The Big 12 Conference hosted its annual Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Career Tour in Dallas on December 5-7 in conjunction with the Dr Pepper Big 12 Football Championship. The Conference welcomed 20 representatives from its member institutions to participate in various activities and engage with successful business leaders and experienced hiring professionals in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The student-athletes had the opportunity to develop professional skills desirable from an employer’s perspective, build relationships and learn how to prepare for a career after sport.
To kick things off, the group heard from former Texas running back Chris Ogbonnaya, founder of All-Purpose Sports Advisory, at an interactive forum on Thursday evening. Ogbonnaya advised the group on what the transition to life after sports looks like by offering to help athletes see who they are at the moment, where they envision themselves in the future and how they can propel themselves into achieving their goals.
Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby greeted the group for breakfast on Friday morning, beginning a full day’s worth of activities with an engaging question and answer session. After traveling to the Learfield IMG College headquarters in Plano, the student-athletes entered a preparatory seminar with Kate Burda, CEO/Founder of Kate Burda & Co., geared at preparing them for the afternoon’s Career Workshop. Burda spoke to the group on the best practices when starting a career.
A panel of six business leaders and experienced hiring professionals provided the student-athletes with advice on how to prepare for a career after sport. The group was encouraged to prepare insightful questions for the panelists to drive an engaging discussion throughout the day. Matilyn Skinner, the Conference’s Student-Athlete Programs Assistant, moderated the panel discussion by asking introductory questions before turning it over to the student-athletes, who then had the opportunity to network with the panelists over the course of the afternoon.
At the Career Workshop, student-athletes worked one-on-one with business professionals and hiring specialists in a variety of activities that included mock interviews, resume review sessions, cover letter preparations, post-grad information and personal branding sessions. This provided the student-athletes with a wealth of valuable skills and experiences that they will be able to take with them into their professional careers.
The group participated in a networking reception Friday evening before immersing themselves in an organic networking environment on Saturday with the attendees of the 2019 Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship game.
The Conference SAAC is comprised of 24 student-athletes. Each member institution selects one male and one female representative. Additionally, the Big 12 has one representative to Division I SAAC and a trio of student-athletes serve as Conference representatives to Autonomy Governance.
2019 Big 12 SAAC Career Tour Attendees
J.B. Sandlund, Baylor, Track & Field/Cross Country
Georgia Smith, Baylor, Equestrian
Thomas Pollard, Iowa State, Track & Field/Cross Country
Emma Ruehle, Iowa State, Swimming & Diving
George Letner, Kansas, Track & Field/Cross Country
Katy Schlies, Kansas, Swimming & Diving
Ben Fernandez, Kansas State, Golf
Reid Isaac, Kansas State, Golf
Megan Reilly, Oklahoma, Soccer
Heath Warren, Oklahoma, Track & Field/Cross Country
Kami Hankins, Oklahoma State, Track & Field/Cross Country
Jaci Jones, Oklahoma State, Soccer
Claire Dittrich, TCU, Equestrian
Kellton Hollins, TCU, Football
Connor O’Neill, Texas, Track & Field/Cross Country
Zuliat Alli, Texas Tech, Track & Field
Lonzell Gilmore, Texas Tech, Football
Bjorn Thomson, Texas Tech, Tennis
Miranda Marcucci, West Virginia, Swimming & Diving
Eric Sjostedt, West Virginia, Football