Q&A with Departing SAAC President Felicity Ryan

Name: Felicity Ryan
Year: Senior (Graduated in Spring 2023)
Major: Biology, Neuroscience Concentration
Minors: Public Policy and Administration
Hometown: Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
High School: Saratoga Springs
Years in Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC): Two
Role in SAAC: JMU President & Sun Belt Representative

Why did you get involved in SAAC?

I got involved with SAAC during COVID because I really wanted to feel like I had something that I was working on besides practice and my school work. I also wanted to meet a bunch of other athletes without it leading to contract tracing and stuff like that. Some of my teammates were in SAAC and I just took the initiative and was like 'I want to do this.'

What did your role as JMU SAAC President entail?

As President it was a lot of constructing meetings and directing the different task forces. We have different subcommittees: mental health and wellness, communications, and diversity, equity and inclusion programming. I work with the executive members of those subcommittees and let them drive what specific projects or passions they want to work towards. We choose and voice opinions on different things that are going on in the world as well.

In addition to being President, you also co-chaired the Sun Belt's mental health subcommittee, what was that like?

The Sun Belt Conference has paired up with a company called Radical Health, which is a mental health nonprofit organization that is being introduced to a bunch of different colleges and athletic programs. Student-athletes go to training days where they learn how to become a peer facilitator for mental health conversations. We build a stronger sense of community with our peers and open those conversations that can be difficult and overwhelming. These peer groups will make it easier to reach out or just build a stronger community among our athletics programs.

Why do you think mental health is a vital conversation in college athletics?

Sometimes it feels so busy that you just have to turn on autopilot to get through it all. Taking a moment and having these conversations that are more structured with somebody who's trained to have them helps you resonate with everything that you're going through. I think that will help build a stronger community where everybody knows about all the resources JMU offers. I regarded myself as somebody who would know what to do in mental health crises and I learned that you don't think of all the options that can happen or what somebody can do in that position. We need to start educating younger people of the warning signs of mental health crises. Making these things more widespread and more automatic is so important.

What was your experience representing JMU at the Sun Belt SAAC meetings last summer?

SAAC was probably one of the most impactful experiences throughout my college career. I went to three different conferences with the Sun Belt. One I went to was in Atlanta and that was a really cool experience because it was me, the faculty athletics representative, the athletic director, the senior women's administrator and the university president. I had never dreamed of being in any sort of meetings with university presidents and athletic directors from all 14 schools. Hearing about all of the NCAA legislation such as eligibility rules, transfer rules and different NIL things that were coming up was really interesting. I got to hear all of those voices talk but also give a student-athlete perspective and learn how to give my perspective in a meaningful way. As a younger person in the room, sometimes it's intimidating or you feel like you're not going to say it the right way. I feel like having those experiences has given me so much confidence for any public speaking I might have to do in the future.

Since swimming and diving was not in the Sun Belt, how do you think this gave you a different perspective?

When I went to the conference in July, there was actually another diver and swimmer there. At first, I didn't think that there was going to be anyone from my sport there because I was like, 'why would there be' but it was interesting, because they're forming a swimming and diving conference in the years to come. It's cool to be able to tell the director a little bit about our sport, but also hear about the things he's working on for other sports.

How did you bring back what you learned from those meetings and implement it into JMU Athletics?

In November, we had the food drive that we did where we connected with a local organization in Harrisonburg. JMU Athletics and our student-athletes can feel like they're making a hands-on impact and see the direct benefits. We get so much from Harrisonburg and the JMU community, so it feels special to be more connected with businesses, organizations, or people from the community as well.

How do you feel JMU's first year in the Sun Belt went overall?

I think that it was amazing. All of our sports are getting more resources and more attention because we're in a bigger conference. Overall, it's a really positive move and I think from the SAAC perspective, it's amazing because of how much energy and effort is put into student athletes. I believe that it really can help us make the biggest impact within and beyond athletics.

What has it been like to interact with representatives from all over the country and various conferences?

I definitely made a lot of friends at other universities. It's been cool that we get to see what everybody's doing at different universities. The more that we share with everybody, the more new things we can find to do within our communities. I think that having that connection with everybody is really unique. As far as different administrators and stuff, it is so interesting to hear the perspectives of people who have been in athletics and administration for years.

How has this experience impacted how you view college athletics?

I definitely think I have a very holistic view of athletics because I know what it's like to be a student-athlete and I have seen the administrator point of view. I also understand where the student-athlete voice comes in. I got to be in the know with all the NCAA legislation and different things going on which is helpful so that we can try to do that at JMU as well.

Why do you think it is important for student-athletes to be involved in this side of athletics?

I think it's really important because being a part of SAAC, you get to know a lot about the NCAA legislation and different things going on and also just in the world around us. You become an engaged member of the community that you're a part of whether it be the athletic community or just the general community.

As a JMU alumna, what are your plans for the future in terms of a career path or continuing athletics?

I just graduated this spring and I'm definitely very excited because I feel like the past years of my life have been so planned out of what my daily schedule is going to look like or what my entire year is going to look like with seasons and meets. I am looking to go in a few different directions, maybe something with my neuroscience concentration with neuromedical devices. I'm also looking into possibly a career later down the road in sports administration. I think that is a really interesting career to get into and allows you to do some of the stuff that I worked on in SAAC but on a larger level as well.

What do you hope to see in both JMU SAAC and the Sun Belt in the coming years?

I'm excited to see what new SAAC President Demitri Turner and all his representatives are going to be doing next year. I know we have the community impact event that I think will be a really big and special thing that JMU can do to get more involved with the community. I'm definitely excited to see a Sun Belt swimming dive championship in the near future. Overall, I'm just excited to see all of my friends from SAAC and what they're going to be doing in the next few years.

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Players Mentioned

Felicity Ryan

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Calendar

Completed Event: Baseball at Georgia State on April 12, 2026 , Loss , 4, to, 5

Completed Event: Softball versus Louisiana on April 12, 2026 , Win , 15, to, 9

Completed Event: Men's Golf versus Mountaineer Invitational on April 13, 2026 , , 9th of 19

Completed Event: Lacrosse at #24 Richmond on April 14, 2026 , Win , 14, to, 9

Completed Event: Baseball versus Richmond on April 14, 2026 , Loss , 2, to, 10

Upcoming Event: Softball at Georgetown on April 15, 2026 at 3:30 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Track & Field at Virginia Challenge on April 16, 2026 at All Day

Upcoming Event: Women's Tennis at App State on April 17, 2026 at 10 a.m.

Upcoming Event: Men's Tennis versus No. 3 Georgia Southern on April 17, 2026 at 2:15 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Baseball versus App State on April 17, 2026 at 6 p.m.

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