A look into how Missouri Athletics communicates with athletes in a time of crisis

Missouri defensive specialist Riley Sents, center, celebrates a point with the rest of the Gold team in the second set of the Black and Gold game on August 16 at the Hearnes Center. Sents is the President of Missouri’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, which gives student-athletes a way to voice their questions or concerns. It has been more beneficial than ever since the coronavirus pandemic started.
Liv Paggiarino/Missourian

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Riley Sents may be done representing Missouri on the volleyball court, but she still has an important role to play for her fellow student-athletes, especially during the coronavirus pandemic.

The redshirt senior who wrapped up her final volleyball season in the fall is the President of Missouri’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, a body made up of representatives from every Tigers sports team that serves as a bridge between the student-athletes and the athletic department. Sents oversees the committee’s meetings and helps decide which topics to focus on — a role with greater importance during the current crisis.

SAAC provides a structure for student-athletes to voice their questions or concerns and have them communicated to whoever in the administration is best equipped to answer. The cancellations of competitions and the NCAA decision on extra eligibility for spring athletes in recent weeks have made that communication critical.

“It was definitely hard for our winter and spring sport athletes with their seasons getting cut short,” Sents said. “A lot of the questions were regarding how that would be moving forward … And also when facilities will be open, and people will be able to come back.”

One of the biggest storylines, both locally and nationally, once sports events were wiped out last month was whether student-athletes who had their seasons truncated or canceled would receive additional years of eligibility. The NCAA allowed eligibility relief for spring-sport athletes, but not for those playing winter sports.

“Obviously it’s really heartbreaking for those winter sport athletes who had their seasons cut short and the seniors who might have had their careers cut short,” Sents said. “With the spring athletes ... it’s still hard knowing because not everyone is going to be able to take that extra year depending on where they’re at in their lives.”

Adam Kiel, Missouri’s Assistant Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Development, oversees communications between SAAC and the department. He agreed that the lack of extra eligibility for winter sports was perhaps the most disappointing development of the crisis thus far for the athletes.

“You’re looking at gymnastics, who was still in their regular season, wrestling had just finished their conference tournament and was headed to nationals,” Kiel said. “Those student-athletes did not get their year of eligibility back, which was really disappointing for them.”

For spring athletes who need to determine whether they will use their extra eligibility, and any athlete concerned with the many moving pieces of the virus situation, the athletic department has been working to raise the levels of communication with SAAC and the student-athlete body.

Athletic director Jim Sterk addressed SAAC members in a video conference April 2, giving the committee a chance to receive updates directly from the top.

“That was an awesome opportunity because (Sterk) could see everybody, the student-athletes could see him, and kind of have that line of direct communication, which was a special opportunity with the athletic director,” said Miranda McKinsey, who works with Kiel overseeing SAAC and its relations with the department.

Kiel said that topics of the video conference ranged from general coronavirus updates to the eligibility decision and the logistics of how student-athletes are getting by with campus mostly shut down. Sterk has also addressed all student-athletes with regular email updates whenever information is available, even when the update is that there is no update.

“We’ve been really appreciative of one, the fact that they all hopped on that call with us in our SAAC meeting, and then also it’s been nice to hear from them weekly, regardless of changes or not changes,” Sents said. “I think that everybody has been really appreciative of the communication that’s been going on.”

McKinsey said SAAC is also working to garner feedback from athletes on how athletic and school administrations have handled the coronavirus fallout, adding questions about the process to a survey it conducts each academic year. The feedback is ongoing and will be used to inform administrative actions as the situation progresses.

“The biggest thing that moving forward I’m hoping for, in terms of for SAAC, is just a place where everyone can get on the same page,” McKinsey said. “Just making sure everyone is staying updated on that information and how to best lead and guide and support and mentor your teammates.”