ROSEMONT, Ill. – Two-sport student-athlete junior Abby Lynch of Illinois Soccer and Women's Track and Field and junior Adalia McKenzie of Fighting Illini Women's Basketball made the trip north to Rosemont, Ill., to represent the Orange and Blue at the 2024 Big Ten Spring Student-Athlete Advisory Committee meeting on April 10.
Hosted at the conference's headquarters outside of Chicago, the one-day event featured student-athletes from all 14 current member institutions along with the four programs that will join the Big Ten this summer: Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington.Â
Lynch and McKenzie were selected to represent the program due to their involvement and leadership on campus within the SAAC and Illini Way Student-Athlete Development spaces.Â
For Lynch, Illinois' SAAC vice president and leader of the Student-Athlete Welfare sub-committee within SAAC, the experience and opportunity to attend the conference-wide meeting helped change the way she now approaches her role.
"It's always a great opportunity to represent Illinois on the Big Ten stage athletically, but to do it through SAAC and social impact felt extra special," Lynch said. "I have really enjoyed serving as Illinois' SAAC Vice President this past school year, and to be able to culminate this year of SAAC by sharing the experiences of Illinois athletes with the rest of the Big Ten was a great experience.
"Opportunities like these are so important for student-athletes. There are so many changes happening in the landscape of college athletics, and it's so vital that student-athlete voices are being heard by the people at the conference and national levels where these changes are being made. At the core of college athletics is the student-athletes, so we need to ensure that decisions are not being made without our input."
The biannual meeting provided student-athletes with updates regarding the NCAA, the Big Ten Conference, SAAC governance, and the landscape of college athletics. It also allowed student-athletes to address any issues or concerns they had and discuss them with their peers and Big Ten leadership.Â
Networking with Big Ten staff and student-athletes from institutions from coast to coast, the Illini's representatives took part in multiple discussion sessions, which included topics like mental health; name, image, and likeness; community impact updates; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and more.
McKenzie's involvement on the Illini's Diversity and Inclusion SAAC subcommittee – along with her active voice and presence within the broader student-athlete leadership space – made her the perfect fit to attend the Big Ten's spring SAAC meeting.
"To be selected to go to the meeting was an honor," McKenzie said. "I cherish any opportunity to represent Illinois. The University of Illinois creates a culture of excellence, and being able to represent this at a high-level stage meant so much to me. Being a leader should never be taken for granted, and I appreciate and approach it with gratitude.
"These opportunities are very important because they help broaden and grow our view of being a student-athlete. Being a student-athlete isn't just a title but a lifestyle that should be dedicated to making a change on and off the field or court. Also, being heard by higher positions we look up to brings inspiration and assurance in being valued."
While the Illini sent Lynch and McKenzie to the spring meeting, Illinois sent three other student-athletes to the fall iteration last November: Anna Kurzydlo (Swim and Dive), Kelly Ryono (Softball), and Mackenzie Schuler (Soccer).
After experiencing a positive fall semester meeting, the trio felt inspired in their leadership roles and were enthusiastic about returning to campus and sharing the updates they had learned with the rest of the student-athlete community. Lynch echoed these sentiments and came back from the spring meeting with an increased sense of appreciation and inclusion.
"My biggest takeaway was that the Big Ten Conference is working really hard to take student-athlete voices into account when they are making decisions concerning student-athlete development and experience," Lynch said. "This really reinforced the importance of SAAC for me, and it reminded me how important our monthly meetings are to voice our opinions and concerns.
"Overall, this experience made me realize how important it is to speak up and use your voice because you can truly contribute to change."
McKenzie, who is also one of three student reps on Illinois' campus-wide athletic board, is eager to share her experience with her peers within SAAC. The Illini community can learn a lot from her time in the Chicagoland area, McKenzie says, and she is excited to put her new outlook into practice.
"For the future, the experience taught me to be open-minded when it comes to interacting with peers. It is important to listen and understand my peers' perspectives. I was impacted by my peers by hearing their views on change and growth," McKenzie said. "The experience has taught me how the Big Ten Conference cares about its athletes, and they do all they can to enhance the student-athlete experience. Sometimes you can't see the change right in front of you, but being at the meeting showed me the many different changes that the Big Ten is trying to make for us student-athletes.Â
"Change is hard. It takes time, effort, and a lot of planning to ensure change can be made. Change can never be done alone, and this meeting emphasized that."
SAAC provides a valuable platform for student-athletes to amplify their voices, foster connections, and cultivate leadership skills. The meetings held at the Big Ten headquarters emphasized the importance of active participation within member institutions and reminded our Illini to take advantage of the opportunities presented to them.
