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cavalier sports 6 CAVALIER CORNER behind the scenes Jocelyn Willoughby Named To NCAA Committee S econd-year guard Jocelyn Willoughby is more than just a basketball player. She's interested in people, processes and how things work. Though she is undeclared for a major she is considering global studies. The interdisciplinary program challenges students to analyze and critique theories of global de- velopment from multiple perspectives. "You can go in several different direc- tions with it," Willoughby said. "You can go from a sociological perspective, an anthro- pological, political or economic perspective, and kind of make the major what you want it to be." Which explains why when associate ath- letics director for basketball administra- tion Sarah Holsinger came to Willoughby about the opportunity to serve on the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Oversight Committee, the East Orange, N.J., native couldn't pass it up. "We're really just giving our insight in terms of okay, what are we going through," Willoughby explained. "Changes we want to see. How we want to enhance the student- athlete experience. "That's something I feel that I need to speak up on because everyone else on the committee is either a coach, athletic di- rector or higher up. When you're removed in a sense, you don't quite understand the student-athletes." The goal of the oversight committee is to prioritize enhancement of the student-ath- lete educational experience (academically and athletically), and in doing so, promote student-athletes' personal growth and lead- ership development. Willoughby serves on the Student Ath- letic Advisory Committee and Student Ath- lete Mentors at Virginia, and said that expe- rience has helped her understand the value of seeking different viewpoints. "It's easy for me to base everything on my own experience, but I'm just one per- son and I'm supposed to represent many," she said. "I'm trying to make sure I'm giving informed input and getting multiple perspectives. "For certain issues, whether it's transfer- ring or team demands, I'll talk to my team- mates and people on other teams and even the coaches and try and understand what are we really talking about? What are the issues here?" The Oversight Committee appeals to Wil- loughby's passion for knowing how things work and being challenged to critique the process as well as her own views. "I get to see the other side of all the con- siderations that go into decision making," she noted. "It definitely gives me a greater appre- ciation for all of the thought that goes into college basketball, and not everything is going to be perfect obviously, but you get a greater appreciation and understanding of why things are as they are," Willoughby added. "The rules that we have and espe- cially not knowing all of the athletes, the things the coaches have to consider, coming up with our schedules, the time demands and the nit-picky details." Just like global studies, the oversight committee focuses on understanding the how and why of women's college basketball and the various dynamics at play. "I think that definitely ties into my ma- jor," she said. "You have different levels that you need to understand, whether it's the people sociologically, or looking at struc- tures within economics or politics." — Greg Waters Willoughby, who was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team last year, was appointed as a non-voting, student-athlete member of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Oversight Committee. PHOTO BY MATT RILEY/COURTESY UVA "It definitely gives me a greater appreciation for all of the thought that goes into college basketball … you get a greater apprecia- tion and understanding of why things are as they are." WILLOUGHBY