NASPA Student-Athlete Knowledge Community Leadership Team Monthly Meeting
October 21, 2015 Teleconference Minutes
Participants: Fallucca, Gatti, Hinnen, Jacobsen, Kareti, Marsh, Navarro, Niendorf, Paysinger,
Reynolds, Smith and Thomas, and White.
Action items are highlighted in yellow.
1. Welcome and Review Report From September meeting. The September 23 teleconference
minutes were accepted as drafted. Brent Marsh welcomed Stephanie Reynolds, NASPA liaison,
who joined the call as part of a six month KC Staff Communication Liaison pilot program to share
information on behalf of NASPA directly with the KC. Stephanie will solicit evaluation feedback
from the KC next spring.
2. Nominations Committee Updates. Bob Gatti and Leah Kareti reported that several people have
expressed interest in the KC chair position, but no nomination materials were received by the
October 16 deadline. The nominating committee will follow up with the interested individuals
and prepare to submit a slate of candidates with the NASPA office in accordance with the
November 1 deadline.
3. NASPA SAKC Sponsored Sessions Update. Jennifer Thomas shared that, based on reviewer
feedback, she submitted the following three programs for SAKC sponsorship:
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Student-Athlete Mentors: An Opportunity to Integrate Athletics and Student Affairs (CP
Jennifer Jacobson)
New Directions for Student Leadership: Leadership Development in Recreation and Athletics
(CP Donald Stenta)
A Case Study of Student Athletes' Life After Sport (CP Jillian Martin)
These selections reflect a good variety of programs, and the KC’s points of emphasis. Jennifer
also submitted the following three programs for acceptance as general programs:
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Exploring Student' Experiences in Intramural Sports and Connecting it to Retention (CP
James Archibald)
New Directions in Student Affairs: Engaging Student-Athletes and Preparing Campus Leaders
(CP Kristina Navarro)
Eight Tips for Effective Oversight of NCAA Division III Athletics (CP Leah Kareti)
Kristina Navarro shared that she had another athletics-related session proposal accepted,
“Outcomes Based Career Preparation Programs for Contemporary Student-Athletes.” Jennifer
will again analyze the conference schedule to highlight those sessions with a connection to
athletics, and share that with the full KC membership in the pre-Conference newsletter.
4. KC Chair & KC Leadership Team Self-Assessments. Brent Marsh reported that NASPA is
engaging in KC assessments. The Leadership team collectively completed the KC Leadership
Team Self-Assessment during the call.
5. Research Agenda Updates. Amber Fallucca reported that she has had a professional update
since the last call. Her new title is Associate Director of USC Connect, and she has moved to the
Provost’s office. Amber will still be involved in student affairs and maintains a professional
interest in student-athlete development. Specific to the research agenda, Amber has been
communicating with Carrie Smith to include an introduction to the Research Agenda and a
related item of research in the next SAKC newsletter.
6. Education Plan Update. Kristina Navarro reported that while she is ready to begin work on
drafting the SAKC education plan, that work should not begin before clarifying the impact of the
recent announcement by the NCAA that administration of its Life Skills program will transition to
the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics (N4A) over the next three years. The
original vision for the SAKC education plan was to frame much of the content and resources in
the NCAA Life Skills program for SAKC members. See also item No. 14.
7. Newsletter Update. While Carrie Smith was not able to attend the call, she submitted the
following report:
“After discussion, we are recommending a shorter newsletter email, with less text and links back
the website. This eliminates a newsletter that may be cumbersome to read because it is so text
heavy. This will allow us to showcase the authors (our members) in a more intentional way, and
it will allow us to use social media to “retweet” or “repost” specific portions of the newsletter
even after the initial email. I am also recommending that the longer research articles be
formatted with the SAKC logo at the top, similar to a journal article (example here: http://csrijiia.org/documents/publications/research_articles/2015/JIIA_2015_8_6_Factors_in_Success_NC
AA_DIII.pdf). That way, if people wanted to pull just the article and use it, they could.
In summary, we will send a teaser email that gives brief snippets of what’s included in the
newsletter and links back to the website. Then on our website, we will have one header that
reads FALL SAKC Newsletter with bullets underneath it that are separate PDF’s of the features in
the newsletter. Something like this (Remember the bullets are hyperlink PDF’s):
Fall 2015 SAKC Newsletter
 Welcome from the Chair – Brent Marsh, Rogers State University
 Unveiling the Research Agenda – Amber Fallucca, University of South Carolina
 Interview with the Pros: Amber Lombardo (Amherst) – Bryce Webster, University of Georgia
…and so on. “
The SAKC endorsed this format. Stephanie Reynolds explained that the KC e-mail and blog tools
can be used to yield this format. SAKC members are encouraged to send Carrie athleticallyrelated photos to include in the newsletter. Content for the first newsletter has been prepared,
but the team is still in need of photos. Finally, Carrie acknowledged that her graduate student,
Sara Busby, has worked tirelessly on this newsletter.
8. NCAA Updates.
a. 2016 Convention Session. Justin Paysinger reported that he has confirmed speakers for
the 2016 NCAA Convention session on transition to life after sport. DeAnne Brooks,
Assistant Professor, Kinesiology, Salem College and NCAA Innovations Grant Recipient
will cover the physical components to the transition to life after sport, and Carmen
Tebbe, Iowa State University, will cover the mental components.
b. SAKC feature in NCAA Leadership Development Newsletter. Justin reported that this
newsletter was released today (October 21) and it included a reference to the SAKC’s
web page describing opportunities to get involved in the KC.
c. SAKC-sponsored event at NCAA Hall of Champions during NASPA 2016. Leah Kareti
reported that this event is still under development. She hopes to confirm the event for
the next leadership team teleconference.
d. NCAA Data Blitz event during NASPA 2016. Leah Kareti reported that the NCAA
Research staff is hosting a data-blitz for the SAKC in conjunction with the NASPA Annual
Conference. A data blitz is an opportunity for six researchers to share a 5-minute
presentation of their research findings with NCAA staff, and then engage in a 5 minute Q
and A. The event will help create connections between SAKC members and the NCAA
research staff. The KC is responsible to select the speakers and the NCAA research staff
will manage all the logistics. A subgroup of Fallucca, Hartung, Kareti and Navarro was
formed to discuss the selection process.
9. Partnerships with other KCs.
o African American. Brent Marsh reported on behalf of Tray Robinson that Tray would follow
up soon with AAKC leadership.
o Alcohol and Other Drug. No updates at this time.
o Status updates on existing or new collaborations (e.g., GLBT, Men and Masculinities,
Disability). No updates.
10. Diversity Resources in Athletics. Brent Marsh reminded the leadership team of Tray Robison’s
e mail seeking examples of diversity related resources to include on an athletics department
website for prospective and current student-athletes. Leadership Team members are requested
to send their suggestions to Tray.
11. Updates on Regional Activity.
o I: Kris Niendorf reported that KCs are joining up to host a tailgate-style event with food
trucks at the regional conference. The SAKC will not be specifically involved this year, but
the event is a creative example to encourage KC involvement at a regional event.
o IV-E: Brent Marsh has been communicating with regional leadership, and the KC is awaiting
appointment of the regional rep.
o IV-W: Bryan Hinnen is continuing to work on the development of a regional leadership team,
and is preparing to submit his first annual report of SAKC activity.
o V: Jennifer Thomas reported that her regional conference will take place in early November.
12. Leadership Team Vacancies. Katrina Whitney is rotating off the leadership team and Brent has
posted a Division II representative opening on Volunteer Central. Region IV-E has indicated that
it is close to naming its SAKC representative.
13. Communication Updates: Blogs, Social Media, & Website. Brent Marsh reported that there has
been an increase in Facebook followers since last month, and Leah Kareti plans to rename and
rearrange the tabs on the SAKC web page in the next month.
14. Connection Opportunities Related to Student-Athlete Life Skills Professionals. Leah Kareti
reported that on October 16, the NCAA announced that the administration of its Life Skills
program will begin a three-year transition from the NCAA to the National Association of
Academic Advisors for Athletics (N4A). Since NCAA life skills administrators are uniquely
positioned to bridge the gap between student affairs and athletics, this transition represents an
opportunity for the SAKC to reach out to the N4A to develop a collaborative relationship to
support of like skills administrators, and continue to build connections between NASPA and
intercollegiate athletics administrators. Leah Kareti, Mattie White, and Justin Paysinger will
work together to explore opportunities to connect the SAKC and N4A.
15. Future Directions to Consider. The KC shall continue to track on future agenda items:
o SAKC strategic plan review/revision
o Expanding leadership team to involve NAIA, Junior College representatives
o Position descriptions for leadership team members
o Excellence awards
16. Professional Competencies Update. Brent Marsh reported that NASPA has formed a group to
interview the KC chairs to find out how the KCs are or are not using the NASPA professional
competencies. Marsh visited with a member of the Think Tank in late September. KC members
are encouraged to keep the professional competencies in mind while doing the work of the KC.
17. Update NASPA Profiles. Brent Marsh reminded leadership team members to make sure their
NASPA profiles are current and include a headshot.
18. Open Agenda. Leah Kareti and Brent Marsh will review and finalize the space and schedule
requests for the NASPA annual conference in advance of the November 1.
19. Future Team Call Schedule. (2:00 p.m., all times Eastern):
o Thursday, November 19
o Wednesday, December 16
o Wednesday, January 27
o Wednesday, February 24
The call concluded at 3:05 EST and a recording of the teleconference is available at (712) 775-7029
Access Code - 365-007.