Photo Gallery

Video Interviews:
Special Olympics Event  /  CTX's Askew-Evangelista-Johnson  /  ETBU's Brey  /  LETU's Nishimura 
UMHB's Womack  /  UO's Bryan  /  SRSU's Hoyt-Menchaca  /  UTD's Childs-Hansen

RICHARDSON, Texas –– Through NCAA Division III Strategic Initiative Grant funding, the American Southwest Conference was able to provide 11 of its students the opportunity to attend the 2013 NCAA Convention, held Jan. 15-19 at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas.
 
Four students attended the NCAA Convention in its entirety – sophomore track and field athlete Randi Askew of Concordia University Texas; senior baseball player/cross country athlete Ian Bryan of University of the Ozarks; sophomore soccer player Zack Hansen of University of Texas at Dallas; and sophomore softball player Maile Hoyt of Sul Ross State University. Seven students attended the final two days of the Convention – graduate student and former softball player Ashton Brey of East Texas Baptist University; sophomore soccer player Brian Childs of Texas at Dallas; sophomore soccer player Elizabeth Evangelista and track and field athlete Ty Johnson of Concordia Texas; sophomore softball player Samantha Menchaca of Sul Ross State; senior golfer Candice Nishimura of LeTourneau University; and senior soccer player Jenna Womack of University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
 
Concordia Texas senior soccer player Dalaine Whitlock, who serves on the Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as the representative for the American Southwest and Southern Collegiate Athletic Conferences, took part in her third NCAA Convention and second with SAAC.
 
After arriving Tuesday (Jan. 15) and getting checked into the hotel and competing Convention registration, the ASC group, ASC Commissioner Amy Carlton and Assistant Commissioner Greg Weghorst, got the week started with dinner at a local Buca di Beppo.
 
The students provide a glimpse of the entire NCAA Convention experience through their eyes:

 
Wednesday, Jan. 16
By Ian Bryan, Sr., Ozarks (Baseball/Cross Country)
 
Day one began with an amazing experience by helping out with a Special Olympics activity with the Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. There were two activities for the Special Olympics Texas athletes: a learning session of tennis skills and a 12-station competition of skills and nutrition education. During the tennis session, the athletes were taught basic skills, such as balance, passing and hitting. At the various stations, the athletes competed in events such as a shuttle run, medicine ball throw, ball toss and stretching, and completed nutritional questionnaires. Being able to have the opportunity to help out with the kids and watching them have so much fun enjoying the life of sports that we all love was very exciting. Serving others and helping out with the Special Olympics Texas athletes was one of the greatest experiences of the NCAA Convention.
 
Following the Special Olympics session was the NCAA Keynote Luncheon, which featured an interview of Dr. Shaquille O’Neal by the NCAA President Dr. Mark Emmert. O'Neal provided attendees with insight on his upcoming plans, history of his career and the hard work it took to get to where he is today. O'Neal is very influential and inspiring individual who has not only been successful on the basketball court, but has also been successful in business and in the classroom. O'Neal has won multiple NBA championships, owns several companies and has an earned doctorate degree. Anyone that is a Shaq fan knows that he is quite a hilarious guy and loves to keep the audience laughing. Although we students wish we could have taken a picture with Shaq and received an autograph, having the opportunity to hear such a successful athlete speak was a great honor.
 
Next, the start of the many educational sessions began with "The Future of NCAA Championships" and was followed by "Social Media and Student-Athletes." Topics such as joint Division I, II and III championships; publicity and promotion of championship events; locations; and improving the championship experience for the fans and student-athletes were presented by NCAA Executive Vice President Mark Lewis. The Social Media and Student-Athletes session focused on issues of monitoring students' social media posts and encouraging proper use of social media. With social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter such a big part of everyday life, attention to the communication medium was considered to be the hot topic during the NCAA Convention. The use of social media during recruiting was debated on whether coaches should be able to use direct or private messages in the process and should coaches be allowed to become Facebook or Twitter friends with prospective student-athletes. From the student-athlete perspective, many of us believe that friending PSAs by college coaches should not be approved. These educational sessions were a great way to have an up-close look at the future in sports.
 
Following the educational sessions, the NCAA Convention Trade Show and reception provided a look at companies that provide a wide variety products and services to universities, conferences and the NCAA. Each company at the Trade Show had promotional items, such as bags, blankets, pens, balls, folders, key chains and hats -- we all gathered so much free stuff that it doubled the amount of luggage for the trip back to campus! The eventful first day wound down with the ASC group heading to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner. It is pretty much impossible to eat at this restaurant without cheesecake for dessert, no matter how full you are from the main course. After a few minutes of discussion and debate, the crew elected to go with Oreo Dream Cheesecake and Chocolate Coconut Cream Cheesecake. Let's just say the masterpieces were gone before we knew it. Day one of the NCAA Convention was full of excitement and inspiration.

 
Thursday, Jan. 17
By Randi Askew, So., Concordia Texas (Track and Field)
 
Day two was one of enlightenment and insight on the philosophy of Division III and the values it encompasses. Not only are the student-athletes a concern for their respective institutions, but the NCAA prioritizes the student-athlete and truly cares about student-athlete well-being and what happens beyond being a student-athlete. It was amazing to see how far Division III stretches in finding the right instruments to successfully put student-athletes like myself on the right track. I learned how important it was to speak-up around campus and that we truly have a voice on campus.
 
The Division III session on New Trends in Student-Athlete Well-Being stressed that student-athletes must take an active role in helping to promote the general welfare of the students on our campuses, and should we see something that needs to change, we must not sit idly by. The issue of social media was also raised and by listening to discussions, I was able to view social media in a new light in that it could be used as a tool for leadership support and accountability.
 
I finished the morning attending a forum on Foul Language and Sportsmanship: Dealing with Student-Athletes' Offensive Speech. The information and discussion gave me a new understanding on how strong the NCAA values and ethics truly are. I did not consider how in depth issues such as profanity and how it affects college sports were looked at by administrators at colleges and the NCAA. Before entering the session, I felt that the comments on the subject would be trivial, but during the course of the session I actually had a moment of self-reflection and how the athletic programs at Concordia Texas may be viewed by a variety of groups – other teams, fans, officials and media.
 
I found myself most touched by Bonnie St. John, the featured speaker at the Association Luncheon presented by the NCAA Office of Inclusion. St. John's story was very inspiring and actually sparked a desire for changes that I could possibly begin at Concordia Texas. The luncheon topic circled back to Wednesday's session on Serving Student-Athletes with Disabilities and comments from speakers Tony Tatum, a student-athlete at Gallaudet University, and Sarah Castle, attorney and paralympic athlete. I developed an awareness of student-athletes with disabilities, one that I cannot allow myself to ignore.
 
I feel much honored to have been granted an experience of a lifetime -- one that offers windows of opportunity in the field of athletics. I enjoyed the speakers; it was a joy to be in the presence or atmosphere rather of greats such as Shaquille O’Neal and Gail Devers, and I hope to attend another NCAA Convention in the future.

 
Friday, Jan. 18
By Zack Hansen, So., Texas-Dallas (Soccer)
 
Day three started the Delegates Breakfast before the NCAA Division III Issues Forum -- my favorite part of the Convention. The legislative proposals and several other Division III projects were reviewed by presenters and discussed by the delegates with others at their table. The topics of work-life balance of Division III coaches and the culture of youth sports and its impact on recruiting were given the most attention. Concern that the current culture of club/youth sports doesn't align with the Division III philosophy was voiced. The exciting part for me was that the student's voice was heard on these topics through round table discussions and solutions we offered to the Working Group on Recruiting. Dalaine Whitlock, our table facilitator, took notes of our discussion and returned them to the panel at the end of the forum. However, this was not the only way our voice was heard. As we entered the forum we were given electronic voting devices and used them to participate in straw polling on questions that pertained to issues we had talked about earlier. After locking-in our votes, the results came up instantly and the panelists used the response to get a consensus of the room – talk about our voice being heard! I learned soccer is considered by some as having one of the worst club sports cultures. Being a soccer student-athlete, I felt like I gave informed feedback and that my voice made a difference.
 
After the Issues Forum, our group attended the Division III SAAC Luncheon, hosted by the national SAAC. We had met many representatives throughout the Convention so it was great to get to sit down, each lunch and have informal discussions. The national SAAC gave a presentation on what they do as a nationally and on important things we should be doing with our own campus SAAC. I learned valuable things that I hope I will be able to implement at UTD. After the lunch we had a big group picture with all the Division III student-athletes who were attending the Convention. Personally, I was inspired by what the members of the group do as the voice of the student-athlete. They were all really impressive people that I learned from, and represented all student-athletes in a wonderful and honorable way.
 
After lunch we finally had our first break of the Convention and got a little bit of relaxation time. The singular thing I will take away from the morning was how much our voice as student-athletes is really heard. From being part of the straw poll to seeing what the national SAAC does, it is apparent that Division III cares about its students and wants their opinion to be heard and count for something.

 
By Maile Hoyt, So., Sul Ross State (Softball)
 
The NCAA Honors Celebration was held in the evening and the master of ceremonies was Jack Ford. There were 19 awards handed out in total, including the Top 10 Awards, Silver Anniversary Awards, Inspiration Award, Award of Valor and the NCAA's highest honor, the Theodore Roosevelt Award.
 
The Top 10 Award recognizes student-athletes that graduated in the 2011-12 academic year for their success on the field, in the classroom and in the community. Honorees were Nick Amuchastegui, wrestler at Stanford; Miles Batty, cross country/track and field runner at Brigham Young; Ashley Brignac, softball pitcher at Louisiana at Lafayette; Micah Davis, football player at Delta State; Robert Griffin III, football player at Baylor; Stacy Hagensen, softball pitcher at Pacific Lutheran; Lindsay Lettow, indoor track and field at Central Missouri; Brooke Pancake, golfer at Alabama; Liz Phillips, cross country and indoor track and field runner at Washington University in St. Louis; and Wendy Trott, swimmer at Georgia.
 
Next up was the Silver Anniversary Award, an honor that recognizes distinguished individuals on the 25th anniversary of the conclusion of their collegiate athletic careers. Honorees were Dylann Duncan Ceriani, volleyball player at Brigham Young; Bob Cottingham, fencer at Columbia -Barnard College; Yolanda "Gail" Devers, track and field runner at UCLA; Chad Hennings, football player at Air Force; Keith Jackson, football player at Oklahoma; and Patrick McEnroe, tennis player at Stanford.
 
U.S. Marines Captain David Borden, a football standout at Kutztown University, was presented the Inspiration Award. After graduation, Borden entered the corporate world but elected to follow his dream of Officer Candidate School. In 2007 Borden was attacked by a suicide bomber leaving him with injuries that led to amputation of his right leg above the knee. Three years after rehabilitation Borden returned to the Middle East and command of his unit, leading troops through his hard work, determination and inspirational actions.
 
The Award of Valor presented to Division III football player Kirk Rohle from Hampden-Sydney who put personal danger aside as he searched for his missing best friend during a massive January 2012 fire at the house they shared with several others. Rohle suffered burns over 47 percent of his body and had eight surgeries. As he recovered, Rohle took class in the hospital and returned to campus to complete classes and graduate the past summer.
 
The final award of the night was the Theodore Roosevelt Award, given to former Minnesota quarterback and NFL Super Bowl-winning head coach Tony Dungy. He graduated with a degree in business and played four years in the NFL before becoming an assistant coach with his old team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2006 he led the Indianapolis Colts to the Super Bowl title. Now Dungy works with the Dungy Family Foundation, is a national spokesman for Basket of Hope and an NFL analyst, and is the author of several books.
 
After all the presentations and the dinner we attended the dessert/meet and greet with the award winners. We were able to congratulate each of them and pose for pictures.

 
Saturday, Jan. 19
By Elizabeth Evangelista, So., Concordia Texas (Soccer)
 
On the fourth and final day, I had the awesome opportunity to attend the Division III Business Session along with all of the Division III delegates. Schools were seated with their conference members in the huge ballroom. The American Southwest Conference was the largest conference represented, with a total of 47 delegates in attendance. The ASC students at the Business Session sat with their Athletics Director and other staff.I was in complete awe of how large the meeting was and how many people were there for one common goal: to discuss and vote on legislation and to help improve the student-athlete's well-rounded campus experience.
 
Before the voting and legislation portion of the session started, the leadership of the Division presented information to the delegates. We were informed about the partnership formed between NCAA Division III and NASPA (Student Affairs administrator organization) and collaborative programs on alcohol and drug education for all students at our campuses. Next, we were reminded that Division III Week is set for April 8-14, 2013. Division III Week is a chance for us to bring attention to the well-rounded collegiate experiences for Division III student-athlete. The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and Division III partnership was detailed with benefits for students and administrators explained.
 
We were then notified that the presentation, discussion and voting on the proposed legislation was going to begin. There were 13 legislative proposals and each proposal was brought to the floor by a sponsor and discussion was opened up to the delegates. All 13 proposals were important and have been discussed over the past several months on campus and in meetings. It was finally time to make decisions and to witness changes in the rules of Division III was an absolute honor.
 
Although all of the approved proposals were very significant, I gravitated towards nine of 13 proposals that directly affected my institution, Concordia University Texas. Proposal 1 increased the Presidential Council membership from 15 to 18 members as well as changing the enrollment requirements and gender composition of the Council. Proposal 2 stated that a Division III institution is ineligible for championships and grant money funding immediately when it starts the Division II reclassification process. Proposal 3 permits conference to provide postgraduate scholarships for one male and one female who have completed their eligibility. Proposal 10 adopted the principal that a four-year transfer student from a Division III school who has either practiced or competed in their sport would sit a year in residence if they do not meet an exception. This proposal helps reinforce academics as a priority of education. Adoption of Proposal 11 permits those studying abroad in recognized university programs to compete while overseas and not trigger transfer status. Proposal 12 allows incoming student-athletes to participate in fundraisers before their enrollment if they have been accepted and made a paid deposit to the school. Proposal 13 specified that before full-time college enrollment, a prospective student-athlete may accept payment based on team performance if it does not exceed actual expenses. 
 
Two of the nine proposals had the ballroom in uproar. Proposal 4 – confirmation of Sickle Cell Trait status -- proved to be a very heated topic. With an extremely close vote of 55to 45 percent, Proposal 4 was approved. It requires confirmation of status for all first-year and transfer student-athletes in the 2013-214 academic year, with confirmation of sickle cell trait status for all student-athletes no later than the 2014-15 academic year. Education about sickle cell trait was a key part of the proposal, both for those who test positive and those who waive trait testing. Many delegates spoke in support of the proposal, but others had concerns about tracking, costs, risk management and compliance. Proposal 9 – permitted use of all forms of private electronic communication -- was another highly debated issue. With an even closer vote of 52 to 48 percent, Proposal 9 was approved. The adopted proposal permits any form of electronic correspondence, such as e-mail, instant message on social networking sites and text messages, can be sent privately to a prospective student-athlete or their parents and guardian.
 
The intensity and seriousness behind Division III athletics is all for the well-being of the student-athlete experience.  The 2013 Business Sessions was very productive and ultimately helps shape the future of Division III.

 
 
WHAT ELSE THEY SAID…
 
“I was able to see how student-athletes all across the nation have a voice and that people really listen. The athletic directors, coaches and faculty representatives listen to what we have to say and they stand up for us as well as the national Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representatives. They all want our collegiate athletic and academic experiences to be the best that they can be.”
– Jenna Womack, Sr., Mary Hardin-Baylor (Soccer)
 
“Being a part of this event enlightened my entire NCAA experience. It explained to me the true value of being a student-athlete. I used to think that college athletics were going to resemble past experiences and motions of traditional public school athletics. I was proven wrong and gained a lot more compassion for my sport and the NCAA as a whole.”
– Ty Johnson, So., Concordia Texas (Track and Field)
 
“The experience was awesome! There was so much to take in and appreciate from the business session alone. I was grateful to be a part of the voting process and hear the different sides, including Dalaine Whitlock representing the national Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Getting to meet the honorees at the Honors Celebration was amazing. I am blessed and thankful for the weekend as it was an unforgettable and inspirational trip that brought my collegiate experience to a level I never dreamed of.”
– Candice Nishimura, Sr., LeTourneau (Golf)
 
“It was an incredible experience. I was able to have a behind-the-scenes look at the NCAA and learned many new things, some that I had never thought of as a player. Being able to watch the voting process happen right before my eyes was definitely an interesting and memorable experience.”
– Ashton Brey, Gr., East Texas Baptist (Softball)
 
“I had a wonderful experience and it was so exciting to meet new people.”
– Samantha Menchaca, So., Sul Ross State (Softball)
 
“It was really great getting to witness something that’s so much bigger than myself and seeing how much Division III really cares about its student-athletes.”
– Brian Childs, So., Texas-Dallas (Soccer)