Bruffy to Represent Big 12 at NCAA Convention

Travis Bruffy will be one of 15 student-athletes to attend the NCAA autonomy session Thursday

 

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech senior offensive lineman Travis Bruffy has been selected as one of three Big 12 student-athlete representatives to attend the NCAA Convention’s autonomy session Thursday in Orlando.

Bruffy, one of 15 student-athletes from across the five autonomy conferences to attend the annual conference, will play a key role in voting on potential NCAA legislation that is designed at improving the overall student-athlete experience.

“Travis Bruffy is an excellent representative for his peers across the nation and here at Texas Tech University,” Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt said. “It is a tremendous honor to have a Texas Tech student-athlete represent the Big 12 Conference at the highest level, and I know Travis will do a phenomenal job representing our student-athletes and those of other Big 12 institutions.”

Bruffy becomes the second Texas Tech student-athlete to represent the Big 12 at the NCAA Convention, joining Anthony Lyons, who attended the 2015 and 2016 conventions as a member of the Red Raider baseball program.

“It is truly an honor to represent not only Texas Tech but the Big 12 at the NCAA Convention this week,” Bruffy said. “I am looking forward to discussing key issues with my fellow student-athletes from all across the country and coming to an agreement as to how our legislation should move forward. It is an exciting time, and I promise to wear the Double T proudly.”

The Big 12 will also be represented by Kansas State soccer student-athlete Krista Haddock and TCU women’s basketball student-athlete Amy Okonkwo. Bruffy will be one of four participating football student-athletes, joining Blake Ferguson of LSU, Malcom Holland of Arizona and Demetrius Jackson of Miami.

The current NCAA Division-I governance structure, adopted in August 2014, provides autonomy to the high-visibility conferences (Big 12, ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC) to adopt rules in a set of specific areas and ensures that student-athletes have the ability to vote in the decision-making process.

Under the autonomy process, each institution in those five conferences will have one vote and there will be three student-athlete representatives per conference that will also have one vote each. The student-athlete representatives will work alongside university chancellors and presidents, athletics directors, senior woman administrators, faculty athletics representatives and athletics administrators during the autonomy discussion and business sessions.

Among the topics up for discussion this week is requiring schools to make mental health services and resources available to all student-athletes, a proposal that has already been adopted by Texas Tech. The athletics department hired Dr. Tyler Bradstreet as its Director of Clinical and Sport Psychology this past September.

The NCAA Convention is being held this year at the Orlando World Center Marriott.

–TECH–

Matt Dowdy

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