Every other Sunday, representatives from each of the 35 athletic teams on campus climb the stairs of the student center to gather in the Hannon Room for The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The SAAC is responsible for representing student-athletes’ interests and generating a student-athlete voice on multiple levels. With over 1⁄3 of the student body at St. Lawrence consisting of varsity athletes, SAAC serves an important function to enhance the student-athlete experience.
The state of SAAC has been somewhat delicate in years past, but the recent e-board has worked to build its presence on campus. Steadily, we have been building back the contributions of SAAC both on campus and in the community.
In the fall, we participated in the NCAA’s Diversity and Inclusion social media campaign, hosted the Fall Kickoff, and raised money for Power of Pink. This spring semester offers new opportunities for SAAC to hold events.
First, on the calendar, we are looking forward to holding an event for National Girls and Women in Sports Day. NGWSD is celebrated on February 7th this year and helps advance the participation of women in sports. SAAC is currently planning an event for late March or early April to celebrate NGWSD. We are also looking forward to hosting our traditional Spring Carnival, which takes place on a busy home weekend in mid-late April. You can expect the chance to get involved in multiple stands, including games, snacks, raffles, and our popular vintage sale. As in previous years, proceeds from these stands will be donated to Special Olympics- a group we’re excited to build ties with.
Another function of SAAC is to operate the Saints Nation program. Teams get paired up with a “buddy team” and are tasked with supporting their team. Saints Nation is a unique part of St. Lawrence’s athletic community that helps to build camaraderie between our 35 sports teams. Teams show out for their buddy team by making posters, lining the stands to cheer, and watching home games. We have already seen great support between our “buddy teams” in the fall and winter seasons and are thrilled to get the ball rolling in the spring seasons as well.
Right now, SAAC is working on brainstorming ideas for our spring events as well as new events to introduce to the community. We are also looking forward to establishing our partnership with Special Olympics. Even though SAAC is a group comprised of a few reps from each sport, we encourage all students (athlete or not) to stay tuned to our upcoming events.
To stay tuned to everything SAAC-related, follow our social media @stlawusaac.