Rice One of 15 Student-Athletes Participating in NCAA Meetings
LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of Kentucky women’s basketball senior center Alyssa Rice is one of 15 student-athletes that will participate in the NCAA Autonomy meetings this week in Indianapolis. Rice will represent the Southeastern Conference as part of the Autonomy Conferences’ (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12, SEC) efforts to engage and empower student-athletes by giving them both a voice and vote within a transparent decision-making process.
The autonomy governance model grants flexibility to schools in the Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac 12 and Southeastern conferences to change specified rules within Division I. The legislative process for these 65 schools includes three student-athlete representatives from each conference who will vote on rule changes. Voting on autonomy issues includes 15 total student-athletes (three from each of the Autonomy Conferences) who, collectively, will cast votes in greater number than four of the five Autonomy Conferences.
Many of the 13 proposals under consideration were submitted this past fall, including improved medical care and measures designed to enhance student-athlete and prospective student-athlete welfare. In the previous three autonomy sessions, representatives have enacted significant reforms to help student-athletes succeed in college and in life, in areas including time balance, scholarship protections, cost of attendance, concussion protocol and student-athlete welfare.
The autonomy proposals will be reviewed during a discussion forum Thursday beginning at noon ET, while voting on the proposals will occur during the autonomy business session on Friday beginning at 10 a.m. ET.
Earlier this year, Rice was voted chair of the SEC Women’s Basketball Leadership Council and the SEC’s representative on NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Competition Committee. She was a participant in the Autonomy Five Meeting and SEC Spring Meetings last June.
Rice has played in 112 career games with 62 starts as a Wildcat. A three-year member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, Rice is having a career season for UK playing and starting in all 19 games. The native of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, is averaging 7.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game this season, while leading the team with 20 blocks. Rice was named to the SEC Community Service Team last season and earlier this year traveled with several other UK athletes on a service trip to Panama.
In addition to representatives from the 65 universities, 15 student-athletes will give a voice for the tens of thousands of current student-athletes in the five conferences. The student-athletes participating in the autonomy process this year are:
Name – Institution – Sport
Angie Allen – Kansas – Women’s Rowing
Christian Blough – Ohio State – Men’s Volleyball
Brady Bramlett – Ole Miss – Baseball
Ben-Marvin Egel – Purdue – Men’s Golf
Madison Granger – Duke – Women’s Cross Country
Harli Hubbard – NC State – Softball
Demetrius Jackson – Miami – Football
Abu Kamara – Washington State – Men’s Track & Field
Brandon Lee – Missouri – Football
Anthony Lyons, Jr. – Texas Tech – Baseball
Nandi Mehta – Northwestern – Women’s Soccer
Amy Okonkwo – TCU – Women’s Basketball
Taylor Ricci – Oregon State – Women’s Gymnastics
Alyssa Rice – Kentucky – Women’s Basketball
Kristiana Warth – Arizona State – Women’s Track & Field
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, or Kentucky Women’s Basketball on Facebook.
