Tuesday, October 8, 2019

PORTLAND, Ore. – GNAC Insider returned Tuesday at 7 p.m. (PT) with conference play heating up for the GNAC’s fall sports teams. This week is Officials Appreciation Week, and one of the episode’s guests highlighted the importance of officials at all levels of athletics.

The first guest on this week’s episode was Debbie Williamson, the Atlantic Coast Conference’s supervisor of women’s basketball officials. Prior to her recent hire, Williamson served as the NCAA’s national coordinator of women’s basketball officiating and secretary-rules editor.

In the fall of 2018, Williamson proposed her Player-to-Referee (P2R) program to the Division II Conference Commissioners Association. The program is targeted at departing student-athletes and promotes the benefits of officiating with hopes of maintaining a quality future pool of officials.

Serving as a volunteer intern for the GNAC this year, Daniel Calderon joined the show to discuss the GNAC's outreach related to the P2R program. Calderon is a senior sprinter on the Central Washington track and field team and a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

GNAC Insider was also joined by Kyle McLaughlin, a senior on the Montana State Billings track and field team. McLaughlin shared his experiences from the GNAC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee’s annual retreat in Monmouth, Oregon, last weekend.

Wrapping up the show was Keith Champagne, Alaska’s vice chancellor for student affairs and athletics. Champagne discussed administrative changes in Nanook athletics, community engagement initiatives and the recent success of the Alaska volleyball team, which is tied for second place in the GNAC standings.

You can listen live to GNAC Insider at this link or hear every episode at your convenience wherever you get your podcasts.

GNAC Insider is available free at Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Spotify and Stitcher.