The need for college sports leaders to engage with members of Congress has never been greater. How exactly to do so was the focus of a panel conversation Wednesday at the NCAA Convention in Phoenix.
Several hundred leaders in college sports gathered for a featured education session on the topic. The discussion also centered around the NCAA's four priorities for federal legislation: name, image and likeness protections for college athletes and their families; ensuring student-athletes do not become employees of their universities; providing a pathway for the NCAA to govern college sports without the threat of litigation; and preempting state law to provide a uniform playing field for student-athletes.Â
Panelists shared ways they have advocated to lawmakers about why these priorities are important to the future of college sports. The panelists were Davaris Cheeks, a football player at Concordia-St. Paul and a member of the Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee; Jen Flowers, director of athletics at Southwest Minnesota State; Angel Mason, director of athletics at Berry; and Charles McClelland, commissioner of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Robert Gibbs — a partner at Bully Pulpit Interactive, where he focuses on corporate reputation, executive communications and crisis response — moderated the discussion. (See bios below)
Through the discussion, panelists aimed to provide attendees with actionable ways to engage their congressional representatives through sharing a variety of examples of advocacy work. These examples ranged from writing letters to representatives, hosting members of Congress on campus or visiting Washington to engage with them on the realities some of the current legal threats pose to college sports in all three divisions. Attendees were reminded of the resources available to guide them through this process. Panelists emphasized to attendees the urgent need to get involved in these efforts and the impact that sharing their voices can have.
The discussion
The panelists
Davaris Cheeks, Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Division II SAAC representative and Football Student-Athlete, Concordia-St. Paul
Davaris Cheeks serves on the NCAA Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as a representative for the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. He also serves on the NCAA Division?II Presidents Council, the highest governing body in the Division II governance structure.
Originally from Aurora, Illinois, Cheeks is a football student-athlete at Concordia-St. Paul with a Bachelor of Arts in public relations. He is currently pursuing a master's in leadership and development at Concordia-St. Paul. Cheeks served as the school's student body president in 2022-23 and recently completed a marketing and business development internship at Loft Orbital, an aerospace engineering company based in San Francisco.
Jen Flowers, Director of Athletics, Southwest Minnesota State
Jen Flowers is in her second year as director of athletics at Southwest Minnesota State. She was named to the position on May 2022 and is the first female director of athletics in the university's history to oversee both the women's and men's programs.
Flowers came to Southwest Minnesota State after serving three seasons as the commissioner of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and has spent 16 years in administrative roles at the intercollegiate level.
Flowers was a four-year volleyball student-athlete at Winona State, earning her bachelor's degree from the school in 2003. In 2005, she earned a master's degree in education, recreation, park and leisure studies from Minnesota.
Angel Mason, Director of Athletics, Berry
Angel Mason was appointed director of athletics at Berry in June 2019. She is responsible for the oversight of 22 varsity programs and all athletics department operations. Mason also serves as president of the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators and as an Executive Committee board member for the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association.
She previously served as the senior associate athletics director and senior woman administrator for Pomona-Pitzer. Before that, Mason served as the associate director of athletics, senior woman administrator and professor of physical education at Hamilton. Mason started her athletics career at Vassar as an assistant women's basketball coach, an opportunity afforded to her through the NCAA Ethnic Minority and Women's Internship grant.
Mason graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in communication studies and a minor in English from Butler, where she played basketball for the Bulldogs. She earned her Master of Science in sports management while starting her career at Vassar. Mason earned a Doctor of Education in administration, where her research focused on the underrepresentation of African American women in NCAA Division III athletics.
Charles McClelland, Commissioner, Southwestern Athletic Conference
Charles F. McClelland was named the sixth commissioner of the Southwestern Athletic Conference in the summer of 2018. McClelland currently oversees a conference of 12 member schools boasting 18 sports that compete at the NCAA Division I and Football Championship Subdivision levels.
In addition to his duties at the league office, McClelland was selected to be a member of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee in March 2019 and is serving as chair of the committee for the 2023-24 season. Before arriving at the SWAC, McClelland served as vice president of intercollegiate athletics at Texas Southern. Before that, McClelland served as the athletics director at Prairie View A&M for seven years.
McClelland earned his bachelor's degree in accounting and a Master of Business Administration from Prairie View A&M. He earned his doctoral degree in higher education administration from Texas A&M in 2011. McClelland is a former member of the NCAA Leadership Council.
