Alexis Ross, a four year basketball player, sees even more opportunity at Beloit.Alexis Ross’24 didn’t know of Beloit College until the assistant coach of the women’s basketball team reached out to her the summer of her senior year. Four years later, she’s involved across campus, enjoying basketball and much more.

Alexis, a senior media studies major from Summit Argo, Illinois, fell in love with basketball in the sixth grade. She saw Beloit as a great opportunity for her to not only continue her education, but also her love of the game.

When visiting the college, a future teammate hosted her for a weekend, showing her the true student life of Beloit. “I really enjoyed it,” she says. “She showed me around and took me downtown. She sold it.”

Some of her favorite Beloit memories come from her experiences with the team, including her first game back her sophomore year. Alexis’s freshman season was canceled due to the pandemic. While devastating for her and the team, she was able to become close with most of her teammates. Through the constant practice, she built friendships. After the grind of all the practices and all the waiting, she remembers how great it was to finally compete with her friends for the first time in her college career.

McNair Scholar Alexis Ross gives a presentation on TikTok and NIL deals.

Team chemistry has played a big part in her enjoyment of her seasons with the basketball team. “I just feel like we had a really good group on and off the court. We got along really well,” she said.

As her Beloit basketball career ends, Alexis was part of some great teams that turned the program around. In the past two years, the Bucs increased their conference wins by eight. This year marked the best record in the program since the 2008-2009 season.

She has also sought research opportunities in sports. A McNair Scholar, she recently presented her project on how college athletes can make money using their popularity and likeness. She researched the connection of social media trends to an athlete’s ability to make money.

She really enjoyed being able to connect her academics with her athletics through this project, making her research even more enjoyable and interesting.

Even though Alexis may have already had her basketball senior day, she’s enjoyed Beloit athletics so much that she joined the track and field team as a runner. “I feel like it [sports] helps me stay focused and manage my time better, because I know I have something to look forward to.”

BSU President Alexis Ross sharing stories with friends at Grace’s Place.But sports aren’t everything for Alexis. She is the president of Beloit College’s Black Student United (BSU). She has also been the treasurer in previous years. Alexis organizes club meetings and plans fundraising events. “It’s rewarding. I like planning events, meeting new people, and getting them involved,” she says.

Alexis has spread her wings in many different areas of campus to meet new people and find more areas of interest. She plans to attend graduate school after her graduation this spring and hopes to get experience in the sports journalism field.

“I think it’s important to be involved in more than one thing. I’m put in a position where I’m around so many different types of people,” she says. She was also in a campus play and became friends with the students involved in theater.

“Mixing all those different groups and meeting new people makes my time on campus better. It makes my experience better overall,” she says.