NEW YORK – Last week, on Voter Registration Day, the BIG EAST Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) kicked off a voter registration challenge that will continue through Oct. 30. The challenge is part of an overall goal to increase civic awareness among student-athletes which resonates appropriately in a Presidential election and census data collection year.
 
After the first week of the challenge, DePaul, Xavier and Providence have the highest percentages of eligible student-athlete voters registered.  
 
The metric used in the voter registration challenge is a percentage of the number of student-athletes registered to vote based on the total number of eligible student-athletes at the particular BIG EAST institution.
 
Each week, the BIG EAST Conference will highlight the three institutions with the highest percentage on the BIG EAST social media platforms. Additionally, the BIG EAST has created a conference branded “I Registered” Instagram sticker to help highlight BIG EAST student-athletes, fans, coaches and supporters who are registered or who have registered to vote.
 
Earlier this month, the BIG EAST and SAAC released a voter education PSA video, RISE to Action, produced by the BIG EAST Digital Network, which featured student-athlete representatives from all 11 conference institutions. The PSA video is a component of the BIG EAST Conference’s greater partnership with the Ross Institute for Sports Equality (RISE), as well as a piece of the BIG EAST Student-Athlete Advisory Committee’s (SAAC) initiative to increase civic engagement amongst their peers.
 
During the BIG EAST SAAC’s annual meeting this summer, the student-athlete representatives identified voter registration and civic awareness as an area of focus for this academic year.  The RISE To Action PSA, which was scripted by RISE, kicked off SAAC’s fall 2020 campaign. In addition to this PSA, the BIG EAST SAAC subcommittee on Service and Initiatives will create additional ideas surrounding civic engagement and education.  Additionally, the national Division I SAAC introduced a legislative proposal to establish Election Day, Nov. 3, as a “Day of Action,” which prohibits student-athletes from participating in countable athletic related activities. This proposal was groundbreaking for Division I SAAC as it was the first piece of legislation proposed and adopted by the NCAA from the student-athlete committee.
 
In addition to the PSA, the BIG EAST and RISE partnered to host a range of programming surrounding civic education. Over the past month, the BIG EAST held a three-part workshop on voting with all 11 schools participating. For more on the workshops visit, www.bigeast.com/RISE.

For more information on voting, visit www.bigeast.com/SAACvotes.