Wednesday, January 30, 2008
As captain of the Kansas track team, Matt Baysinger is no stranger to leading. But now he has the opportunity to lead the nation’s student athletes off the track.
Earlier this month, Baysinger, Stillwell senior, was appointed vice chairman of the National Division I Student athlete Advisory Committee, or SAAC, for the year.
“It’s going to be a lot of work. I’m very excited,” Baysinger said. “I ran for it and I prepared for it.”
Brandon Hodges, Hot Springs, Ar senior receives the baton from Matt Baysinger, Overland Park freshman, during the 4x400 relay Saturday in the Kansas Relays at Memorial Stadium. The Jayhawks placed 2nd in the race.
In January 2009, Baysinger will assume the chairman position in SAAC, and retain it for a year. Baysinger has also served on the executive board for the University’s SAAC chapter and was the Big 12 Conference’s SAAC chairman for a year.
SAAC is a committee of student athletes who observe the NCAA’s regulations regarding the welfare of student athletes. The committee members give input from the student athlete standpoint.
“The magnitude of what I’ll be doing hits me more everyday. I’m basically the voice of 180,000 student athletes, and it’s nothing to take lightly,” Baysinger said. “It’s going to be a lot of responsibility but I think I’ll enjoy it.”
Mike Harrity, director of student athlete development, said the opportunity added to Baysinger’s development as a leader.
“He’s expelled a lot of time and energy,” Harrity said. “He can talk about NCAA legislation and hot-button topics and bring them back to KU.”
One of the major issues that Baysinger is concerned about is the possible future of marketing student athletes. He’s concerned that student athletes could be used to market certain products and never get any revenue from the sponsorship. If legislation allowing this is passed, Baysinger would also want to make sure that the student athletes had control over what products their names would be attached to.
These concerns might not only affect Baysinger as a student athlete, but could also affect him in his future career.
“I want to be in college athletics as a career, so there’s no better way to get prepared for a career in athletics than to get involved now,” Baysinger said.
Baysinger hasn’t ruled out working for Kansas Athletics at some point, but said he’d prefer a job near a beach.
Jim Marchiony, associate athletics director, said Baysinger’s new position was positive for the Athletics Department and the University.
“I think that for us it shines a national spotlight on one of our student athletes, and that helps shine a light on Kansas Athletics,” Marchiony said.
Baysinger said that his position would not interfere with his track season. He said the first SAAC convention of the year that he would be in charge of would be held in July. Track season ends in June.
“I promised coach I won’t miss any practices or meets, but I’ll be fully committed to SAAC after season’s over,” Baysinger said.
Outside of SAAC and track, Baysinger has even more commitments lined up. He is the media director for his church and plans to marry his fiancé in July.
— Edited by Patrick De Oliveira
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