Hughes selected to represent SEC student-athletes in autonomy hearings
By Ethan Levine
Published:
The SEC announced Wednesday it has chosen three student-athletes, including Mississippi State senior safety Jay Hughes, to represent all of the conference’s student-athletes in votes on proposed rule changes under the NCAA’s new autonomy process, which was passed in August.
The process allows the NCAA’s power five conferences (the SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac 12) the freedom to set their own rules in a handful of predetermined areas. Each conference was allotted three student-athlete representatives to speak for and vote on behalf of student-athletes across the conference on matters of autonomy and proposed rule changes.
Hughes is the only football player among the SEC’s student-athlete representatives, and he will be joined at the first NCAA convention this January by Tennessee women’s basketball player Diamond DeShields and Florida baseball player Josh Tobias.
“In development of the new autonomy structure, we emphasized the importance of student-athletes from the Five Conferences having both a voice and vote on NCAA matters,” SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said in a media release from the conference. “These three student-athletes will represent the SEC well and will help make some very important decisions in the weeks and months ahead.”
Hughes was one of Mississippi State’s team captains this season, and he is also a member of the SEC Community Service Team. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree in workforce education leadership.
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
