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15 women, 6 men get to take part in unique professional development opportunities
As Division I men's and women's basketball student-athletes made lifelong memories on the court in Phoenix and Cleveland last weekend, several other basketball student-athletes experienced a life-changing opportunity off the court.
For the first time, both the Men's Final Four and Women's Final Four hosted members of their respective Division I Basketball Student-Athlete Engagement Groups on-site for a multiday, behind-the-scenes NCAA tournament experience.
"It has been incredible being around the culmination of one of the best sporting events in the United States," said Sion James, senior at Tulane and member of the 2023-24 Division I Men's Basketball Student-Athlete Engagement Group. "The March Madness tournament is incredible, the Final Four is awesome and having the behind-the-scenes look at how everything goes down is something I would have never experienced on the court."
Established in 2020, the Division I Women's Basketball Student-Athlete Engagement Group was formed with a goal of amplifying student-athlete voices in basketball on key initiatives, legislation and issues. The women's engagement group was the first of its kind to be established at the NCAA, with the Division I Men's Basketball Student-Athlete Engagement Group following in 2023. Both engagement groups are made up of one student-athlete representative from each Division I conference, and the groups have a direct connection to the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
"Being a part of the student-athlete engagement group has been incredible," said Keenan Fitzmorris, vice chair of the engagement group and graduate student at Stony Brook. "Being able to get involved, learn more, have a voice and be part of something greater than yourself is incredible."
Members of the engagement groups were able to experience this firsthand at this year's Final Fours, as 15 members of the women's engagement group traveled to Cleveland, while six members of the men's engagement group visited Phoenix.
Throughout the week in Cleveland, women's engagement group members were provided with various professional development opportunities while gaining an inside perspective on the preparation and execution of the Women's Final Four. Activities included several panel discussions featuring prominent sports professionals and leaders, a Q&A with the 2024 Women's Basketball Hall of Fame inductees, a meet and greet with NCAA President Charlie Baker and the opportunity to network with Division I Women's Basketball Committee members.
"All the women that are invited here and that I've been with all week are super intelligent, along with being really talented and good at basketball," said Mady Aulbach, fifth-year guard at Youngstown State. "Being able to be alongside them and learn from them and meet a lot of strong female leaders in the NCAA has been really cool and a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
Engagement group members also had the opportunity to take a behind-the-scenes tour of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, as well as attend both semifinal games and the national championship game.
The final day of programming included a financial education panel featuring Women's Final Four legend Candace Parker, who led Tennessee to two consecutive NCAA tournament titles in 2007 and 2008 while earning Most Outstanding Player in both Final Fours.
"Candace Parker was one of the most important players to me growing up," said Avery Brittingham, senior forward at UT Arlington. "Being able to see and hear from her in person (was) crazy. I hope this can give me tools and tricks to help me manage my own money as a student-athlete. Especially the transition from becoming a young woman to an adult … I think this can give me tips and tricks behind that."
The 2024 Men's Final Four marked the first year that members of the Division I Men's Basketball Student-Athlete Engagement Group had the opportunity to participate in a similar event on-site in Phoenix. Members of the engagement group in attendance engaged with Division I Men's Basketball Committee members and NCAA staff, attended a TED talk type of conversation with prominent sports leaders and also connected with NCAA President Charlie Baker.
"It's a really important networking opportunity," said Andrew Carr, graduate student at Wake Forest. "To be able to meet athletic directors and commissioners, people who are in really high places, … to connect and pick the brains of those people has been an awesome opportunity."
The student-athletes also had the opportunity to attend both the semifinal and national championship games hosted at State Farm Stadium.
"The experience of being in an arena with 75,000 people cheering… it's something I always dreamed of being a part of," said Michael Moreno, vice chair of the engagement group and senior forward at Eastern Kentucky.
Members of the Division I Men's and Women's Student-Athlete Engagement Groups now look to apply the lessons learned to future work with their engagement groups, as they bring back new perspectives, lifelong memories and lasting relationships.
"I hope that the connections I've made this week and the networking I've been doing carries on past this week," Aulbach said. "I hope that this experience helps me get to where I want to be."
"I'm taking home a lot of great memories and relationships with great people," Fitzmorris added. "This is going to be something I look back on very fondly in the future."
2024 NCAA Division I Men's Student-Athlete Engagement Group Men's Final Four attendees:
- Andrew Carr, Wake Fores
- Keenan Fitzmorris, Stony Brook
- Sion James, Tulane
- Patrick McCaffery, Iowa
- Michael Moreno, Eastern Kentucky
- Jeff Woodward, Colgate
2024 NCAA Division I Women's Student-Athlete Engagement Group Women's Final Four attendees:
- Mady Aulbach, Youngstown State
- Avery Brittingham, UT Arlington
- Tayla Brugler, Saint Joseph's
- Jennifer Ezeh, VCU
- Nyla Harris, Louisville
- Destiny Leo, Cleveland State
- Issy Morgan, Davidson
- Alexia Nelson, Towson
- Sophie Phillips, Rhode Island
- Maggie Pina, Northwestern
- Abby Prohaska, San Diego State
- Sara-Rose Smith, Colorado
- Lauryn Thompson, Texas State
- Samantha Wagner, Oregon
- Alexis Whitfield, UC Santa Barbara
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