NEW YORK – The fourth annual BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Transition Game program concluded on Sunday in Midtown Manhattan. Thirty student-athletes from across the conference’s 10 member schools enjoyed an interactive educational and professional development weekend, which included Q&A sessions with such industry leaders as BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman, Executive Director of the WNBA Players Association Terri Jackson, human resources specialist Cheryl Gelzer Alexis, JD, basketball television analyst Monica McNutt, and mental health expert Dr. Alfiee M. Breland-Noble.
On Saturday, in addition to Ackerman, Jackson and former Georgetown standout McNutt, student-athletes heard from Vice President of the Connecticut Sun and New England Black Wolves Amber Cox, Providence Associate Head Coach Priscilla Edwards, recent Villanova graduate Jannah Tucker, and Karleena Tobin, a referee at the Division I, WNBA and the NBA G League levels. Following a self-assessment exercise to identify each individual’s personal strengths, the group discussed the importance of mental health with Dr. Alfiee, before traveling downtown to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum and enjoying dinner at an iconic New York City restaurant.
“One of the unique things about the Transition Game is that the student-athletes get to hear from a lot of different women in the industry,” said Tracy Ellis-Ward, BIG EAST Associate Commissioner for Women’s Basketball. “They can then reflect upon being in their shoes someday, whatever career path they might choose. The fact they get to interact with these women is a special bonus.”
Sunday’s sessions focused on elevator speeches, resume building and mock interviews, facilitated by Gelzer Alexis and Michael Sainte, BIG EAST Senior Director of Compliance and Membership Services. Student-athletes took turns interviewing in front of the group, which then provided feedback on the mock session.
“We try to be diverse in the selection of speakers,” Ellis-Ward continued, “whether it’s someone with an officiating background or college administration or someone that went to law school. We try to target alums – that has a special meaning for the student-athletes to see someone that has been in their shoes before as part of the BIG EAST family.”
Attendees Quotes
Monica McNutt, basketball television analyst
“The BIG EAST is so special to me – to be able to watch them in games and then have a setting like this where you get to have more intimate conversations where the focus isn’t just winning the contest that night, it’s an incredible resource. I think our panel, Careers in the Game, was so dynamic – Karleena Tobin, Priscilla Edwards, Amber Cox and Jannah Tucker, who literally just graduated last year but has already been able to grasp what she experienced as a student-athlete and how it can help her navigate her future – I’m inspired!
“The BIG EAST is ahead of the curve – we mentioned it on the panel with the focus on mental health in student-athletes. Part of mental health has to do with uncertainty, so to take a small part of that uncertainty that comes with graduation, and grasp it and look at it in the face and not make it the beast it can be because it’s an unknown, but to have conversations, meet people who want to be resources to help these young ladies navigate their next step. The BIG EAST is ahead of the game.”
Terri Jackson, Executive Director of WNBA Players Association
“It’s really terrific that the BIG EAST would do something like this, an event like this, for student-athletes, particularly for the women’s student-athletes. Helping them in their transition, helping them to start thinking now, at the beginning of the school year, what life could be like.
“The BIG EAST is something special. I knew that when I was a student, even though I wasn’t a student-athlete, they take care of their own. And one of the things that I heard during this event was how special this family is and what a family setting it is. It was rewarding to be part of it.”
Amber Cox, Connecticut Sun Vice President
“It’s an unbelievable resource for these student-athletes to be able to hear from professionals, to learn life skills, to talk about job hunting, resume building. It really sets the BIG EAST apart, when you talk about a conference office bringing the student-athletes to New York, to let them experience a day-and-a-half not only of learning but a lot of fun and getting to know one another, because even those relationships are beneficial long term.”
Shadeen Samuels, Seton Hall student-athlete
“It’s very cool because a lot of people that we play against on the court, getting to know them now, it’s like a totally different person. It’s interesting to get to know people – what they like, where they’re from.
“This [weekend] has helped me a lot because often times I feel like I don’t know what I want to do and it’s scary, but hearing [the speakers] talk about it and hearing how they did a lot of things they never thought they would do, it made me feel more comfortable. I don’t have to stress myself out about what I’m going to do when I graduate.
“We learned to not take what we do for granted. I wake up, go to basketball, go to class and go home, and I don’t think anything of it, but we do learn a lot and that will translate over into when we graduate.”
Chante Stonewall, DePaul student-athlete
“It’s way bigger than basketball and I’m so happy that the BIG EAST is a conference that really understands us as women, and knowing that, instilling these values in us will give us the confidence to be great in the world and inspire future generations to be just like us.
“I learned that there’s no one direct path. I could wake up tomorrow and want to be a photographer, go to sleep and the next day want to be a veterinarian. There are so many different options and I do have resources just in case I change my mind. Knowing I have support, even with other players, meeting these other girls, knowing they’re in support of everything we do, it’s super cool. I’m happy that the BIG EAST is hosting this.”
Breonna Mayfield, Georgetown student-athlete
“My biggest takeaway [from this weekend] was, I’m the kind of person that wants answers – where’s my internship coming from, what are you going to do, time is running out – and this definitely made me take a deep breath – it’s okay that you don’t have everything figured out, but at least you know what you’re passionate about. You have all these great skills that basketball has taught you and more of that is to come because I’m only a junior. It gave me confidence to keep doing what I’m doing, keep being headstrong because things are going to work out for me.”
Jannah Tucker, former Villanova student-athlete, 2019 panelist
“The Transition Game is extremely beneficial, especially seeing it now, post-grad. As athletes we tend to not really think about life after our sport because we love it so much and we’re committed to it so much. But life after sports is important.”