July 2, 2008

Amy Farnum Novin

NCAASports.com Staff Writer

Who knows more about student-athletes than actual student-athletes? So, when Western Carolina University was looking for a way to spice up their weekly athletics podcasts this summer, they went directly to the source of all the action.

WCU's Director of Media Relations Denise Gideon knew it would be difficult to generate original content during the summer, so she created the Student-Athlete Roundtable Podcast - a weekly discussion between various student-athletes about all different topics. The podcast - Catamount Tracks -- is available through the WCU athletics iTunes store.

Gideon approached women's basketball player Heather Swayne to host the show after getting to know her through the team's travels.

"Heather has a very out-going nature and as the new Vice President of SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee) she has contact with almost all the student-athletes on campus," said Gideon. "She was going to be here all summer so I asked for her assistance."

Swayne agreed, and immediately knew that she would ask teammate and roommate Jessica Jackson to be her co-host.

Read complete story at ncaasports.com.

Swayne and Jackson's podcast also has also gained the attention of the NCAA's blog site Double-A Zone.com. The following ran in the sites Morning Coffee section on July 1: It may be summer, but the student-athletes at Western Carolina are still filling up the Morning Coffee inbox. The second edition of the Catamount Tracks Student-Athlete Roundtable premiered last week, as women's basketball players Heather Swayne and Jessica Jackson hosted men's basketball player Jake Robinson, softball player Lauren Ross and teammate Emily Clarke. Give the podcast a listen on iTunes U.