Nov. 18, 2005
NORMAL, Ill. -
Receiving rave reviews, `So You Want To Be a College Student-Athlete?,' was an informational meeting regarding NCAA initial-eligibility requirements hosted by Illinois State University's Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) partnered with the Office of Admissions.
With nearly 250 high school student-athletes, parents, athletic directors, coaches and guidance counselors turning out for the event, Assistant Athletics Director for Compliance and Certification Cindy Harris foresees it as an annual event providing prospective college student-athletes information that will help them in the NCAA initial-eligibility process.
Attendees of the event were provided a copy of the 2005-06 NCAA Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete booklet, and viewed a PowerPoint presentation addressing the NCAA initial-eligibility changes and requirements. SAAC representatives and Redbird student-athletes Ryan Brown (men's golf), Janiah Downing (football), Emily Hirt (swimming and diving), Emily Kabbes (volleyball) and Jackie Williams (softball) answered questions about the "reality" of being a college student-athlete. Harris believed that getting a first-hand account from the ISU student-athletes played a large part in how well the event was received.
Harris was glad the Office of Admissions, represented by Molly Arnold, director of admissions and SAAC members walked through the complex process.
"I am extremely pleased with how our event went," said Harris. "We had many high school student-athletes who attended with their parents, as well as some local athletic directors, coaches, guidance counselors and even a club coach or two.
"We've received rave reviews from evaluations we collected after the event and through e-mail in the past few days that clearly demonstrate just how many folks out there really `needed' this information," said Harris. "I'm glad we could play a small part in helping our community members to navigate this complex process."
Harris looks forward to presenting this information again for those who were unable to attend and also present new information for those who recently attended.
"We will absolutely and gladly do this again," added Harris. "We're already talking about what to add to the program for next year. We want to add a new dimension; something more and different for the next time around. From the feedback we've received, we're hoping to double attendance and by adding a new dimension we would like to see all of those who participated this year to come again the next time around."
