PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference’s member institutions held their first-ever virtual annual meeting last week. Sessions were held over three days with the American’s Board of Directors, Athletic Directors, Senior Woman Administrators, Faculty Athletic Representatives, men’s and women’s basketball coaches, conference staff and selected guests. University of Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield, chair of the football coaches’ group, also spoke on behalf of The American football coaches.
After welcoming remarks from conference Board Chair Dr. David Rudd, President of the University of Memphis, the conference's ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic was the focal point of the meeting. The membership has formed a Medical Advisory Group chaired by Dr. Greg Stewart, Director of Sports Medicine at Tulane University. Dr. Stewart reviewed the preliminary return to play guidelines being formulated by the Advisory Group, which is comprised of medical professionals from each of the American’s institutions, and discussed the various issues associated with a return to Fall competition. The NCAA recently announced that student-athletes in all sports can resume voluntary activities on campuses beginning June 1. The conference decided to permit its schools autonomy when determining timelines for a return to campus and voluntary activities.
“Without question, we are dealing with an unprecedented crisis,” said Commissioner Mike Aresco, “and our annual conference meeting was primarily devoted to our ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The health and safety of our student-athletes and all who are involved in our athletic competitions is our paramount concern. Our conference has never shown more cohesion, and I am proud of the collaboration of the membership as we address the serious challenges of the pandemic. We were pleased to welcome NCAA President Mark Emmert to our virtual meeting, and appreciated his various updates and our ability to engage him in discussions of key issues facing the NCAA and its membership in this unsettled time.”
The conference’s Board of Directors conducted its annual financial review and approved the conference budget for 2020-21, while acknowledging the financial challenges faced by the conference’s institutions in the wake of the pandemic.
NCAA President Mark Emmert joined the virtual meeting and addressed several current key NCAA issues, including the NCAA’s COVID-19 Resocialization of Collegiate Sport Action Plan, the name, image and likeness discussion, NCAA plans for its fall championships, and pending transfer legislation.
Dr. Jeremy Jordan from Temple University, who serves as chair of The American’s Faculty Athletic Representative group, provided an update on the conference’s Academic Consortium. The 2021 Symposium, which was scheduled to be held in March at the University of South Florida before its cancellation, will take place on the USF campus next spring, while Memphis will host in 2022. Jordan also highlighted the extraordinary work that has resulted from the research grants that the Consortium has provided since its inception in 2017. Over the past three years, 16 individual grants have been funded for research-related best practices on student-athlete well-being, which has been a conference priority. In response to the recent tragic deaths in our country, the conference and its member institutions, through the conference’s Academic Consortium and its Powerful Minds initiative, will devote resources to the development of action plans to promote racial justice and equality and to foster education and understanding on our campuses and in our communities.
Chris Paul from the University of Tulsa and Sarai Monarrez Yesaki from Southern Methodist University, members of The American’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, discussed the SAAC’s initiatives during the 2019-20 school year and outlined plans for the upcoming academic year. The continued growth and success of the Conference’s Pow6rful Minds campaign, which focuses on mental health issues and awareness, continues to be SAAC’s top priority.
Among other topics, the conference approved the implementation of football medical replay and a medical spotter protocol for the 2020 season. The membership is in the process of determining the site, date and game times of the 2021 conference Women's Basketball Championship, and an announcement will be forthcoming.
Several conference committee appointments for the upcoming 2020-21 academic year also were approved. Vice Admiral Sean Buck, Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy, and USF President Steve Currall were appointed to the Board Executive Committee. Alexander Cartwright, President of the University of Central Florida, Currall and Wichita State University President Dr. Jay Golden were named to the Board of Directors Audit Committee. Dr. Patrick Kraft of Temple and Michael Kelly of USF were named chair and vice chair, respectively, of the Athletic Directors Executive Committee. Jon Gilbert of East Carolina University was selected as chair of the Athletic Directors Finance Committee. Maggie McKinley, Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director at the University of Cincinnati, will chair The American’s Senior Woman Administrators group.