Pac-12 announces student-athlete representatives for fifth year of NCAA autonomy structure
Jan 23, 2019
SAN FRANCISCO – The Pac-12 Conference announced today that Malcolm Holland of Arizona, Khadejah Jackson of Oregon and Kayla Ellis of Oregon State will represent the Conference and serve as student-athlete representatives in the fifth year of Division I autonomy structure. The three Pac-12 student-athletes and 12 other student-athlete representatives will join representatives from each of the 65 member-schools of the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC to discuss and vote on a series of proposals designed to improve the student-athlete experience. The group is set to meet in Orlando, Fla. on Thursday, Jan. 24.
The 15 student-athlete athlete representatives will have a full vote on the measures set forth and have been included in discussions at the conference level. This year the Pac-12 sponsored a proposal that ensures mental health services for student-athletes and mandates athletic departments distribute mental health educational materials and resources to student-athletes.
Holland, a redshirt sophomore for Arizona football, missed the 2018 season due to injuries after playing in all 13 games last year as a reserve cornerback and special teams contributor. Pursuing a degree in accounting, the Chandler, Ariz. native originally signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a 33rd-round selection in the 2011 MLB Draft. After playing parts of four seasons of professional baseball (2011-14) in the Dodgers organization, he joined the Wildcats in 2016.
Jackson is in the midst of her junior season for Oregon track and field where she is pursuing a business major and a double minor in computer information technology and economics. For the University of Oregon, she is a career top-10 performer in the 60-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles. In 2017, Jackson received Pac-12 Track & Field All-Academic honorable mention. She is currently a member of the Pac-12 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and serves as the Pac-12 representative on the NCAA DI Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
“I’m so grateful to be a student-athlete and don’t take for granted that I have an opportunity to represent so many other student-athletes in the Pac-12,” said Jackson. “I believe it’s crucial for our voices to be heard, understood and furthermore, that we be considered and humanized in all aspects of our lives, both in our sport and out.”
Ellis, a senior for Oregon State women’s volleyball, earned Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention this year for a third-straight season. Majoring in kinesiology, she finished her career third on Oregon State’s digs list with 1,487.
Now in its fifth year, the autonomy process was established in August 2014 when the NCAA Division I Board of Directors voted to restructure Division I governance such that student-athletes would have an active, decision-making voice as part of the new autonomy structure. The meetings take place annually at the NCAA Convention.
About the Pac-12 Conference
The Conference has a tradition as the “Conference of Champions,” leading the nation in NCAA Championships in 52 of the last 58 years, with 516 NCAA team titles overall. The Conference comprises 12 leading U.S. universities - the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Colorado, the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Stanford University, the University of Southern California, the University of Utah, the University of Washington and Washington State University. For more information on the Conference’s programs, member institutions, and Commissioner Larry Scott, go to Pac-12.com/conference.