WASHINGTON – The Atlantic 10 Conference Fall Business Meetings concluded Tuesday with Athletic Directors, Senior Woman Administrators (SWA), Faculty Athletic Representatives (FAR) and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) in attendance. This joint meeting marked the ninth year student-athletes from the A-10 membership have participated in league meetings.
 
The meeting focused on national issues including the upcoming House v. NCAA settlement, NCAA congressional and legislative activity, possible NCAA Tournament expansion and name, image and likeness (NIL) policies, procedures and issues related to expanding NIL practices across Division I athletics. Additionally, the agenda addressed women’s basketball unit distribution, the ongoing planning of the Atlantic 10 50th Anniversary for 2025-26 and the next generation educational & student-athlete model discussed by the D1 Council.
 
"We had a highly productive fall meetings with the Faculty Athletic Representatives, Student Athlete Advisory Committee leaders, Senior Woman Administrators and Athletic Directors,” said Chris May, Director of Athletics at Saint Louis University and chair of the A-10 Athletic Directors group. “The entire Atlantic 10 leadership group engaged in discussion on how the Atlantic 10 can move forward with shared objectives and continued commitment to student-athletes as we embrace the next steps of the evolution of the NCAA."
 
NCAA staff briefed the full group on congressional activity related to the House settlement, the Johnson v. NCAA case and other ongoing cases impacting the landscape of college athletics. The group also received year-end reports from the conference’s three television partners, with executives from CBS Sports, NBC Sports and ESPN presenting to the group. Highlighted among those presentations was the increased number of men’s and women’s basketball games televised throughout the networks for the upcoming seasons through the new media deal, including the entirety of the Men’s Basketball Championship now on linear television and the quarterfinals of the Women’s Basketball Championship airing on Peacock.  
 
“The meetings were incredibly informative and the opportunity to discuss the future of Division I with the Directors, Faculty Athletic Reps, Senior Woman Administrators and Student-Athletes was invigorating, intense and very strategic,” commented Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade.  “We are preparing for the new future in the post House environment and are committed to remaining a nationally relevant basketball-centric conference graduating our student-athletes.”
 
The basketball discussion focused on men’s and women’s non-conference scheduling as well as possible NCAA postseason bracket expansion. The group was given an update on the 2025 Men’s Basketball Championship at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. and the second year of the Women’s Basketball Championship at the Henrico Sports & Events Center in Virginia. Additionally, a briefing on the upcoming joint Atlantic 10 Media Day on October 7 at District E in Washington D.C. was discussed. This will be the first in-person joint men’s and women’s basketball media day for the A-10 in at least 15 years with both men’s and women’s coaches and student-athletes from all 15 schools gathering to promote the upcoming 2024-25 season. All 30 press conferences will be streamed on ESPN+ through all day coverage originating from the A-10 studio headquartered at the conference offices, hosted by Mike Corey and Isis Young.
 
Before the Athletic Directors and Senior Woman Administrators arrived on Monday, the SAAC and FAR groups were given an Old Towne Tour of Washington D.C., where they got the chance to see many of the D.C. historic monuments. The SAAC group participated in round table conversations on the A-10 voting initiative, the upcoming NCAA Diversity and Inclusion Campaign and NIL. They also participated in a professional development workshop facilitated by Dardis Communications, where they focused on communicating with confidence, developing and delivering high-level presentations and how to handle Q & A situations. The D-1 SAAC Representative, Saint Louis swimmer Daniel Jekov, provided a National SAAC update to the Athletic Directors.
 
The Senior Woman Administrators discussed ideas for increased programming initiatives for women student-athletes on campuses. The Faculty Athletic Representatives had a large discussion on increasing the opportunity for student-athletes to receive postgraduate scholarships from national academic awards.