CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference’s annual fall meetings concluded on Thursday, wrapping up a two-day agenda that included decisions on scheduling, NCAA committee reports and updates on ACC football, men’s and women’s basketball, and Olympic sports.
“The collaboration among our schools continues to be one of this league’s greatest strengths,” said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. “The inclusion of our student-athletes as part of our meetings only enhances the process and decision making by our governance structure, and there’s great anticipation surrounding the opportunities this league has as we look to the future.”
The meetings included faculty athletic representatives, athletic directors and senior woman administrators from each of the conference’s 15 member schools, as well as members of the ACC’s staff. As part of the governance structure, three student-athletes – North Carolina fencer Ezra Baeli-Wang, Virginia Tech swimmer Brandon Fiala and Duke cross country, track and field runner Madison Granger – also participated in the meeting. Baeli-Wang is the chair of theACC’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, while Fiala and Granger are two of the ACC’s student-athlete representatives for the autonomy process.
Announcements from the ACC’s Fall Meetings include:
·As was announced Wednesday, the league’s athletic directors voted to continue with the current scheduling model for football, with each team playing eight conference games in addition to at least one nonconference game against a Power 5 nonconference opponent.
·The 2017 ACC Men’s Lacrosse Championship will be held at Duke’s Koskinen Stadium. The top four seeds following the regular season will compete for the title beginning with the semifinals on Friday, April 28, and concluding with the championship game on Sunday, April 30.
·The ACC Baseball Championship is changing to a different pool play format, and will expand to include 12 teams, leading to a four-team, single-elimination bracket to determine the league champion. The 2017 Championship will be held May 23-28 at Louisville Slugger Field in Louisville, Kentucky. The winners of four three-team pools will advance to the single-elimination semifinal round on Saturday, May 27, with the title game set for Sunday, May 28.
·For the second year, ACC student-athletes took part in the ACC Fall Meetings.
"As student-athletes, we recognize the enormous privilege and responsibility associated with our involvement at these meetings,” said Baeli-Wang. “We take our roles very seriously, knowing that the issues we're discussing affect our friends and teammates every day, and will impact the experience of rising generations of student-athletes."
"I'm grateful to be part of a conference that values student-athlete input and empowers them to be involved in the way that the ACC does,” said Granger. “The three of us here have taken our leadership roles in this process seriously, knowing we have the ability to make a meaningful impact on the lives of student-athletes, and it has been a very rewarding experience."
"I am honored to be given the unique opportunity to interact with upper level administration on various issues surrounding student-athletes today,” Brandon Fiala. “Through these meetings Ezra, Madison and I feel that we are working towards creating a better future for those student-athletes that are to come after us at our institutions."
The University of North Carolina served as the host institution for the 2016 ACC fall meetings. The site of the annual fall meeting rotates among the league’s campuses and is based on the respective institution of the current President of the Conference.
“The collaboration among our schools continues to be one of this league’s greatest strengths,” said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. “The inclusion of our student-athletes as part of our meetings only enhances the process and decision making by our governance structure, and there’s great anticipation surrounding the opportunities this league has as we look to the future.”
The meetings included faculty athletic representatives, athletic directors and senior woman administrators from each of the conference’s 15 member schools, as well as members of the ACC’s staff. As part of the governance structure, three student-athletes – North Carolina fencer Ezra Baeli-Wang, Virginia Tech swimmer Brandon Fiala and Duke cross country, track and field runner Madison Granger – also participated in the meeting. Baeli-Wang is the chair of theACC’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, while Fiala and Granger are two of the ACC’s student-athlete representatives for the autonomy process.
Announcements from the ACC’s Fall Meetings include:
·As was announced Wednesday, the league’s athletic directors voted to continue with the current scheduling model for football, with each team playing eight conference games in addition to at least one nonconference game against a Power 5 nonconference opponent.
·The 2017 ACC Men’s Lacrosse Championship will be held at Duke’s Koskinen Stadium. The top four seeds following the regular season will compete for the title beginning with the semifinals on Friday, April 28, and concluding with the championship game on Sunday, April 30.
·The ACC Baseball Championship is changing to a different pool play format, and will expand to include 12 teams, leading to a four-team, single-elimination bracket to determine the league champion. The 2017 Championship will be held May 23-28 at Louisville Slugger Field in Louisville, Kentucky. The winners of four three-team pools will advance to the single-elimination semifinal round on Saturday, May 27, with the title game set for Sunday, May 28.
·For the second year, ACC student-athletes took part in the ACC Fall Meetings.
"As student-athletes, we recognize the enormous privilege and responsibility associated with our involvement at these meetings,” said Baeli-Wang. “We take our roles very seriously, knowing that the issues we're discussing affect our friends and teammates every day, and will impact the experience of rising generations of student-athletes."
"I'm grateful to be part of a conference that values student-athlete input and empowers them to be involved in the way that the ACC does,” said Granger. “The three of us here have taken our leadership roles in this process seriously, knowing we have the ability to make a meaningful impact on the lives of student-athletes, and it has been a very rewarding experience."
"I am honored to be given the unique opportunity to interact with upper level administration on various issues surrounding student-athletes today,” Brandon Fiala. “Through these meetings Ezra, Madison and I feel that we are working towards creating a better future for those student-athletes that are to come after us at our institutions."
The University of North Carolina served as the host institution for the 2016 ACC fall meetings. The site of the annual fall meeting rotates among the league’s campuses and is based on the respective institution of the current President of the Conference.
