LOS ANGELES (May 25, 2023) - This past week, Washington State University's Black Student-Athlete Association (BSAA) sent 14 student-athletes and three administrators to the national Black Student-Athlete Summit in Los Angeles, California. The Summit, held May 21-24 on the University of Southern California (USC) campus, focused on the professional development of student-athletes and staff, featured speakers, networking opportunities and a career fair to empower Black student-athletes.
 
During The Summit, Men's Basketball student-athlete Myles Rice was chosen as a recipient of the BSA Summit Student-Athlete of the Year award. This award is presented to a student-athlete who best exemplifies the spirit of the BSA Summit and demonstrates excellence and modeling of the BSA Summit's mission on campus and amongst their peers. This recognition follows the 2021 honors received by WSU BSAA, including Organization of the Year and Student-Athlete of the Year (former soccer student-athlete Kelis Barton).

It was also announced this week that WSU Athletics is partnering with Project Destined to provide Black student-athletes with real world commercial real estate training, mentoring, and networking opportunities. As one of nine schools selected to participate in the project, WSU Athletics will have the opportunity to provide Black student-athletes with tangible pathways into the world of commercial real estate, an industry that has historically lacked diversity and proved difficult to access for most underrepresented groups. Each semester, a select group of student-athletes will participate in training and mentoring while competing with other student-athlete teams in a Shark Tank Style Competition.
 
Ike Ukaegbu, Deputy Director of Athletics, stated, "The partnership between Project Destined and WSU Athletics will provide a transformational experience for our Black student-athletes. In addition to networking with some of the most successful commercial real estate executives and firms, student-athletes participating in the program will engage in experiential learning opportunities and gain a true understanding of how property investments work."
 
Rice and administrator Janelle Nguyen presented "Cougs & Community: Building Belonging & Inclusivity through BSAA" at the Summit's Research Symposium. This past year, Myles was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma and used this time to serve as a positive inspiration to the WSU community. Their presentation covered topics aligning with the mission of WSU BSAA and ways to instill a sense of belonging and community in athletic departments.
 
Football student-athlete Cameron Ward described the Summit as a positive learning experience that he will never forget.
 
"I was able to learn from the speakers and my fellow student-athletes how to empower my peers and lead in my athletic department," said Ward. "I am thankful for the Summit's Pro Day where I was able to learn and network with Black professionals in real estate, sports marketing, entrepreneurship, and digital media. I hope that I can attend next year and mentor student-athletes."
 
WSU student-athlete attendees included De'Antae Choates (Men's Track & Field), Dylan Clinton (Football), Brennan Jackson (Football), Chris Jackson (Football), Cameron Johnson (Football), Ahmad McCullough (Football), Cole Norah (Football), Bryana Pizarro (Soccer), Myles Rice (Men's Basketball), Devin Richardson (Football), Javan Robinson (Football), Anna Rodgers (Women's Track & Field), RJ Stone (Football), and Cameron Ward (Football). The WSU Administrators in attendance were Dallas Hobbs, (Football Co-Creative Director, Design), Janelle Nguyen (Director of Inclusion & Belonging), and Ike Ukaegbu (Deputy Director of Athletics).

Founded by student-athletes, the WSU BSAA is a student-athlete driven organization established in 2019 after several student-athletes returned to campus following their attendance at the 2019 Black Student-Athlete Summit in Austin, Texas. Their vision is to provide a safe space for Black-identified student-athletes to gather, offer mutual support and participate in open discussion, with the goal of creating a closer connection to the athletic department.