Wednesday, November 13, 2024, marked the initial signing date for student-athletes committing to a college or university for the upcoming school year. 16 seniors gathered in the Haben Center on Wednesday morning to put pen to paper and officially committed to their school.

The prospective athletes spent their morning signing The National Letter of Intent, a legal contract between prospective athletes and NCAA institutions, stating that the athletes have officially agreed to attend their college to play their designated sport. This event both legally binds the athletes to their school of choice but also serves as a representation of the hard work that has brought these students to this point in their athletic careers. “I think it’s really cool that we host a signing day, because it shows like all the people that have made these awesome accomplishments, and it’s something that should be celebrated by everyone,” University of South Dakota golf commit Carter Callan said.

Though some may overlook this event, signing day is a big deal for many athletes. Typically, athletes are in communication with their college for months leading up to their official decision. Time and effort go into this process, and it is something that needs to be recognized. Athletes enjoyed their time being acknowledged and felt a sense of relief post-signing. “I could tell everyone was pretty nervous, but we were all smiling and happy, and we had a lot of fun,” Quinnipiac University hockey commit Ella Pasqua said.

To make this event special, families, coaches, BSM faculty members, and students gathered to support their peers on their special day. These athletes acknowledge the great impact their support systems have had on them throughout this journey of theirs, and their attendance at this event is special to them. “My whole family came, [I] had some of the guys and teammates [there] and [I] had some more friends there as well, so it was a good morning,” Callan said.

Many student-athletes’ end goal is to make it past the high school level of athletics. Signing Day shows recognition to the students who have made it this far and reached their goals. “The end goal has always been to try to play golf in college, and try to go pro maybe too,” Augustana College golf commit Weston Gain said.

Unlike Gain, multi-sport athlete Callan was not always planning on pursuing golf in college. Being both a golf and hockey player, the decision wasn’t as clear. “Just recently, this summer, I made my final decision. [I decided] yeah, this is what I’m gonna do. It was tough to [decide to] give up the wonderful sport of hockey, but I am happy with my choice,” Callan said.

Through and through, students would agree that their signing day relieved the stress and pressure of college decisions that many seniors are feeling at the moment. “[commiting to a college early on and signing] really just makes the process a whole lot easier. You know that you’re going to college, so it takes off the stress of writing a bunch of essays,” Gain said.