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Empowering The Student-Athlete Voice With The MAC’s Kristin Williams

Guest Kristin Williams, MAC
17:46 min watch

Summary

Mid-American Conference Senior Associate Commissioner for Institutional Services/SWA Kristin Williams sits down with ADU’s Tai M. Brown at the 2024 NCAA Convention to discuss the MAC’s efforts to include the student-athlete voice in its governance structure. Williams dives into the importance of establishing authentic and transparent relationships with student-athlete leaders in an effort to garner trust in the governance process and describes how she serves as a connecting point between the Commissioner’s chair and the athlete experience.

The conversation is indexed below for efficient viewing (click the time stamp to jump to a specific question/topic).

  • - The MAC has started a process allowing student-athletes to participate more intimately in governance matters such as drafting policies - talk to us about that initiative.
  • - What existed at the conference level before this initiative?
  • - Tell me about your impact or influence in terms of bridging the gap between the Commissioner's chair and the student-athletes and their understanding of their role in the governance process.
  • - How do you navigate and guide conversations with student-athletes about resources and facilities?
  • - What's your thought process when it becomes apparent that a student-athlete isn't comfortable going to the administrators on their campus with issues like facilities or resources?
  • - A year ago you got a title change - what do you advise the commissioner on? What is "institutional services"? Regarding your work with student-athletes, how do you take that information to the person it needs to get to?
  • - During your time with the conference, have you learned how to package information to best get the answer you're looking for?

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