GARDEN GROVE, California -- The Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee heard from former College of Wooster Athletics Director Bob Malekoff about the "cultural integration" of student-athletes at its July 15-17 meeting.

Malekoff, now a professor of sports studies at Guilford College, helps direct the College Sports Project (CSP), a program funded by the Mellon Foundation designed to promote the integration of athletics into campus life and the academic "representativeness" of student-athletes with other students. Malekoff, who met with SAAC leadership at the 2005 Convention in Dallas, spoke with the entire Division III SAAC for the first time.

He touched on a number of issues, including the concern over increased time commitments for Division III student-athletes, pressure for coaches to win and the ever-growing emphasis on qualifying for national championships. He also emphasized that the future of the project will be up to the study's 137 participants.

SAAC members expressed concern that student-athletes aren't involved enough in the study. Committee Chair Andrew Baldwin in fact suggested student-athlete feedback should be a top priority for the CSP. Currently, student-athlete participation in the study is an issue of institutional autonomy.

"It is imperative that student-athletes at those institutions are involved in the project. Student-athletes are at the core of intercollegiate athletics, so it only makes sense to directly include them in a conversation about integration and representativeness," said Baldwin, a former student-athlete at Nazareth College. "If the administration does not choose to include student-athletes from their institutions, that simply demonstrates a lack of interest in the student-athlete voice and is inconsistent with what the CSP seems to be endorsing."

SAAC manual

In addition to the CSP discussions, the committee also reviewed its first SAAC manual, which is intended to inform conferences how best to establish a fully functional SAAC that takes advantage of the student-athlete voice in the NCAA governance structure.

The national SAAC suggested that the document be circulated not only to participants of regional leadership conferences and to members of conference SAACs, but to athletics administrators at every Division III institution as well.

"The development of the SAAC manual is a giant step toward fostering more productive SAACs within Division III and amplifying the student-athlete voice," Baldwin said. "We have incorporated best practices and other aspects of effective SAAC functions to be used as a tool to improve student-athlete well-being and the overall student-athlete experience."

Included among the best practices for campus SAACs are CEO involvement in intercollegiate athletics programs, integration of student-athletes into the campus culture and maintenance and enhancement of NCAA sportsmanship programming.

In other actions, Heather Mathis of Maryville College (Tennessee), one of two SAAC representatives to the Division III Management Council, asked the committee to endorse her letter encouraging United States Representatives to rescind the recent Title IX clarification. SAAC members gave unanimous support for the letter and voted to circulate its own SAAC-specific letter as well.

Members also approved a motion to form a subcommittee overseeing the nomination process of student-athletes to the national SAAC. The SAAC will select student-athlete representatives from a slate of nominees, subject to review by the Division III Nominating Committee and final ratification by the Division III Management Council.

The SAAC believed that it could better determine the compositional needs of the committee due to its access to student-athletes on a national level and its own ability to solicit nominations. The Divisions I and II SAACs already play key roles in selecting new members to their respective committees.

Other highlights

Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
July 15-17/Garden Grove, California

• Discussed the Division III Interpretations and Legislation Committee's recommendation to charge a male student-athlete with a season of participation for practicing beyond his first opportunity with a women's team. The committee opposed the recommendation, asserting that the male student-athlete wouldn't have an opportunity to compete with a female team, and therefore shouldn't be charged with a season of participation.

• Met July 17 with the Division I Management Council. The two groups, which meet together annually in conjunction with their summer meetings, participated in roundtable discussions of best practices for integrating student-athletes into campus life, among other issues.

• As is customary at its July meeting, the SAAC was introduced to proposed legislation for the upcoming year. Committee members learned about the 13 proposals currently on the Division III docket and will inform their conference and partner-conference SAACs before developing positions at the committee's November meeting in San Antonio.

• Five SAAC members were voted to serve on Division III and Association-wide committees. Alexis Fink of the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, will serve on the Division III Interpretations and Legislation Committee; Mitch Redig of Marian College (Wisconsin) will work with the Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee; Marcus Pryor of the College of Mount St. Joseph was elected to the Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee; Meghan Lockard of Gettysburg College was chosen for the Olympic Sports Liaison Committee; and Mike Unwin of Lasell College will replace Baldwin on the Committee on Women's Athletics.

• Elected Sameer Khan of Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison, to replace Baldwin as committee chair upon the completion of Baldwin's term in September. Tanya Nesbitt of Smith College will begin her second year as assistant chair of the committee.

• Joined with the Divisions I and II SAACs in a community-service project at the Santa Ana, California, THINK (Teaching, Helping, Inspiring, Nurturing Kids) Together program at Heninger Elementary School. SAAC members helped underprivileged children with their homework before tutoring them on the field with football, baseball, softball, basketball and soccer drills.