The first year of the Atlantic 10’s partnership with the It’s On Us campaign has resulted in substantial outreach by the league, its members institutions and its student-athletes in the name of a great cause.
A growing nationwide movement that has had a noticeable presence in college athletics, It’s On Us is designed to impact campuses by mobilizing the student communities, supporting many student-led efforts, and collaborating with private partners. This includes organizations like the A-10 that have powerful reaches with college students and on campuses.
The cornerstone of the campaign is “taking the pledge” to stop campus sexual violence. With the help of its campuses, the Atlantic 10 has arranged for pledge drives at three of its championships this year, resulting in over 1,000 new pledges. There were 340 individuals that took the pledge at the volleyball championship, more than 200 who took the pledge at the track and field championship and just over 500 that made the commitment at the men’s basketball championship.
The A-10 and its member institutions also have contributed to the movement by utilizing their media platforms and assets to raise awareness of the campaign. Nine A-10 member institutions have made their own campaign videos. The league also participated in the National Week of Action in November, which included the pledge drive at the A-10 Volleyball Championship.
The league aired It's On Us PSAs in more than 100 national and regionally televised basketball games this year and displayed signage, read PA announcements and ran PSAs at each of the A-10's championship events.
VCU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) created an It's On Us pledge drive video. VCU’s efforts resulted in this article in the Richmond Times Dispatch.
George Mason lacrosse student-athlete Erin Anderson might have gotten the most visibility of all however. Anderson was featured as the closing voice on the It’s On Us video that played on television and in arenas during the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship.
The Atlantic 10 had representatives from It's On Us attend its January Joint Meetings to speak with its Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
Finally, several Atlantic 10 campuses also made announcements regarding their involvement in the campaign. Each of those stories can be viewed here:
For continuing information about the Atlantic 10’s involvement in It’s On Us, visit: Atlantic10.com/ItsOnUs