The 2025 NCAA Convention was held in Nashville, Tennessee.  The convention is an annual event where delegates from member institutions travel to discuss issues affecting college sports, celebrate achievements, and vote on legislative proposals.  It also is a great opportunity for member institutions' Student-Athlete Advisory Committee members to learn more about the procedures of the NCAA and network with members from other institutions.  This year Rosemont's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (RSAAC) Co-President, John (Jack) Woods received the opportunity to travel to Nashville, Tennessee and represent Rosemont College at the convention.  Kathleen DeLitta, Associate Director of Athletics, met with John to ask about his experience at the convention. 

John, what were your initial thoughts about attending the NCAA Convention? 

I am extremely grateful that I was given the opportunity to attend the NCAA Convention in Nashville this year. Attending the conference provided me profound insight into the governance process of the NCAA. Having attended Rosemont College's Sports Governance course last spring, it led to a greater appreciation of how legislation comes to pass and makes its way to NCAA members. It was an extremely bureaucratic process which at points felt tedious however, sitting in on the Athletic Director's meeting it was insightful to see how they view not just the micro with how a legislation might impact us but also the macro. A highlight of the legislation that was passed was that Women's Wrestling will have their first championship in 2026.  

I am also grateful for all the connections I made while at the convention. I found it very impressive how close the 11 of us SAAC representatives for the United East got in such a short amount of time. I appreciated how diverse a group we had and also how diverse everyone at the convention was. I met people from all over the country and some people from other countries as well. Although the attendees were diverse there were some similar character traits amongst us that promoted good connections during the events. I think every student athlete that was there shared the goal of trying to get as much out of the event as possible and this elevated our socials and discussions.  

What were some goals you set for yourself when preparing to attend?  

Some goals I set for myself when preparing to attend the conference were to form new relationships and not put too much pressure on myself in new social situations, just allow things to flow naturally. I definitely met my goals of forming new relationships by not just making connections with my other United East representatives but also with other student athletes and administrators outside our conference. By not creating any expectations for how conversations were going to go I was able to avoid creating pressure for myself into forcing a conversation and most conversations felt natural and flowed nicely.  

Did you feel any pressure about attending the convention during the first week of the spring semester?  

Not particularly, I reached out to my two in person professors before I left for Nashville to inform them that I would not be attending class, and they were both understanding. I did half of my online course's homework before leaving for the convention and the other half when I returned. So, by utilizing good time management and communication skills I did not feel pressured about attending the convention during the first week of classes.  

How do you feel the experience shaped your perspective about the NCAA organization and how the Athletic Department at Rosemont College operates?  

I certainly am more aware of how complex the NCAA is as an organization and how difficult it can be to oversee over 1,000 schools. After attending the convention, I understand how important it is to have diverse perspectives and that everyone is represented because what is applicable to a Division I school is not always applicable to a Division III school, because we deal with different obstacles. One thing that I found frustrated me during the convention was during the Division III Issues Forum. I felt when the panel was asked a tough hitting question, their response would be minimal.  

The convention allowed me to appreciate Rosemont College more regarding how lucky we are to have two athletic trainers. I learned that it is hard for some schools to have one because of financial constraints amongst other factors. I also appreciate the culture that our athletic department has of showing up to everyone's games. Not every school has athletic directors and trainers, that don't have to be at the games, still showing up to watch. I think that speaks highly of how engaged our athletic department is in being involved with our student athletes. I also appreciate how many hats people in our athletic department have to wear in order for us to operate effectively.  

What are the key takeaways from the NCAA Convention 2025 that empowered you in your role as Co-President of RSAAC on your return to campus? 

One key takeaway from the convention was how I can become a better leader by allowing others the opportunity to take more responsibility. I have struggled in this area because I like to take action firsthand, but this does not allow others to grow alongside me. I came back from the convention focused on how I can delegate more as a leader and help other students in our RSAAC to grow. 

I also was interested in how different SAACs are structured at different schools, for example some schools have project boards and task groups for planning different events and activities and some schools have a similar structure to ours where they have an Executive board and their members. I found this interesting because each structure was determined to have its strengths and weaknesses where the SAACs with task groups wished they were more united at points and the SAACs with just Executive boards wished they could get more engagement from their members.  

What are some hot topic items that Student-Athletes should be aware of?  

The hottest topic at the Division III Issues Forum for student athletes was Name, Image, And Likeness (NIL). We spent a great deal of time discussing issues we have dealt with regarding NIL and how some people were scammed out of their eligibility. We also learned that the average Division I athlete makes about $23,000 with NIL, which is not representative to Division III athletes, or really most Division I athletes as a whole. This prompted a discussion on how much a Division III athletes' is worth regarding NIL and what opportunities are available to us. They did not answer us on how much we are worth, however they steered us in the direction of utilizing NIL Assist which is a NCAA website created to help student athletes discover and access NIL opportunities. One of the most important pieces to NIL is following your state and institution rules. In the state of Pennsylvania institutions are not required to facilitate or enable NIL opportunities for athletes. 

Based on your experience at the NCAA convention what are you determined to leave behind at Rosemont College as your RSAAC Co-President legacy? 

I want my legacy at Rosemont College to be demonstrative of actively trying to better the community, while pursuing excellence in the classroom and on the baseball field. I want to be a representative of what doing something the right way looks like.  

Finally, I would like to thank Stephanie Dutton, Sam Carges, Lauren Lesser, and Jake Ayers for providing me with the opportunity to represent the United East. I would also like to thank Rich Casey, Kathleen DeLitta, Sam Reynolds, Mike Denton, Jenn McGady, and Robert Hanna for all their hard work in improving Rosemont Athletics.