Four in a row. LSU is headed to the Women???s Final Four for the fourth consecutive year, and there???s no doubt that this was the most difficult journey yet. The Tigers lost coach Pokey Chatman before the tournament and have responded by playing their best hoops of the season. In each of the last three years, standout Seimone Augustus called Baton Rouge home, but her departure hasn???t signaled the end of LSU???s dynasty. The Tigers dismantled a talented Connecticut team last night, 73-50, to earn a berth in the national semifinals. In the other lopsided regional final, Rutgers advanced to the Final Four with a convincing 64-45 victory over Arizona State.

Extreme makeover. Community service is an integral part of the college experience for many student-athletes and the folks at Cameron University participated in a special project in Lawton, Oklahoma last month. Student-athletes from each of the school???s 10 teams volunteered more than 400 hours of community service for ABC???s ???Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,??? which helped enhance the home of the Westbrook family, locals who had experienced a great deal of misfortune. After Mr. Westbrook was injured overseas while serving the country and lost the use of his legs, the family was in an automobile accident and one of the Westbrook sons was also paralyzed without the use of his legs. The home makeover was a way for the community to give back to some of its own, and the project fit in perfectly with the Cameron mission. Throughout each school year, Cameron student-athletes aspire to provide the community with 2,500 hours of community service. The Aggies always surpass their goal and fulfill the university slogan: ???You???re Cameron, you???re changing lives.???

Our sports, our voice. If you don???t think student-athletes are involved in discussions concerning intercollegiate athletics, think again. I???ve discussed the national Student-Athlete Advisory Committees before, but it???s important to note that each of the 1,000+ NCAA institutions has a SAAC, as does every athletics conference in the country. At its recent spring meeting in Birmingham, the SEC SAAC welcomed student-athletes from eight sports, with football sending the most participants. The weekend meeting included discussions on various national hot topics as well as on-going SEC-specific projects.