Video by Allie Stein
Cabrini’s athletic department allows student athletes to be a part of the NCAA Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee also know as SAAC. SAAC allows for student athletes to have leadership positions within the athletic department and to have their voices heard on what they want to change or see happen within Cabrini’s athletics.
“They are the leaders within our athletic department and amongst their teams,” SAAC adviser Jess Huda said. “They plan and organize events throughout the year, such as Halloween Havoc and D3 Week. They attend conferences and retreats throughout the year, that allows them to meet other student-athletes across our conference and across the country. They act as the voice of their teams and are constantly communicating with them to see if they have any concerns or questions that they would like brought up to the department.”
The student athletes who are SAAC members are very passionate about Cabrini athletics alongside their own individual sport.
“The SAAC reps are really the advocates for student athletes on campus. We are a voice,” junior soccer player Joe Fiore said. “We meet once a month and talk about concerns that are going on with our teams or ways to get athletes involved with other organizations on campus.”
The Division II SAAC mission statement is to “enhance the total student-athlete experience by promoting opportunity for all student-athletes; protecting student-athlete welfare; and fostering a positive student-athlete image, while maintaining the tenets of the Division III philosophy.”
SAAC members also plan events throughout the year to kick off the different seasons and work closely with their adviser Jess Huda to come up with ideas at their monthly meetings.
“Someone will say one idea and it will turn into ten different ideas because everyone is so excited,” sophomore basketball player Mike Doyle said. “We’re all athletes so we’re all competitive, everyone wants to have the best idea. ‘Lets do this! We should do that! We’ll make it bigger, we’ll do this!’ and when you get six people like that who all come together it turns into some really special things.”
SAAC is often referred to as the student government of athletics and has lived up to those expectations. They are not only recognized within the athletic department as leaders but also all throughout campus.
“In two years we went from barely having anyone show up to meetings to having our SAAC not only have a voice within our athletic department but also across campus and is being recognized as a big leadership group on campus. How can I not love my job?” Huda said. “I get to come in here, work with them, hang out with them, listen to their ideas, support their ideas, watch their ideas come through, its awesome.”
