Empowering Voices
Jack Hoagland
When I was a student-athlete at Notre Dame, I was a part of the ACC.
When SMU joined the conference, I felt like I could help, given my experiences in the ACC before.
Transitioning to a P4/P5 conference comes with its own set of challenges — not just for admins, but for athletes as well.
And I wanted to be a part of the solution, which is one of the main reasons I joined SAAC here at SMU.
As a sixth-year student-athlete, I thought my experiences could be valuable and help make an impact.
I believe that no matter the sport you play, your opinion matters.
It’s something I’ve always been passionate about.
And, if you want to make a change and have your voice heard, you can’t be afraid to get up there and speak out about it.
That’s the message I want to get across here through my involvement in SAAC as well as the ACC SAAC to impact the conference on an even bigger scale.
Building Relationships
One of the many things I learned early on after joining SAAC is that we need to raise more awareness on campus and within athletics.
Not every athlete is aware that we exist and what we’re actually trying to accomplish.
We’re a voice for all student-athletes here at SMU, regardless of sport.
We want to build relationships with the athletes on campus and make them feel comfortable to speak up and share their opinions with us.
That’s what it’s all about.
I want to be a leader and advocate for all other student-athletes.
When SMU joined the conference, I felt like I could help, given my experiences in the ACC before. Transitioning to a P4/P5 conference comes with its own set of challenges — not just for admins, but for athletes as well. And I wanted to be a part of the solution, which is one of the main reasons I joined SAAC here at SMU.
The Unity Tour
Earlier this summer, I got to participate in the ACC’s third annual Unity Tour.
The Unity Tour brings together student-athletes from all institutions across the conference. This year, the event was held in Charleston, South Carolina.
It’s an opportunity for the student-athletes to have an open and honest dialogue about a variety of subject matters, including race, politics, and more.
Amongst many other things, we got to visit the Mother Emanuel Church, a synagogue, and even went on a Geechee experience.
Through those kinds of experiences, we all really bonded and came together.
It was an opportunity for us to speak up, get outside of our comfort zones, and learn from each other.
It was an incredibly valuable experience, and I’m so glad I got to be a part of it.
Advocating for Change
One of the many things I love about being on SAAC is the ability to advocate for change.
Whenever issues arise, I gather feedback from my team and other student-athletes.
I’ll then take this feedback to the group and get their opinions on what they think about the issue.
We can then work together to formulate a plan that appeals to what the administration is looking for and is willing to accept.
If the issue doesn’t get much motion or progress, I’ll take this feedback back to my team and discuss it with them.
At the end of the day, not everything is going to change when we want it to.
We just have to keep working to get it accomplished, but if it’s not going to happen, we need to find a way to make it work.
Throughout all of this, I learned that it’s crucial to have an open mind and listen to other people’s thoughts.
We all come from different backgrounds, and we all have different experiences.
I think it’s important that we engage in those tough conversations so we can put ourselves in someone else’s shoes and try to understand where they are coming from.
That’s what I try to do with my teammates and for other student-athletes across campus.