DALLAS -- NCAA President Myles Brand answered a variety of questions from Student-Athlete Advisory Committee members during a meeting with the three national groups January 7 at the NCAA Convention.

The inquiries covered topics such as fiscal and competitive-equity issues; building better relationships among student-athletes and faculty members over the issue of missed classes; how students can receive help with mental-health issues; the student-
athlete role in the governance structure; and divisional reclassification.

Brand, as he would do the next day in his State of the Association speech at the opening business session, spoke about revenues leveling off, particularly in Division I. In the past year, he said, the average university budget increased about 3 percent, but athletics on average increased more than 3 percent and in some cases by 5 percent.

"I don't think in the long term that differential will be sustainable,'' Brand told the student-athletes. "It won't be that you will see cutback in athletics; you'll continue to see growth, but I think the growth will be more like the general university growth. I'm sure that it's not an elimination of benefits, but it's just the growth coming down to what the general university growth is.''

Brand also advised student-athletes about when they cross paths with a faculty member who has issues with how many classes are missed due to an athletics schedule. He stressed communication as being the key to solving the problem.

"At the beginning of the term, a student-athlete should go to the faculty member with a schedule of away days,'' Brand said. "Let it be known that you will do the work, but let them know when you're going to be off campus. Almost always the faculty will accommodate that, but not always. That's the problem. SAAC members on each campus need to make that problem public. Going to the faculty senate is a good place to start.''

Many of the SAAC members were concerned about how their peers can seek and receive treatment for mental-health issues. They say those are complications that go beyond the normal stress of everyday college life.

"Some of the large programs can afford to have a counselor or two on board, but in Divisions II and III it's not possible or feasible,'' Brand said. "But there are counselors available on every campus. You and your colleagues shouldn't think that you can go only to someone in the athletics department. You should be able to take advantage of everything the university has to offer, including the counseling service on every campus.''

SAAC members also want to make sure their voice remains strong in the governance structure. In the NCAA's strategic plan, Brand wants the student-athlete to be more at the center of the decision-making progress.

Division I SAAC members saw this work in their favor when they were able to convince the Division I Management Council to reconsider Proposal No. 04-46 regarding Division I SAAC composition at a January 9 luncheon (see related story, page A17). Instead of being defeated, the proposal is going out for comment.

Brand encouraged the student-athletes to raise issues at the campus, conference and national levels to make sure they are part of the decision-making process.

One of the concerns in Division II is the reclassification of programs to Division I, particularly because of football. The Division II SAAC members voiced their concern over Proposal No. 28 (No. 2-25), which would have reduced the maximum limit on the value of financial aid in football from 36 scholarships to 24.

SAAC members opposed the reduction of scholarships and the proposal was defeated in the Division II business session January 10 (see story, page 1).

Brand wants to quell thoughts that moving to a different division means an institution is more successful.

"This idea that if you are Division II, you want to be Division I-AA and if you're I-AA you want to be Division I-A is dangerous,'' Brand said. "I think there are some misperceptions in the local communities and campuses on what the division structure means. ... Some think they will increase their revenues if they go to a different division. The data doesn't support that. The data supports that these division changes on average are costly and the revenue that comes in doesn't match the expense of changing divisions.''