches/administrators.

Address issues specific to Division I student-athletes, which are prevalent judging from the divisional breakout sessions at this year's national conference.

Moreover, regional conferences will provide institutional administrators, coaches and student-athletes with additional information regarding the development of campus and conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAACs) and the best way to use them. Stronger campus and conference SAACs will in turn strengthen and facilitate the national SAACs' resolve to gather information from student-athletes across the country and make more informed decisions at the national level. An effective campus, conference and national SAAC structure also may encourage outside organizations to work within the structure instead of bypassing the NCAA and potentially misinforming student-athletes.

As for who should administer the regional conferences, the Division I SAAC believes it should be the national office staff. Some conference administrators have suggested that while regional conferences are a good idea, individual leagues should be funded to run their own. The SAAC, however, feels that would defeat the purpose of the regional events.

Regional leadership conferences are a part of a bigger picture, and it is important that programming for the regional sessions relate to the national conference. As was realized at this year's national conference, there is a tremendous need to address national issues affecting all student-athletes. The problem-solving skills and training at the national conference are tailored to addressing national issues such as hazing, dangerous drinking and homophobia, among others, leaving little time to attack regional issues. The lessons learned and tools acquired at regional conferences will assist student-athletes in self-directed projects for campus improvement and SAAC development, concepts that once were the focus of the national conference.

Also, it is important for student-athletes to experience the same quality of regional conference. Because development of the events is a time-intensive and detail-oriented process, some conferences may not have as many resources to devote as others, which could result in an uneven student-athlete experience. In fact, it seems that some conference offices still have difficulty administering their respective conference SAACs.

Additionally, it is more fiscally responsible to pay for program development one time and then tailor the specifics to a particular region, which would be the case if the national office administered the regional conferences. Moreover, the interaction between Division I student-athletes from different conferences in the same region would be a valuable opportunity for student-athletes to exchange ideas. This occurs only if the regional conferences are administered nationally.

But most importantly, regional leadership conferences are necessary because they would reach a greater number of student-athletes, which would lead to more student-athletes acquiring basic leadership, critical thinking and communication skills and using those to improve their campuses. What a great résumé booster for the post-graduation job interviews, showing the overall development of the complete student-athlete.

The Division I SAAC passionately supports regional leadership conferences.

Michael Aguirre was a football student-athlete at Arizona State University and currently chairs the Division I SAAC. Dylan Malagrino was a swimming and track and field student-athlete at Syracuse University and currently is the vice-chair of the Division I SAAC.