NCAC SAAC

Oberlin SAAC's Busy Winter

2010-12-25T13:37:00.004-05:00

November and December were busy months for Oberlin’s SAAC as the student athletes contributed to a number of proactive causes.

In the month of November, or rather, Movember, Oberlin's men’s cross country team let their mustaches grow wild and raised $2,456 dollars for the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG. The fundraising effort was captained by Oberlin senior Kiron Roy. In addtion, the athletics department staff raised $399, bringing Oberlin’s total contribution to $2,855.

During the reading period leading up to finals week Oberlin’s SAAC group held a Study Break session in the college’s Science Center. From 6-10 p.m. members of Oberlin’s SAAC helped student’s relieve stress by playing games (corn hole, bowling with plastic pins, jump ropes, hula hoops) offered healthy snacks (apples and bananas) and informed the student body about what SAAC is all about!

Finally, SAAC helped organize a food drive and below are pictures from our efforts. Happy Holidays!

New Developments for Oberlin SAAC

2010-09-28T21:26:00.004-04:00

With the start of the 2010-2011 year, Oberlin's SAAC has implemented a few new features. To begin with, we have a new group of officers leading the way! Here's how it looks:

Co-chairs: Albert Davila & Rob Bond
Secretary: Kate Melanson
Treasurer: Courtney Konow
Communications Director: Hal Sundt
Publicity Director: Ben Turchin

In addition, our SAAC group has come up with a new way to form bonds across different athletic teams. The concept is called OC Unite! Each team is paired up with a different team from a different sports season. These "YeoFriends" (the teams partnered up together) agree to go to at least two home games with their entire team to support the other team. Here is how our teams are paired up!

Women's Softball ------ Men's XC
Women's XC ----------- Men's Basketball
Women's Field Hockey ------ Men's Tennis
Women's LAX --------- Men's Football
Women's T&F --------- Men's Soccer
Women's Swim/Dive -------- Men's LAX
Women's Basketball -------- Men's T&F
Women's Volleyball --------- Men's Swim/Dive
Women's Tennis ------ Men's Golf
Women's Soccer ----- Men's Baseball

We're all excited for another great year of sports and SAAC! Talk to you soon.

NCAC Welcomes DePauw University.avi

2010-06-09T14:37:00.000-04:00

OC Sports Swap

2010-04-10T21:04:00.003-04:00

On Monday, April 5th, the Oberlin College Athletics Department held its first ever Sports Swap! Participants started with a warmup lap around the track and then went off to get a taste for a new sport. Athletes from all of the different varsity teams stepped out of their athletic comfort zones to learn a variety of different sports including volleyball, basketball, baseball/softball, track & field, lacrosse, field hockey and soccer. Varsity coaches made sure everyone learned some new skills and shared a few laughs as well. OC 's first Sports Swap was a success and we even have video to prove it!

Allegheny SAAC Update

2010-03-12T12:57:00.003-05:00

Allegheny College SAAC recently hosted an all-athlete talent show on campus. It was the first major event that SAAC has hosted on it's own. The turnout was much more positive than we even expected! Pictures from the event can be seen on the link posted below.

http://www.alleghenysports.com/photo_gallery.aspx

We have been debating about weight room safety procedures. Currently, we have no monitors and the majority of students lift on their own. In light of the Southern Cal accident, we have been talking about this a lot in our meetings. Any suggestions? The best we have come up with is to have assistant coaches monitor the weight room at different times during the day.

~Allegheny Reps

NCAC SAAC Leadership Workshop

2010-02-02T21:10:00.007-05:00

The NCAC held its first SAAC Leadership Workshop this past weekend. Twenty-eight student-athletes gathered with athletic administrators from all 10 North Coast members to spend a weekend exploring their leadership potential. Sessions featured topics ranging from the definition of leadership, to nutritional information, Myers-Briggs personality traits, life after athletics, diversity and TIPS training.

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

NCAC SAAC Meeting, Jan. 31, 2010

2010-02-02T20:56:00.005-05:00

Not pictured: Frankie Morales, Mary Meyers, Charles Small, Alexa Bean, Evalyn Tandy, Jerome Ray, Kelly Sprague, Jared Haas, Erica Ford, Corey Trusso, Anne Beauch

Bishop Champion Games hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University

2010-01-29T14:35:00.002-05:00

Bishop Champion Games April 18th, 2010

Being a part of the Bishop Champion Games last year was amazing for so many. We had a day filled with fun and accomplishments. I was honored to see my fellow OWU athletes working with these special needs individuals with such kindness and love. It was a stressful few weeks leading up to the games trying to make sure that we had everything ready for the athletes to compete. We put long nights and countless hours into making these games a success. Despite this hard work, the rewarding feeling that came from the games themselves proved to be more than worth it.

The main objective of the Bishop Games is to spread the gift of athletics with all special needs athletes no matter their level of competition. We strive to give back the abilities we have been given as college athletes to those who are less athletically fortunate. So as a result, it is a passion of all who are involved to give those athletes with special needs, whether cognitive or physical, a chance to compete at historic Selby Stadium performing their favorite track and field events.

As a group, we want all those who come in contact with the event to come away with memories that will last a lifetime. It is a dream for this event to become an annual event hosted at OWU. We have high goals and aspirations for the coming year to make this event reach out to an even larger group of individuals from more diverse places. We want OWU to be a place where special needs athletes from the area as well as those from further away, feel like when they come to a game that they can wear their Bishop Champion Games t-shirt and proudly feel like they know our athletes personally.

An objective that we are working on for this year is to raise even more money so we can give the athletes even more free apparel and so we can improve the event itself. Last year the athletes received free admission to compete, a t-shirt, a water bottle with our logo, an engraved dog tag, and a gold medal for the winner of the events at each age group. The Bishop Champion Games touched the lives of 97 special needs athletes, countless parents and family members, and over 50 OWU student athletes who volunteered. We had families and athletes asking from the time the event started, “So when are we are doing this again next year?” The smiles on the faces of the athletes were enough to make all the work that we had put into this event seem to fade into pure joy for those lives we could touch. Joy and excitement just poured out of all the athletes. It was evident in so many ways.

The days experiences were inspirational, but just to give you an idea I will name a few: when athletes had the medal put on their neck by a college athlete, when a champion of the event along with the 8 top finishers got to stand on the special podium, when their name was announced over the loud speaker, or simply when they got to have a professional photograph taken with the Bishop. The last event of the day called the Bishop relay gave the athletes not only a chance to compete against themselves, but our very own OWU athletes ran in the relay as the anchor leg.

Everything about the day was perfect because we as college athletes were able to touch more lives than we could ever have imagined. So this year we are calling to our fellow NCAC schools and challenging you to join us to make this day a success. The NCAC is full of competent, skilled, and passionate individuals who we would love to see helping us with this event. This is an event that takes us away from our competitive roots, and places us on a common ground as athletes who want to change the lives of others. So I am looking forward to hearing responses, ideas, or interest in aiding us on our quest to make the Bishop Champion Games even more of a success this year.

One goal, one love, let’s make it happen.

Best Wishes,
Sean Patrick

http://connect2.owu.edu/issues/20090424/athletics/bishopGames.html (link to a short article before the event last year)

NCAA Unveils New Division III Identity Platform

2010-01-18T10:14:00.000-05:00

This is the first video from the NCAA’s new Division III Identity Initiative to communicate the values of Division III, as well as the six attributes of Division III: Proportion, Comprehensive Learning, Passion, Responsibility, Sportsmanship, and Citizenship.

Check out the video on NCAA.org or on Facebook

The strategic-positioning platform was formally unveiled during an issues forum at last week's NCAA Convention that Div. III Presidents Council chair Paul Trible described as “the highlight of our business here in Atlanta.”

In describing the new platform, Division III Vice President Dan Dutcher emphasized its positioning statement (see below), which he said articulates three key components of the student-athlete experience – academics, athletics and the opportunity to participate in co-curricular activities.

Division III positioning statement

The new Division III positioning statement begins with a phrase intended to simply describe the student-athlete experience: “Follow your passions and discover your potential.”

The statement continues:

“The college experience is a time of learning and growth – a chance to follow passions and develop potential. For student-athletes in Division III, all of this happens most importantly in the classroom and through earning an academic degree. The Division III experience provides for passionate participation in a competitive athletic environment, where student-athletes push themselves to excellence and build upon their academic success with new challenges and life skills. And student-athletes are encouraged to pursue the full spectrum of opportunities available during their time in college. In this way, Division III provides an integrated environment for student-athletes to take responsibility for their own paths, follow their passions and find their potential through a comprehensive learning experience.”

Oberlin SAAC Lends a Hand

2009-12-18T14:27:00.001-05:00

The Oberlin College Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) participated in a CHAMPS/LIFE SKILLS initiative to give back to the Oberlin community during this holiday season.

From the Oberlin Athletics website:

All 22 Oberlin athletics teams combined to purchase a total of 72 gifts for six different families, marking the largest amount of gifts and recipients in the history of the “Helping Hands” project.

In addition to providing gifts for select families, the athletics department combined with the rest of the campus to secure 80 pounds of nonperishable food items that were delivered to the Oberlin Community Services Center earlier this week. In the past, the canned food drive has been manly focused on student-athletes, but by reaching out to the rest of the campus it made for the most success food drive endeavor since its inception eight years ago.

“I am really proud of what we were able to achieve,” SAAC Co-Chair Tammela Platt said.

All of the efforts benefited the Oberlin Community Service Center. Oberlin Community Services is a responsive community organization that provides direct assistance, referrals and other services to Oberlin area residents and groups who need help meeting their basic needs.

Since 1955, Oberlin Community Services (OCS) has supported the community in sensitive and caring ways. The OCS staff, Oberlin College work-study students, and more than a hundred volunteers join forces with schools, churches, medical and social service providers, civic groups, businesses, and government to offer a wide array of services to low-income citizens of Oberlin and Southern Lorain County.

Note: Parts of this article were taken from OberlinCommunityServices.org

Oberlin Hoops Putting it All Together

2009-12-17T16:55:00.003-05:00

Hi there, my name is Hal Sundt and I will representing Oberlin College for this NCAC Blog. I'm a sophomore on the basketball team and I figured that after our recent success this past week basketball would be a good place to start.

We are 4-5 heading into the winter break building off of a great final week of action. We defeated Kalamzoo College 71-51 to give Coach Cavaco his biggest margin of victory of his career. It was also the first time in nearly 20 years that the Yeomen had won by 20 points. A few days later we beat Alma College to cap off a perfect 2-0 week.

This season all of the players can feel a new energy associated with Oberlin Basketball and we are starting to really play well together as a team. Our practices have been extremely competitive and we are finding a way for each of our skills to complement each other.

Their have been a couple of big individual accomplishments for both the men's and women's team in the past week as well. Sophomore guard Marcus Johnson was just recently named NCAC Player of the Week. He has been instant office off the bench along the likes of Vinnie Johnson from the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons of the late 80's. Also, Allison Anderson was named to the d3hoops.com Team of the Week after notching a triple double against Earlham.

I apologize for the rather short entry, but finals week is bearing down. I will have more to say in the upcoming entries!

Building Leadership and Team Spirit

2009-10-13T16:49:00.002-04:00

Building Leadership and Team Spirit
OWAC initiates ‘Red Alert’ games

It could be someone sitting beside you in chemistry, or the person buying lunch behind you in the campus center, or your roommate and best friend—wherever you look, Ohio Wesleyan is full of student-athletes, and they are making their marks on OWU. Over the past couple of years, the Ohio Wesleyan Athletic Council (OWAC) has become an increasingly present group on campus, working to promote student-athletes and helping to improve their relationship with the OWU and Delaware communities.

OWAC is Ohio Wesleyan’s name for the NCAA sponsored Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). According to Julie Duffy, OWAC Advisor, all NCAA sponsored schools are required to have a SAAC on their campus. Representatives of each OWU sport are included on OWAC, and students have the opportunity to participate both on OWU’s campus and beyond at the conference level.

This year, OWAC is focusing on gaining support and public presence within the campus and Delaware communities. To do so, they have initiated “Red Alert” games to encourage more fan support at games.

“Every team picks one game in the season that is a ‘Red Alert’ game,” explains Duffy. “All athletes that aren’t in practice or competing themselves go to these games to give their fellow student-athletes the support they need.” A Facebook page titled 22 Sports, 1 Team, Team OWU has been created to give students frequent updates on OWU athletics and “Red Alert” games, and t-shirts have also been made to promote the events.

OWAC is also making a name for itself through community service, such as the local Special Olympics Bishop Games that it hosted last spring on campus. At this event, almost 100 special needs athletes competed in track and field events, drawing community and campus members together as 50 OWU student-athletes helped to run and support the event.

For Duffy, OWAC is an important tool to support student-athletes and engage the rest of campus with the exciting athletic program at OWU. “I think we often forget that we have about 500 student athletes on this campus that blend in every day with the regular students, but they put in hours of extra commitment to the athletic department and their own program. This group helps promote what the student-athletes do on and off campus and they bring the needs of the student-athlete to the athletic department’s attention and to the attention of everyone else on campus,” she says.

Student-athletes involved in OWAC also consider it to be very valuable to Ohio Wesleyan. For many, it is the chance to make a difference and increase their impact as athletes and leaders on campus. Rachel Seibel ’10, a member of OWAC’s Drug and Alcohol Policy Committee, enjoys shaping important decisions through involvement with OWAC.

“I think athletics are a huge part of Ohio Wesleyan, and we have the ability to lead both on and off the court/field,” she comments. “On the Drug and Alcohol Policy Committee, we want to stress that students know that athletics are a privilege instead of something that is just given to them. As members of OWAC, we are able to voice our opinions to the head committee in charge of the policy.

Erica Lowell ’11 agrees, saying that OWAC is “a great opportunity to get connected with the community of Delaware and give back.” Indeed, the members of OWAC seem most motivated by the chance to bring positive change to Ohio Wesleyan. As Pam Quigney ’11 puts it, “We can be leaders on campus by the sports that we play.”

– Amanda Zechiel, Ohio Wesleyan ’09

Photo credit: Lynn Albers, Ohio Wesleyan ’08

2009 Fall NCAC SAAC Meeting

2009-09-27T23:36:00.001-04:00

The role of the SAAC

2009-09-11T16:06:00.000-04:00

Wooster S.A.A.C Updates 11/9-11/15

2008-11-12T12:14:00.003-05:00

Hello all!
Just to give you a few updates on some of things going on with the Wooster S.A.A.C group:

In October we aided our Residential Life Staff in participating in an event we call, "Hall-o-Treats". Children from the local area dressed in their best and scariest Halloween Costumes and flooded our campus in a night planned with tours through the dorms and a fun packed carnival. Our teams worked different booths by playing games with the children. The football had the children guess the right card and gave out candy, the soccer team had children try to kick a soccer ball past their scary masked goalie, the cheerleaders painted the faces with superheroes, pumpkins, and candy corn, the golf team let children try their hand at a eight foot put, and the lacrosse teams had the kids toss ghosts into the ghost bins. All in all our athletes had a blast handing out candy and hanging out with the kids. We can't wait to do it again next year!

Starting next week, our S.A.A.C group will be working in partnership with NIKE in a program called "Re-Use-A-Shoe". We have set up boxes in our gymnasium and our student center for people across campus to donate their old shoes to be recycled for children across the world who need them. We borrowed the idea from the Earlham Soccer team and are really excited for our turnout. We'll report back when he have the final results!

We also hosted Dr. Timothy C. Marchell to our campus last Thursday. Dr. Marchell is a clinical psychologist and Director of Mental Health Initiatives at Cornell University where he leads institutional strategies to address alcohol abuse and other mental health problems facing students and was visiting other NCAC schools in the area. We had a blast eating dinner with him and his presentation which drew upon his own experiences as a former college athlete and fraternity member and help develop innovative strategies to address hazing, alcohol abuse, and sexual violence and positive team-bonding strategies was amazing. Not only was his information well received by our athletes, but we also plan to take a lot of the material he gave us in preparation to help our captains and leaders across campus. We really hope he comes back soon to speak again!

Other events that we are in the process of planning: Our 1st Annual Wooster Fighting Scots Athlete Banquet in the spring A new dedication in our physical education center entitled, "Where Are They Now", highlighting the lives and work of some of our former athletes, A "Blood Bath" with Wittenberg University in order to donate blood to the Red Cross "Make A Wish Foundation" where each team will be sponsoring some child in the local area and making their Christmas list come true and a Hoops-For-Hunger event in conjunction with local vendors to give donate canned food and donations to those in need both in Ohio and across the globe in efforts with a company called "World Vision".

Good luck to our Field Hockey team who will be taking on No.16 Stevens in New Jersey in the first round of the NCAA Division III Field Hockey National Championship Tournament!

Good luck to all the other teams across the conference participating this week. I think that's all we have now to update you on, but look for us to report back next week with some new and exciting things that we're looking to do here at the College of Wooster!

-Wooster S.A.A.C Representatives

Hiram SAAC Collects Shoes for Soles4Souls

2008-11-04T16:09:00.002-05:00

The Hiram SAAC collected new and lightly worn shoes for Soles4Souls Inc. a non-profit organization that gives away shoes to those in need worldwide. Between September 22 and October 17, members placed collection boxes throughout Hiram’s campus and accumulated 12 boxes, or 221 pairs of shoes ranging from children to adult sizes.

Nashville-based Soles4Souls™ facilitates the donations of both new and used shoes, which are used to aid the hurting worldwide. Since its inception, Soles4Souls has distributed more than 3.3 million pairs (or one pair every 23 seconds) to people in more than 60 countries, including Honduras, Romania, Thailand, and the Sudan. The charity has been featured on CNN Headline News, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, ABC News, FOX, CBS, and hundreds of regional outlets around North America.

Visit www.giveshoes.org for more information.

Hiram's Kocka Named to NCAA SAAC

2008-06-19T12:55:00.003-04:00

Hiram senior swimmer Amy Kocka has been named to the NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as the representative for the North Coast Athletic Conference.

She will be one of 24 members of the national committee, consisting of a minimum of 12 men and 12 women, representing the Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committees in the four geographical regions across the country. Amy was one of the conference SAAC members nominated for the national position by the NCAC and she was selected by the NCAA Division III SAAC.

Kenyon Student-Athletes Organize Refreshing Fundraiser

2008-01-25T13:51:00.001-05:00

Before Saturday's 2 p.m. home women's basketball game against Oberlin, Kenyon Student-Athletes members will be selling 34 oz. water bottles featuring a "H2OPE" logo for seven dollars each. All the proceeds will go to the Interchurch Medical Association's Lifestraw project. Monetary donations also will be accepted, and the fundraiser will continue at Lords' and Ladies' contests on campus as long as supplies remain available.

Sophomore Rachel Goheen, a member of the women's soccer team, classmate Stephanie Caton, a Ladies softball player, were inspired to search for a way to help people in struggling areas of the world after Goheen returned from a summer abroad. They found IMA's Lifestraw emergency water purification initiative, which aims to stem the spread of cholera in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the World Health Organization states diarrheal disease kills approximately 28,000 people annually and is the leading cause of death in the country.

The Lifestraw is a portable water filter about the size of a large kazoo that can be carried easily on a string around a person's neck. According to the product's website, the straw offers relief from common diarrheal disease by effectively removing 99 percent of waterborne bacteria and viruses. Each Lifestraw is capable of filtering 185 gallons of water, enough to last a typical Congolese family the better part of a year.

Goheen and Caton hope sales warrant ordering more water bottles. Their ultimate goal is to increase awareness in the cause and make the fundraiser a regular staple at Kenyon sporting events throughout the year.

For more information on IMA's Lifestraw initiative or to make an on-line donation, visit the organization's website at www.interchurch.org. For more detailed information on the Lifestraw itself, go to www.lifestraw.com.

Denison SAAC Provides Christmas for Area Children

2007-12-28T14:30:00.000-05:00

For the second straight year, the Denison SAAC joined with the Licking County Salvation Army to help with the "Adopt-A-Family" program.

The students collected nearly $2,000 - a $500 increase from last year's total.

Click here for more information

Wittenberg Student-Athletes Hand Out Second Annual Tiger Awards

2007-04-26T10:02:00.000-04:00

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The second annual Tiger Awards, recognizing excellence in sports and academic performance by Wittenberg University student-athletes, were handed out on during a banquet April 22 in the Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) Center. More than 200 student-athletes, representing each of the university’s 23 varsity athletic teams, were in attendance.

The banquet, organized and led by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), included a formal dinner and awards presentation.

Ten different team and individual awards were handed out during the event, encompassing a wide range of athletic, academic and extracurricular achievements during the 2006-07 school year. The goal was to highlight not just the NCAA Division III national tournament participants from the volleyball, football and women’s soccer teams, but to showcase accomplishments across the department of athletics.

“It’s an awesome evening,” said Pat Denbow, a senior basketball player and president of SAAC. "The awards are for the student-athletes by the student-athletes, and any time you can gather so many people for something like this it makes for a pretty special occasion.”

The top male team award was presented to the football squad for Outstanding Men’s Team of the Year. The Tigers finished 7-4 on the gridiron in 2006 and were winners of the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) and its automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

The volleyball team took home the Outstanding Women’s Team of the Year honors. The Tiger spikers put together a second consecutive NCAA Division III Tournament Final Four appearance, finishing the year with the conference coach of the year and newcomer of the year awards, as well as an honorable mention All-America selection. Wittenberg finished with a 35-8 overall record, including a perfect 16-0 record in the first double-round regular season format robin in NCAC history.

Male Athlete of the Year went to senior football standout Tristan Murray (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh), who topped 100 yards rushing nine straight weeks in 2006 to break school records for consecutive 100-yard games and 100-yard games in a season. He finished the 2006 season with 1,517 rushing yards, the third-highest total in school history and sixth-best per-game total in NCAA Division III. He also led the conference in rushing with 137.9 yards per game and in total touchdowns with 20.

Senior Jamie McIntyre (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview) of the soccer team was awarded Female Athlete of the Year. McIntyre capped her collegiate career with her third consecutive first-team All-Great Lakes Region selection, and she set a school record by starting all 80 games in her career. She was a two-year team captain and a two-time NCAC Defensive Player of the Year.

Male Newcomer of the Year went to freshman Jeff Capella (Columbus, Ohio/WorthingtonKilbourne) who leads the men’s lacrosse team with 27 goals through the first 11 games of the 2007 season. Female Newcomer of the Year went to freshman Erin Slattery (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston), a setter and key addition to the Final Four volleyball team.

The Tiger Volleyball Team won the Women's Team of the Year award
Extracurricular Male Athlete of the Year went to senior Jim Martin (Moon Twp., Pa./Moon Area) of the men’s soccer team, and Extracurricular Female Athlete of the Year was awarded to senior Tosha Johnson (Cincinnati, Ohio/North College Hill), a women’s basketball player. Both Martin and Johnson are involved in numerous organizations and honor societies as well as their respective sports.

The Tiger Spirit Awards, given to one male and female who best support and encourage their fellow student athletes, went to senior Mark Morrell (St. Louis, Mo./C.B.C.) of the men’s lacrosse team and junior Sarah Matesich (Granville, Ohio/Newark Catholic) of the volleyball team.

Most Improved Men’s Team of the Year was given to the swimming and diving squad, whose strong freshman class and solid upperclass leadership helped turn a 5-8 dual meet record from the previous year into a successful 7-4 campaign in 2006-07.

Most Improved Women’s Team of the Year went to the soccer squad, which posted a 15-3-4 record that was good for the first NCAC championship and first NCAA Division III Tournament appearance in school history.

Senior Dane Borchers (Russia, Ohio/Russia) was named Record-Breaking Male Athlete. He holds the NCAC men's basketball tournament record for rebounds in a game at 20, ranks among the school leaders in career points, rebounds, blocks and games played, and he capped his collegiate career with first-team All-Great Lakes Region and third-team All-America honors following the 2006-07 season.

The Record Breaking Female Athlete award went to Lindsay Smith (Mount Vernon, Ohio/Mount Vernon) after she broke two individual school records (in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events), and was a part of three relay school records (in the 200-yard freestyle, 400-yard freestyle and 800-yard freestyle relays).

A pair of career achievement awards were also distributed. Andy Karcher (Oceola, Ohio/Bucyrus Wynford) won the men's award for his work in track and field. He won the NCAC indoor title in the hammer throw to go along with multiple top-five finishes in indoor and outdoor conference meets in the hammer and shot put in the last four years. Karcher has set and re-set the school record in the hammer three times, improving it by more than 20 feet.

The Female Collegiate Achievement Award honor went to senior Melissa Jackson (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington), a four-year starter for the Tiger field hockey and lacrosse teams who earned second-team All-NCAC honors in 2005 and honorable mention in 2006. She has 100 career lacrosse goals, good for ninth in school history.

Joe Fincham (Ohio University 1988), who led the football team to the NCAC championship and an NCAA Division III Tournament bid, took home Men’s Coach of the Year honors. Women’s Coach of the Year was awarded to Pam Smith (Wittenberg 1982) of the women’s basketball team after she earned her 400 th career victory while leading the Tigers to a 15-11 record.

The top athletes academically in each of the fall, winter and spring seasons were also recognized. The fall season honors were given to Jim Martin and volleyball junior Caitlin Augustus (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee). Basketball players Pat Denbow (Louisville, Ky/St. Xavier) and Kathy Hittle (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville), both seniors, took home the winter season awards, while spring season athletes Matt Steinke (Wapakoneta, Ohio/St. Mary's Memorial), a junior on the baseball team, and Sarah Fetters (Maumee, Ohio/Maumee), a junior on the softball squad, were recognized for their academic achievements.

By: Ryan Maurer and Pat Denbow '07

Hiram SAAC

2007-01-17T10:57:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone, just thought I'd post alittle bit about what Hiram has been doing, and what we are planning on doing this spring.

Hiram College Student-Athletes and Community Raise Money for Local Charity Organization
HIRAM, OHIO -- The Hiram College Student Athlete Advisory Committee (S.A.A.C.) along with help from the entire College community, made the holiday season more memorable for local area families by raising money for the People Tree Sharing Program in Garrettsville, Ohio.
The Garrettsville Area Chamber of Commerce founded the People tree program in 1981 and have since then been helping the less fortunate by providing toys, food, toiletries and other miscellaneous items to 130 families and 189 children in local area communities such as Garrettsville, Nelson, Freedom, Hiram and Windham. The program also assists seniors with prescriptions and gathers household items including furniture and appliances.
Donations have been made from individuals, schools, churches, clubs and other organizatinos to assist those around the holidays and throughout the year.
For one week, members of the Hiram S.A.A.C. gathered meal "swipes" using his or her college I.D. that amounted to $2.85 per swipe. Together the students accumulated over 550 meal donations and generated in incredible $1,618. Nearly 60 percent of the Hiram College community participated in the event.
"The campus responded very well," said S.A.A.C. co-advisor Bob Dean. "And, our student-athletes went above and beyond the call."
"You know, we are very proud of them. But, the reality is, this kind of reaction and move on their part has become 'normal' for our student-athletes....they just do these things."
On Thursday, Dec. 14, members of the student organization presented a check for $1,618 to the coordinators of the People Tree Sharing Program to help the organization continue its work in helping those in need.

Read Across America Program on February 26th & March 1st. In honor of Doctor Suess's Birthday Hiram College Student Athletes will take to the schools and read to area youths grades K-4. Hiram College Athletes typically participate with Garfield, Crestwood, and Aurora school Districts to promote the importance of reading. The SAAC Committee is looking for 100% participation of our sport teams in this program.
Student Athlete Appreciation Day- Thursday April 19 SAAC Members will be asked to recruit SA's to participate in the planning of our annual studant athlete recognition day, the event will recognize all of our student athletes, Male and Female Team GPA award winners, the Female Athlete of the Year, Male Athlete of the year, and Junior Scholar Athlete of the year, along with the NCAC male and female Scholar athlete of the year award winners. Also included in this celebration will be the unveiling of the new Championship Banners in Price Gymnasium.

Alright, that's alittle bit of what's going on in little Hiram, Ohio. Hope everyone else is doing well and I look forward to seeing more posts about what is happening on other campuses within our conference.

DSAAC assists Salvation Army with Toy Drive

2006-12-18T17:00:00.000-05:00

GRANVILLE- The Denison University Student Athlete Advisory Committee (DSAAC) teamed with the Licking County Salvation Army to assist with their annual "Adopt-A-Family" initiative last week and thanks to their generosity 30 local children will have something special under their tree on December 25.

Nearly $1,500 was collected on campus by members of DSAAC. The student-athletes involved with the committee took the donations and purchased gifts for the 30 children allotted to Denison by the Salvation Army.

DSAAC President Alison Teopas was thrilled with the enthusiasm and support displayed by the Denison community.

"The student advisory committee made it a goal this year to give back to the local community," stated Teopas. "We would like to thank the Salvation Army for organizing this program and allowing us to bring some joy into the homes of area children this Christmas."

The Adopt-A-Family (AAF) program matches impoverished families with individual or group sponsors to provide for their tangible needs at Christmas. Without the benefit of an adoption, these families would be looking forward to a very grim holiday. Being adopted is designed to be a once or, on very rare occasions, twice in a lifetime event for recipient families.

The mission of The Denison University Student Athletic Advisory Council is to work with the university administration and student-athletes to build positive relationships, develop unity, and increase involvement in the campus community. The council promotes communication and offers feedback and insight into departmental issues. The council also incorporates student-athlete opinions about proposed NCAC and NCAA legislation and encourages athletic teams to support one another. The council fosters and upholds programs to achieve these goals and works to fortify a positive student-athlete image on Denison University's campus.

2006-11-22T16:57:00.000-05:00

Hey guys,
Just wanted to see what was going. Is there anything we should caucus about (hahaha)? Well if any news or info becomes available please let me know so i can pass word along to some ppl here...

Marcus

Division III SAAC Announces Community Service Initiative with Habitat for Humanity

2006-11-16T12:07:00.000-05:00

INDIANAPOLIS---The Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is leading a division-wide community service initiative with Habitat for Humanity International.

Division III SAAC’s goal is to engage 60 percent of Division III membership in at least one Habitat for Humanity service project in the next three semesters (September 2006 through December 2007) in the areas of building, fundraising, advocacy and education.

“The Division III SAAC has taken a leadership role by asking Division III student-athletes to integrate their athletic involvement into an academic lesson, the importance of social involvement,” said Sarah MacInnis, assistant director of Education Outreach and NCAA staff liaison to the Division III SAAC. “Division III student-athletes are already frequently involved in community service activities. The Division III SAAC recognized this and is asking their peers to focus their efforts to effect change on a larger scale.”

In July the Division III SAAC voted to formally support the already-established partnership between the NCAA and Habitat for Humanity by beginning a movement within Division III which focuses on civic responsibility. Division III student-athletes are commonly involved in community service, but SAAC agreed their efforts would be more powerful by focusing SAAC’s energies toward a unified goal.

Jessica Huntley, basketball student-athlete at York College (Pennsylvania) and member of the Division III national SAAC, spearheaded the partnership with her colleagues on the Community Outreach Project Team (a subcommittee of Division III SAAC).

“We organized this subcommittee last summer and we were reminded of the NCAA partnership with Habitat for Humanity,” Huntley said. “We wanted to try to get a partnership with Division III started this year, though we weren’t sure how realistic that would be. But this is my last year on the national SAAC, so I really wanted to be a part of it. It was more difficult than we imagined it would be, but with the help of the people from Habitat and NCAA staff, we were able to make the plan a reality in a very short time. Without all of their hard work, this partnership would have never happened.”

A tool kit is provided for Division III members on the NCAA’s website, www.ncaa.org/saac.

“I congratulate the Division III SAAC and Habitat for Humanity on the development of this important program,” said Dan Dutcher, vice president for Division III. “It will reinforce the educational values that are at the heart of Division III athletics, both for the participating student-athletes and for members of the affected communities.”

The Division III SAAC recognizes that many conferences and institutions have established relationships with other community agencies; however this initiative offers an additional opportunity to join a national effort, MacInnis said. In no way is involvement mandated; rather it is encouraged as a means to provide life-skills education, to enhance institution and community relations, and create positive change on a national scale.

In response to the devastation caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the NCAA partnered with Habitat for Humanity International in outreach and volunteer efforts. The “Home Team” partnership began in September 2005 with a $1 million lead gift from Division II and a $500,000 matching gift from the Association and the national office. In January, Association leadership pledged an additional $1 million for a total of $2.5 million.

In an effort to rebuild the Gulf Coast, the NCAA partnered with Habitat for Humanity in pursuing its goal of building simple, decent, affordable houses for those in need.

There have been NCAA Home Team build sites at several NCAA Championships, including the 2006 Men’s Final Four (Indianapolis), the 2005 Division I-AA Football Championship (Chattanooga), the 2006 Division II Men’s and Women’s Swimming Championships (Indianapolis), and a build in Knoxville, Tennessee, in April in conjunction with the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Induction weekend. A six-home build will take place at the Division II Sports Festival in Pensacola, Florida, in November, while another build is planned for the 2007 NCAA Convention in Orlando, Florida, in January.

Pilot testing

2006-03-09T21:26:00.000-05:00

Has anyone got any word about the substance and drug testing. When we had our SAAC meeting it sounded like everyone was all for it. The only thing was cost, who is going to pay for it and where is it coming from and when will it take place.

Will Marcus P. get all the info for us?

Congratulations

2005-10-21T14:34:00.000-04:00

Congratulations,

To the SAAC at Wittenberg, you guys are doing a great job and keep up the good work. You are a great model for the rest of the Conference SAACs. Have a great rest of the semester.

In SAAC

Ryan Stephens
Wabash College

Wittenberg SAAC Receives $6000 Initiative Grant From NCAA

2005-10-20T11:57:00.000-04:00

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – Wittenberg University is a proud institution dedicated to the development of the entire person. Toward that end, the Wittenberg Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) has been awarded a Division III Initiative Grant from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to develop programs that will enhance the welfare of the university’s nearly 600 active student-athletes each year.

Titled “The Wittenberg Way,” the program will focus on four primary objectives in the coming years:

Help freshmen adjust to becoming a collegiate student-athlete in a friendly and fun environment;
Educate incoming freshmen on the tradition of Wittenberg athletics and what it means to be an athlete on a college campus. It will address issues and topics specific to being a student-athlete;
Educate student-athletes and coaches through relevant, engaging seminars and events;
Unite student-athletes on campus through events and activities.
The NCAA offers annual initiative grants to support the educational and professional development of students, faculty, staff and administrators at its more than 430 Division III member institutions and conferences. According to SAAC Adviser Tooti Snider, assistant to the director of athletics and recreation, the aforementioned objectives fit neatly into her goals for the organization, namely to help students adjust to college life while gaining knowledge in such areas as nutrition, campus diversity, academic development and sport psychology.

“Through this grant, the athletics department plans to educate student-athletes, coaches, faculty, staff and the student body on issues related to the college experience through engaging seminars and events,” Snider said. “This is a great opportunity for our student-athletes to get involved with other groups on campus and work collectively to bring in speakers and programs that are relevant to all college students.”

SAAC is an organization that helps student-athletes find their way as both students and athletes, and this $6,000 grant will go a long way toward helping individuals at Wittenberg excel in both areas. Along with the broader issues, the funding has already allowed for new campus programming.

“One of SAAC’s goals is to bring student-athletes together to create more support between teams,” Snider said. “This grant will allow us the opportunity to create and implement programs to support that goal through various events and activities.

“With this grant, we were able to provide the first ever freshmen orientation for student-athletes. Providing the incoming student-athletes with a friendly, fun and educational experience is an important piece of their success as student-athletes on the Wittenberg campus.”

2005 Fall NCAC SAAC Meeting

2005-09-29T11:40:00.001-04:00

2005 Fall NCAC SAAC Meeting
Originally uploaded by NCAC.

Welcome

2005-09-27T12:39:00.001-04:00

Greetings,

Welcome to the new NCAC SAAC blog, this is an amazing tool that will allow us to share ideas, photos and ask questions easily and effectively. I would like to personally thank everyone who attended the meeting on Sunday. I absolutely love meeting leaders from other campuses and sharing ideas with them. It is a great way to improve each individual campus. I am currently in the process of facebooking everyone right now. I do not have a complete list of everyone that attended the meeting yet, but as soon as I do you will receive a friend request. Please use this Blog that has been provided for us. I think it is vital that we keep in touch and become friends. This makes the annual semester meeting much more enjoyable and those early Sunday mornings a little more tolerable :). Finally keep up the good work on your campuses, and I look forward to seeing you all again very soon. Take care, and good luck in your respective sports.

In SAAC

Ryan Stephens
Wabash College