SPOKANE, Wash. — The recent Big Sky Kickoff featured more than just football players, with members of the Big Sky Student-Athlete Advisory Committee invited for conferences with representatives in attendance.
The program focuses on developing leadership qualities in student-athletes and provides them with direct opportunities to speak with decision-makers in college athletics.
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Drake Wilkes from the Montana State track and field team said the Kickoff allowed him to connect with his peers from other schools.
“Really, it's just to collaborate,” Wilkes said, "see what Portland State's doing, see what Montana's doing, see what Idaho is doing, and just share ideas and communicate how best to work with our student bodies.”
That collaboration is important between the different representatives at the schools, given every program is run differently.
Montana golfer Kate Bogenschutez said she has learned a lot from other schools’ athletes.
“Some certain policies are directly about certain teams,” Bogenschutez said. “So if you can directly speak to those teams and get their feedback on them, I think that's super, super important and vital information to then relay back to people higher up than us.”
With that collective knowledge, these student-athletes gain a better understanding of what is best for them when they meet athletic directors and other higher-ups in college athletics.
“What is our say in these things that are happening, and what do we want as student-athletes?” Wilkes said. “Maybe it's the top dogs and the board members that are speaking for what we want, but we also get to have impact on that, and we get to say we agree with this, we don't agree with this. These are the proposed changes that we would have.”
On top of meeting with other schools and administrators, these committee members still excel in their given sports, which are hefty time commitments on their own.
“There is some added time management needed to handle both athletics, academics, and SAAC on top of that, but it's so worth it,” Bogenschutez said. “Being able to advocate for yourself and other teams on campus and then also being able to meet other student-athletes, it's really worth it.”
