TSSAA Announces Formation Of Student Advisory Committee

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

The TSSAA announced the formation of its first ever Student Advisory Committee. The committee is composed of 20 student-athletes from member schools across the state and will meet for the first time in early May of this year.

There are six members from each grand division (East, Middle, West) and one unified pair. The committee members represent 12 TSSAA sanctioned sports, including three unified sports.

The committee will represent student-athletes and the TSSAA, ensuring their perspectives are heard in governance and addressing key issues such as rules, regulations, and special initiatives.

Their mission is to advocate for students, enhance sportsmanship, and foster a safe, ethical, and competitive environment both on and off the field.

“We are excited to have a group that will have a recognized voice for the nearly 150,000 student-athletes that participate in TSSAA sanctioned sports,” said Mark Reeves, TSSAA executive director. “Ultimately, the organization’s purpose is to serve student-athletes by providing opportunities that will enable them to become the best version of themselves.”

Discussion to form the committee began upon the retirement of Stephen Bargatze in 2022. Mr. Bargatze was the coordinator of the Student Services Program, “The Right Team.” This TSSAA program dealt with student leadership development, alcohol, tobacco and drug prevention education, and sportsmanship and citizenship education. Bargatze’s retirement left a vacancy that needed to be filled.

After the addition of two new employees, Lamar Lee and Lexie Crawford, the ability to pursue the establishment of a Student Advisory Committee became more of a reality. Lexie and Lamar were eager to take part in forming the committee and will continue to play a significant role moving forward.

Guidelines for the committee were presented to the Board of Control for approval and schools were informed about the launching of the committee at the beginning of this year.

In addition to the first meeting this May, the committee members will participate in multiple meetings throughout the upcoming school year. The committee members will give input regarding TSSAA rules and regulations and actively participate in TSSAA campaigns (Officials Appreciation, Mental Health, Bullying, Sports Medicine Appreciation, and Driving & Driving.) They will be charged with promoting a positive image of student participation in interscholastic competition. They will also be given the opportunity to volunteer at state championship events throughout the school year.

The 20 committee members were selected from nearly 200 applications that were received by the TSSAA. All applicants were required to have a 3.0 GPA or higher and be a rising junior or senior. Other criteria include demonstrating leadership within their school, strong character and commitment to sportsmanship and integrity, and two recommendation letters from their Principal, Athletic Director, teacher, or coach.