Representatives from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC will meet this week to discuss 11 proposals ranging from mental health services for athletes to rules on sports agents for college athletes. The meeting is part of the autonomy process for the so-called “power 5” conferences, now in its fifth year.
The five major conferences have been granted autonomy by the NCAA to determine many of their own rules. In previous years, rule changes by the Power 5 have included time balance reforms, extended medical care, multi-year scholarship security and the ability of some athletes to be represented by an agent or attorney if they are drafted to a professional sport while still in college. You can read more about some of these reforms in our story from last year here.
Per a press release from the five conferences, this year’s proposals will include “mental health services and resources, and the role of agents in assistant student-athletes with career planning and decision making.” The Power 5 will vote on 11 proposals, many of which were submitted last fall, the release says.
Eighty voting members will make the decisions: that group is made up of representatives of all 65 schools within the Power 5 conferences, plus 15 student-athletes. No swimmers or divers are among the 15, and there were no swimmers or divers in the mix last year either. Proposals need 60% of the total votes (48 votes) plus a simple majority in 3 of the 5 conferences, or a simple majority of total votes (41 votes) plus a simple majority in 4 of the 5 conferences.
The autonomy session will take place on Thursday, January 24 at noon.
The full press release is below:
ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC Institutions and Student-Athlete Representatives to Discuss Proposals that will Enhance the Student-Athlete Experience
Fifth Year of the Autonomy Process for the Five Conferences
Eighty voting members of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC will meet in Orlando, Thursday, January 24 to consider a series of proposals as part of the Autonomy governance process that gives the five conferences the ability to enact NCAA rule changes in specific legislative areas.
Many of the 11 proposals under consideration were submitted this past fall, including mental health services and resources, and the role of agents in assisting student-athletes with career planning and decision making.
The meeting will include representatives from each of the 65 member schools of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC conferences and 15 student-athlete representatives, each of whom will have a full vote and has been included in the ongoing discussions at the conference level.
In the previous four autonomy sessions, representatives have enacted significant reforms to help student-athletes succeed in college and in life, in areas including time balance, scholarship protections, cost of attendance, concussion protocol and student-athlete welfare.
About the Autonomy Session
The autonomy proposals will be reviewed and voting on the proposals will occur during the Autonomy Discussion Forum and Business Session on Thursday, January 24, beginning at noon (ET).
Proposals can be approved by one of the following methods:
· 60 percent of all votes (48 votes) and a simple majority support from schools in three of the five conferences, or;
· A majority of all votes (at least 41) and simple majority support from the schools in four of the five conferences.
In addition to representatives from the 65 universities, 15 student-athletes will give a voice for the tens of thousands of current student-athletes in the five conferences. The student-athletes participating in the autonomy process this year are:
Name
Travis Bruffy Texas Tech Football
Christian Blough Ohio State Men’s Volleyball
Khristian Carr Mississippi State Women’s Volleyball
Kayla Ellis Oregon State Women’s Volleyball
Blake Ferguson LSU
Kelsey Grambeau Wisconsin
Krista Haddock Kansas State Women’s Soccer
Malcolm Holland Arizona
Harli Hubbard NC State Softball
Khadejah Jackson Oregon
Taylor Koenen North Carolina Women’s Basketball
Haley Lorenzen Florida
Megan McCloskey Penn State Women’s Track & Field
Amy Okonkwo TCU
Chris Taylor Duke