The Big Ten announced Tuesday the selection of Nandi Mehta, a junior midfielder and co-captain for Northwestern women’s soccer, as a representative for the conference in the NCAA autonomy process. She is one of three current or former student-athletes chosen to represent the Big Ten.

Along with her co-representatives, former Minnesota football player Chris Hawthorne and current Purdue golfer Ben-Marvin Egel, Mehta will have voting power on proposed rule changes within the conference.

The announcement comes in the wake of the NCAA’s new autonomy governance structure. Adopted in August 2014, it gives broader independence to member institutions of the Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and Southeastern conferences to implement rule changes for Division I athletics. Each conference has contributed three student-athletes to the legislative process.

Mehta brings experience to the position, currently serving as a member of the Big Ten Commission on Student-Athlete Issues and as co-president of the Northwestern Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

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