"Student-athletes at our schools are really elite at what they are doing. They're competing for Pac-12 championships, national championships and many are going on to the Olympics or professional sports," explained Scott. "We're trying to figure out how you respect that and balance that and give them everything they need to succeed, but also recognize that most student-athletes here are not going to be professional athletes and are not going to compete after college. They've got an amazing opportunity here and we want to make sure they have enough time and flexibility to fully take advantage of that."
After last year's NCAA Convention, Scott made a commitment to the conference that he would visit every campus to talk with students before he meets with the commissioners from the other Power 5 conferences in April. He knows that every sport, campus and student-athlete is different, so Scott's goal is to hear from as many different students as possible to understand how to best serve and represent the conference at large. After his afternoon at USC, the fifth school he's visited so far, the commissioner said he's learned a lot more about the unique demands among different sports and the holistic time commitment involved in being a student-athlete, including warm-ups, practices, meals, film, etc.
"Meeting with Mr. Scott was a great opportunity for us to share our thoughts on the time demands required of student-athletes," said USC QB Max Browne, a member of the student-athlete group that met with the commissioner on Friday. "It's awesome to know that the conference is looking to better the experience of student-athletes while at the same time not taking away the drive to be great within each of our sports."
An important conclusion that Scott has drawn from his meetings so far, is that while collegiate sports require enormous amounts of time and sacrifice, every athlete he's met with doesn't want to dial back the effort he or she puts into their sport. The commissioner has found that student-athletes are simply looking for more flexibility, in both their academic and athletic commitments and requirements. According to Scott, the best solution to be discussed at the Power 5 conferences' meeting in April, is increased communication and a sharing of best practices when it comes to managing time and balancing schedules within each sport.Â
