Hi btan219,
Having those 'connections' will likely help, so you should take advantage of them. You're not the first applicant to be a bit concerned about his/her undergraduate GPA, but you might still be able to do something about it (at least from an application standpoint).
One way to show a School's Admissions Committee that you can handle the work that comes with a series of Grad-level classes is to do well in a College 'Extension' Course. Since you're looking at an MSA, you might consider a College Statistics or Calculus class. While it might not sound like a fun way to spend your free time, if you can do well in that type of class (and earn a good grade), then that might provide the necessary 'proof' of your commitment to the task and your ability to handle higher-level concepts/material.
Before starting any of that though, you should speak with someone in that MSA program and see how taking that type of class might help your prospects.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich