SAN FRANCISCO – The Pac-12 Student-Athlete Leadership Team (SALT) is officially joining Pac-12 Athletics Directors, Faculty Athletics Representatives, and Senior Woman Administrators as the newest subgroup of the Pac-12 Council, the Conference announced today. The Pac-12 is the first major conference to formally integrate the student-athlete perspective into its official voting governance structure.
The addition of SALT to the Pac-12 Council follows an Oct. 2014 decision by the Pac-12 CEO Group – made up of the 12 Pac-12 presidents and chancellors – to include student-athletes in the formal governance process. That decision was part of the presidents and chancellors landmark reform package designed to better support student-athletes and provide a model for college athletics in the modern era.
“As a group, we feel prepared and confident in our ability to provide meaningful input as we chart the future of the conference,” said Pac-12 SALT Chair Clare Wise of Colorado. “I am proud to be part of a conference that values the student-athlete perspective and works together to modernize college athletics.”
SALT will be made up of two student-athletes from each institution (total of 24), with 12 members attending every Pac-12 Council meeting. Its first meeting as a formal subgroup is on Oct. 21 in San Francisco, and then its members will join their respective delegations for the full Pac-12 Council meeting on Oct. 22.
“We are proud to welcome these exceptional student-athletes as important representatives for our 7,000 Pac-12 student-athletes,” said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott. “We’ve made significant progress in many important areas facing college sports over the past 18 months, but there is more work to do. The perspective from our student-athletes and their contribution to our policies and processes is critical as we push forward a bold agenda to address issues and preserve the best of college athletics.”
In their meeting Wednesday, members of SALT will discuss issues and legislation relating to student-athlete welfare both at the conference and the NCAA level. In the council meetings Thursday, student-athletes will review Conference policies, procedures, and initiatives, and help cast their school’s vote. The four representatives from each school act as a delegation and have one vote in the Council voting process.
SALT is made up of student-athletes who play 17 different sports and have 22 different academic majors. The student-athletes on SALT have had varied college experiences and backgrounds, have different grant-in-aid statuses, and are involved in various extracurricular activities.
The Pac-12 Council serves under the direction of Pac-12 presidents and chancellors and is responsible for issues pertaining to academics, conducting the eligibility petition approval process, sport management and rules issues, Conference and NCAA legislation, and other matters delegated to it by the presidents and chancellors. The other three Council subgroups are the Athletics Directors Committee, the Faculty Athletics Representative Committee, and the Senior Woman Administrators Committee.
Twelve members of SALT will attend the October Council meetings, and the other 12 will come to Pac-12 Council meetings held in the spring.
Fast Facts about SALT:
• SALT has 24 members, two from each Pac-12 institution
• SALT is made up of student-athletes from 17 sports: eight men’s sports, eight women’s sports, and one combined sport
• Sports with the most representation on SALT: women’s gymnastics (four), football (three), women’s soccer (two), and beach volleyball (two)
• SALT’s class breakdown by athletic eligibility: nine seniors, 13 juniors, two sophomores
• SALT gender breakdown: 10 men, 14 women
• 13 members of SALT are on full scholarships, seven are on partial scholarships, and four are walk-ons
• SALT represents 22 different majors and seven different minors.
• Two SALT members already have bachelor’s degrees and are pursing master’s degrees (one in communications, one in intercollegiate athletics leadership)
• Four members of SALT are double-majors
• Eight members of SALT have minors in addition to their majors
• Nine SALT members are science majors (two kinesiology, one psychology, one public health, one biochemistry, one human biology, one exercise and sport science, one geography / environmental studies, one computer science)
• Six SALT members are engineering majors (two mechanical, one aerospace, one chemical, one biological, one general)
• Six SALT members are business majors (three finance, two general business administration, one management science)
• Four members of SALT are communications majors (one public relations, one English, two communications)
• Three members of SALT are social science majors (one legal studies, one American ethnic studies, one political science)
SALT Roster:
Casey Skowron: Arizona, Senior, Computer Science and Psychology, Football
McKenna Witt: Arizona, Junior, Public Health, Beach Volleyball
Allie Salas: Arizona State, Senior, Biochemistry, Women’s Gymnastics
Matt Schneider: Arizona State, Junior, Aerospace Engineering, Wrestling
Taylor James: California, Senior, Legal Studies, Women’s Rowing
Joshua Lewis: California, Junior, Undeclared, Men’s Track and Field
Connor Winter: Colorado, Senior, Mechanical Engineering, Men’s Track and Field and Cross Country
Clare Wise: Colorado, Senior, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Alpine Skiing
Jayson Amos: Oregon, Junior, Business, Men’s Tennis
Alison Sharkey: Oregon, Senior, Public Relations, Women’s Lacrosse
Malcolm Duvivier: Oregon State, Junior, Business Finance, Men’s Basketball
Silvia Colussi-Pelaez: Oregon State, Junior, Chemical Engineering, Women’s Gymnastics
Rollins Stallworth: Stanford, Fifth Year Senior, Master’s in Communication, Football
Rachel Daum: Stanford, Junior, Human Biology, Women’s Gymnastics
Aliea Clark: UCLA, Sophomore, Communications and Political Science, Women’s Golf
Patrick Woepse: UCLA, Redshirt Junior, Geography / Environmental Studies, Men’s Water Polo
Sara Hughes: USC, Junior, Business Administration, Beach Volleyball
Kayla Mills: USC, Junior, Communication, Women’s Soccer
Luis Macias: Utah, Junior, Undeclared, Men’s Swimming
Tanaeya Boclair: Utah, Sophomore, Exercise and Sport Science, Women’s Basketball
Deontae Cooper: Washington, Junior (athletically), Master’s in Intercollegiate Athletic Leadership, Football
Faith Morrison: Washington, Junior, English, Women’s Gymnastics
Kelsie Taylor: Washington State, Senior, Kinesiology, Women’s Track and Field
Alexis Thode: Washington State, Redshirt Junior, Kinesiology, Women’s Soccer
About the Pac-12 Conference:
The Conference has a tradition as the “Conference of Champions,” leading the nation in NCAA Championships in 50 of the last 55 years, with 478 NCAA team titles overall. The Conference comprises 12 leading U.S. universities: The University of Arizona, Arizona State University, the University of California-Berkeley, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Colorado, the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Stanford University, the University of Southern California, the University of Utah, the University of Washington and Washington State University. For more information on the Conference’s programs, member institutions, and Commissioner Larry Scott, go to www.pac-12.com/conference.
