Stanford’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee addresses changes in college sports

The world of college sports is changing rapidly, especially at Stanford. In the first few weeks of the quarter, the university began its first year in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) after adding an internal NIL representative last year. The changes come amid increasing discussions about revenue sharing in college sports.

The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), a student-athlete-led group that advocates for the interests of student-athletes, has continued to provide community representation. SAAC is working to understand how the new athletic environment will impact student-athletes, said Hunter Hollenbeck, committee co-president and diving graduate student.

In August of this year, Stanford Athletics joined the ACC, and as the transition takes full effect, SAAC is working to ensure student-athletes feel supported during this change.

“Our goal now is to understand how this impacts our student-athletes, what our areas of weakness are and how we can move forward with various initiatives,” Hollenbeck said.

With Stanford athletes traveling across the country nearly every week during the season, academic concerns were at the forefront of the committee’s considerations, Hollenbeck said.

“[Increased travel] “impacts things from classes to lab sections that typically last more than three hours and contain extensive course material week after week,” he said.

While Hollenbeck said Stanford has made accommodations on a case-by-case basis to allow athletes to keep up with academics, SAAC is working to make those accommodations more institutionalized.

“All of these different niche solutions that have been implemented sparingly in the past are now going to be much more regular because of the increased travel for student-athletes,” Hollenbeck said.

Hollenbeck also noted that these changes would apply to student-athletes and all students traveling to sporting events — including the Stanford Dollies, the band and the Stanford Tree.

SAAC is also taking steps to improve Stanford’s approach to Name, Image and Likelihood (NIL). In the past, Stanford has been cautious when it comes to NIL because, according to Hollenbeck, “for almost two years there was no really clear guidance on what NIL meant.”

In May, Stanford named its first in-house NIL manager, Lindsey Jones, who has helped open the door for student-athletes to become more involved in NIL deals and contracts.

Hollenbeck said SAAC also hopes to help students “use social media and people’s individual talents to generate revenue for individuals and teams that are not traditionally revenue sports.”

Part of this effort is to help student-athletes develop their own image online and feel empowered by the brands they represent. Another part is verifying and recognizing athletes on social media platforms, Hollenbeck said. He mentioned Ian Gunther ’23, a former Stanford gymnast who has expanded his social media presence and garnered millions of views by posting gymnastics-related content. Hollenbeck said this not only raised Gunther’s profile, but also Stanford’s profile in men’s gymnastics.

Following the House In the case of the NCAA-NCA settlement, schools will also now be allowed to share about $22 million in revenue with student-athletes. However, Stanford has not yet provided any specifics on how the university will proceed. While Hollenbeck declined to comment on specifics, he said that SAAC is “committed to ensuring that all sports thrive as they are.”

While many of these recent challenges are still evolving and new information is coming to light, SAAC is working to ensure that the University’s student-athlete community is included in these conversations.

While some of these new decisions are already taking a toll on student-athletes as increased travel impacts academic performance and overall well-being, Hollenbeck said the SAAC is trying to keep up with the latest changes and respond efficiently and effectively.

“We are trying to respond and try to implement these guidelines as quickly as possible,” Hollenbeck said.