Aug. 28, 2008
By Gary Thorne
The life of a student-athlete is often arduous, to say the least. The back-and-forth routine of study and practice can take a toll on even those with the spirit and energy of youth. Over the course of his five years as a member of the nationally-ranked Auburn men's golf team, Jay Moseley endured the rigors of study and sport while readily taking responsibility for improving the lives of those around him.
Moseley was recently awarded the Brad Davis SEC Community Service Award and named to the 2008 SEC Community Service Team. This was nothing new for the Bainbridge, Ga., native, who was also named to the 2007 SEC Community Service and 2005, 2006 and 2007 Good Works Teams.
"It means a lot to me because it shows I had more of an impact than just being a golfer and a student," said Moseley. "Giving back to the community was something that was always very important to me. That's just as much of a part of us being athletes as anything."
A stellar senior season saw Moseley lead all Tigers in seven tournaments in 2007-08 with a stroke average of 71.83, the fifth lowest single-season average in school history. Moseley also led Auburn in sub-par rounds (18), rounds in the 60s (9) and top-10 finishes. Named first-team ALL-SEC, third-team All-America and All-America Scholar, Moseley finished his Auburn career on fire.
During his time on The Plains, Moseley has consistently shown his commitment to enhance the lives of others through volunteer work ranging from visiting hurricane victims to reading to classes at local elementary schools. Moseley has worked with the East Alabama Food Bank, organized and participated in the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Clothing Drive, volunteered for the Halloween Service Project, Beat Bama Food Drive, Toys for Tots and was a Salvation Army bell ringer.
"The Salvation Army was actually an idea I had," recalls Moseley. "We took it on as a team and rang bells on Saturdays in November and December. I got the SAAC involved and the soccer team and a couple others came out."
None of these things were done in the name of a resume or good seats at a football game. Moseley claims the driving force is a strong sense of responsibility to the community that has provided for him and his fellow athletes.
"Without the support of the community," said Moseley, "we wouldn't have a lot of the things we have. Giving back really means a lot. It's nice to have people see that we are more than just athletes. We enjoy helping out and doing what we can to be a part of the community."
Moseley also dedicated much of his time to bettering the collegiate experience of his fellow student-athletes by participating in numerous committees and organizations such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and SAAC. A member of the FCA Leadership Team, Moseley led a Bible study for College Golf Fellowship and was the Auburn male representative for the NCAA Regional Leadership Conference. In addition to his community service projects, Moseley served on the Academic Standard Subcommittee to the Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics and the Subcommittee on Equity and Student-Athlete Welfare for NCAA Certification in 2005-06.
As a freshman, Moseley attended his first SAAC meeting at the urging of senior captain, Jonathon Dismuke.
"I was really involved in high school so I had that background in me," comments Moseley. "SAAC is defined by the NCAA as the voice and liaison of the athletes to express their concerns and voice their opinions about NCAA legislation. We break it down and discuss national, conference and institutional issues.
"We really emphasize community service. Most community service projects go through SAAC. Team representatives from each sport go back to their respective teams and get volunteers to help out.
"Once I realized what SAAC was I wanted to put forth the effort to be part of that committee."
Put forth effort was just what he did. By the end of that freshman season, Moseley sat in as a replacement treasurer. In 2004, Moseley was selected as secretary and in 2005 was voted SAAC president.
"As president I had a lot of involvement with Jay Jacobs and the athletic administration," said Moseley. "I served on several committees as a part of that. It was a great experience for me to be involved, get to know a lot of people that kind of work behind-the-scenes. I definitely enjoyed it. It was good serving as a kind of link between the athletes and the administration."
Having graduated with a 3.23 GPA in Business Administration, Moseley is currently pursuing a Master's Degree in higher education and a minor in sports management. In true Moseley fashion, that plate is not full enough. While completing these supplementary degrees, Moseley will also serve as graduate assistant to Auburn men's golf coach Mike Griffin.
"If I had a daughter, Jay could date her," said Griffin. "Not only is he a well prepared person, he's one of the most efficient users of time management I've ever seen. On top of that, he's one of the most thoughtful people we've ever had in this program. We are all delighted and lucky to have him around another year."
The future is bright for Moseley. Within the next year, with a Master's Degree and coaching experience in hand, options will be aplenty.
"I don't have a definite goal as to what I want to end up doing," said Moseley. "Both areas, coaching and athletic administration are appealing to me. I'm just kind of keeping my options open. I would definitely like to work for an athletic department one day."
If his career at Auburn is any indicator, Moseley will surely find success and have a positive impact in whichever field he chooses.