IRVINE, Calif. – The Big West is proud to announce its new virtual development series of webinars set to commence the fall and run throughout the 2023-24 academic calendar. The topics were selected based off of feedback from the 2023 Student-Athlete Experience Survey and in alignment with NCAA Tranformation Committee recommendations.

Each interactive session will focus on a topic that helps develop and implement leadership and career development competencies or provide diversity, equity, and inclusion education to student-athletes. While these sessions are catered for student-athletes, all administrators and coaches are welcome to attend. 

With coordination from Leslie Chang, Assistant Commissioner for Student-Athlete Programming/ADID, The Big West will also facilitate partnerships with organizations and guest speakers for select sessions to enhance the student-athlete experience on various topics including leadership development, career education, and mental health. 

Every Big West school has a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, an organization assembled to provide insight into the student-athlete experience and meets separately on each of the 11 campuses throughout the year to plan, participate in, and facilitate events for the student-athlete community.

The Big West also sponsors a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee which is made up of two representatives from each of our 11 institutions. Additionally, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is present at the National Office where each 31 Division I Conferences has a representative. Long Beach State women's Track and field student-athlete Keeley Rasmussen represents The Big West on the national level. 

The Big West's SAAC representatives can be found here. 

The following interactive webinars include discussions pertaining to:   

• Mental Health
• Financial Literacy  
• Graduate School Prep 
• Professional Branding
• Mindfulness  
• What comes next? Life and Identity after Sports 
• Stress Management  
• So, You Want to Work in Sports? 
• Former Student-Athlete Interview Sessions 
• Interview Skills
• Presenting With Presence 
• Mothers Against Drunk Driving

Stayed tuned for updates regarding specific dates, times, and guest speakers in the coming weeks and months.