Washington, D.C. — The NCAA held its annual convention in Washington, D.C. from Jan. 13-16 with Hawks student athletes Lexi Stragalas (junior, women's volleyball), Alyssa Deutsch (sophomore, women's soccer) and Ryan Bochenski (senior, men's soccer) all in attendance.
 
The association-wide event, which invited representatives from every NCAA affiliated school from Division I, II and III included votes for new championships, key proposals and NCAA Honors celebration.
 
"Getting to see the inner workings of the NCAA and how they pass legislation was super intriguing. We got to see history occur right in front of our eyes," said Deutsch who also serves as the SUNY New Paltz SAAC Community Relations Chair.
 
"Talking with other Division III athletes, we all agreed that our community is such a unique one to be a part of," she said. "Division III athletes may not have access to the same resources as the higher divisions, yet we have an unmatched passion for our sport and the perfect sport-school balance to allow us to find ourselves outside of athletics."
 
Overall, there were roughly 3,000 attendees from member schools and conferences across the country. Student-Athlete Advisory Committees gathered for both the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) and New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC), which the Hawks were both represented at. During those meetings, delegates engaged in initial discussions of the Division III analysis and also partook in educational sessions and participated in the annual Special Olympics Event.
 
"Looking back at this past week, I have learned so much about the NCAA and how legislations are decided, as well as how to network with others about mental health in sports, AI and how it can be beneficial to athletics, and about the National D3 SAAC and how to better our own school's SAAC," said Stragalas who serves as the Hawks SAAC Communications Chair.
 
"I was so surprised about how easy it is to relate to other D3 athletes, and because everyone is from all different parts of the United States, it was interesting to see that we can all relate to certain aspects of being a college athlete at this level," she said. "It was super interesting to see the D3 SAAC members speak at the legislation voting, showing how student athletes' votes are so important and that we truly understand what shapes our experience so our voice matters."

 

Bochenski had the opportunity to join the SUNYAC SAAC, while Stragalas and Deutsch joined student-athlete representatives for the NJAC, which SUNY New Paltz will join entering the 2026-27 season. Deutsch had joined Bochenski last year at the SUNYAC SAAC retreat and had the opportunity to experience both and meet student-athletes like herself from different conferences and places across the nation.
 
"Having the opportunity to interact with people from all over the country was such an amazing experience," Deutsch said. "Although we all came from different schools and backgrounds, it was fascinating how similar we all really were as athletes."
 
As Deutsch and Stragalas return next year as upperclassmen, they hope to take some ideas they learned over the course of the week and apply them to their SAAC Committees moving forward.
 
"Lexi and I learned a lot about how other schools run their SAAC programs, and we have plans to implement this valuable knowledge at New Paltz," Deutsch said. "Speaking with student athletes in the national SAAC program really inspired us to want to take leadership roles in the community next year and make a difference."
 
"During one of the round-table discussions, my group was talking about drugs and alcohol in relation to the negative effects and how most athletes are not aware of how certain drugs affect them," Stragalas said. "And, being in a college setting, we said how it was crucial that student athletes really need to be educated on simple things like BAC, how weight affects the effects of drugs, or even about Good Samaritan laws. I mentioned how I believed every school should have a mandatory drugs and alcohol session so that athletes can take care of their bodies, further benefiting their athletic abilities and drive to compete."
 
Also having the opportunity to partake in an alumni event held by SUNY New Paltz's Alumni Office, the three were able to meet former Hawks and connect on their experience as well, which for Stragalas was one of her favorite memories from the week.
 
"My favorite memory was going to our alumni networking event at Fogo de Chao," she said. "It was so amazing being able to connect with alumni, especially former student athletes, and get advice from them about college and post-college life — and the food was also amazing."
 
Although there were plenty of memorable moments, both Deutsch and Stragalas agreed it was a positive week overall that gave them prospective on their own student-athlete experience thus far. It gave them the opportunity to reflect on their time as college athletes by getting the opportunity to get to know and collaborate with others from different schools sports and programs.  
 
"As I took time to explain to other student athletes some of the things we do at New Paltz, I felt a sense of gratitude for what New Paltz athletics has added to my life," Deutsch said. "We are extremely lucky to have developed mental health resources, an incredible athletic training staff, a top-of-the-line media team, dedicated coaches, and a tightly knit, supportive community. Although we are not a Division I program, our staff and community work hard to provide an atmosphere as if we were one."
 
"My biggest takeaway was that being an athlete is such a unique experience, so connecting with those around you is super important," Stragalas added. "Something else I took away was that mental health is something that everyone has, so hearing everyone talking about their experiences and struggles with that as fellow athletes made me feel more comfortable being open about mental health."

 
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