July 29, 2011

OXFORD, Miss. – With many Rebel athletes holding aspirations for extending their careers into the professional ranks, the Ole Miss Athletics Department recently held an agent education seminar series for football players and their families. The series focused on rules regarding agents and student-athletes and expectations from the agents, student-athletes and their families.

The educational meeting covered what to look for in an agent, picking the right agent, services agents can provide and problems that arise from representation. A group of draft-eligible players were addressed by Athletics Director Pete Boone, Assistant Athletics Director Jamil Northcutt, UMAA Assistant Director of Development and former NFL player Ronnie Heard, Assistant Compliance Director Joel Weems and Rebel Ready Intern Steven Cox.

Northcutt, Cox and Senior Associate Athletics Director Matt Ball also spoke to a group of 17 agents on the expectations the university had of them and how any contact with student-athletes would be conducted. Senior student-athletes and their families later met one-on-one with the agents for a 15-minute meet-and-greet session.

“We wanted to take a proactive stance on student-athletes and agents,” Cox said. “This event was designed to prevent any NCAA rules violation and to help our student-athletes make an informed decision about their future. Educating our student-athletes to make smart decisions is a priority at Ole Miss. We want to make sure each student-athlete has the correct information to make a proper decision on representation.”

“I really enjoyed meeting with the agents in a neutral setting,” said Ole Miss senior defensive end Kentrell Lockett. “The speakers did a great job laying out all the rules regarding agents and it was helpful to be able to sit down with them one-on-one and weigh the pros and cons of each agent.”

The Ole Miss Athletics Department would like to thank Caroline Cox, Matt Vincent, Laura Webb and Leslie Waring for their assistance in coordinating the event. Visit www.olemisssports.com/rebelready for more information on Ole Miss' community and student-athlete development efforts.