Two From Coker Nominated to NCAA Committees

HARTSVILLE, S.C. – Jan. 24 – Two of Coker’s own, Katie McElveen and Katie Flaherty, will be representing the College on separate NCAA Division II committees.

McElveen (Hartsville, S.C.), a dual-sport athlete in volleyball and softball, has been appointed a member of the NCAA Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Her term begins immediately and runs through the close of the January 2015 NCAA Convention.

McElveen will be representing Coker as well as Conference Carolinas.

Flaherty, Coker’s accreditation liaison officer with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and the College’s assistant athletic director in charge of NCAA compliance, has been named to the NCAA Division II Committee for Legislative Relief.

“We are very pleased to have both Dr. Flaherty and Katie representing Coker and Conference Carolinas on a national level," Coker Athletic Director Lynn Griffin said. "It is an honor to be a part of any NCAA Committee, and I know both of these women will be able to help make a real difference in the future of the NCAA and will represent the College and conference in a positive manner.”

The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee consists of the 23 Division II multi-sport voting conferences, one representative of Division II independent institutions, and two at-large representatives. Additionally, two members of the Management Council and one member of the Presidents Council serve as ex-officio and nonvoting members.

The members serve as student-athlete liaisons to connect the happenings on campus with developments at the conference and national levels. Members are selected by the Division II SAAC Nominating Sub-Committee from a diverse pool of candidates submitted by the conference office. The Division II Management Council ratifies the appointment and each student-athlete serves a non-renewable three-year term; however, the student-athlete may only serve up to one year after exhausting his or her eligibility.

“It’s a really great honor to be able to represent my school and my conference,” said McElveen, a sophomore. I am very grateful for this opportunity and look forward to getting started. I want to represent our school and show the rest of the world what we’re all about.”

The Committee for Legislative Relief oversees requests by a school that, in cases when no other waiver process already has authority, seeks relief from applying a rule when extraordinary or extenuating circumstances warrant. The committee’s decisions include granting or denying such requests, or granting conditional wavers. It handles appeals for all 302 Division II institutions.

“I am very excited for the opportunity for national committee service,” said Flaherty. “I hope that my six years of experience leading the compliance efforts at Coker as well as my training in the sciences will allow me to be a valuable asset to the committee.”

“We are confident Katie McElveen will have a positive impact on the national SAAC and individual member student athletic committees," Conference Carolinas Commissioner Dr. Alan Patterson said. “We are also pleased to have an individual with the experience and skills of Dr. Flaherty in such an important position. Her insight will be valuable in forming NCAA DII legislative planning."

Flaherty and McElveen’s nominations were preceded by the nomination of Coker College President Robert Wyatt to the NCAA Division II Presidents Council.  His four-year term begins in April.

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Coker College readies undergraduates for personal and professional success through a distinctive four-year program that emphasizes a practical application of the liberal arts as well as hands-on and discussion-based learning within and beyond the classroom. Coker is ranked among the “Best Colleges” in the South by U.S. News & World Report as well as The Princeton Review. Located in Hartsville, S.C., Coker is within two hours of the cultural, financial and recreational resources of Charlotte, Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach.