INDIANAPOLIS – Members from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee convened in Cincinnati earlier this week to conduct business at its annual fall meeting.
One of the NCAA’s prioritized initiatives is to allow the voice of the student-athlete to be heard. And the group did just that under the direction of G-MAC staff members Natalie Fiorenza (Operations Coordinator/SWA) and Jon Teetzel (Assistant Commissioner for Internal Operations).
“The group was super involved and interactive,” Fiorenza said. “The meeting sparked and energized our SAAC members. New ideas were embraced and shared to take back to their own individual campuses.”
A total of fourteen student-athletes from eight member institutions assembled at the Embassy Suites to get down to business, but not before some light-hearted fun during a Sunday night social activity.
The G-MAC SAAC went to Topgolf (elevated on the third level of a tiered driving range) and for those not accustomed to picking up a golf club, it made for some hilarious snapshot moments to remember.
Sure, Trevecca Nazarene men’s golfer Garrett Evans was in his natural habitat, crushing the ball off the tee, and even excelled when other G-MAC SAAC members implored him to switch to left-handed hitting.
But Cedarville outside hitter and 2015 co-player of the year Abby Shelton, coming off an all-tournament team selection at the Mizuno Midwest Region Volleyball Crossover Tournament in Aurora, Ill., was not.
Of course, it was all in good fun.
Shelton managed to somehow hit the ball backwards or straight up in the air with a driver, prompting the instructor to inquire how that was possible. Alderson Broaddus softball head coach and SAAC advisor Susan DeNillo had some great moments with a softball-like leg lift during a target practice golf game and Ursuline’s Leah Leshnack quipped that she ‘wouldn’t be giving up her softball bat for a golf club anytime soon’.
Leshnack, a junior middle infielder for the Arrows, is a veteran member of the G-MAC SAAC and reflected back on her fall meeting experience.
“I believe that the most noteworthy takeaway from this fall meeting is that although we are all conference rivals, we are all students who take pride in our schools, conference and division and want to help make them the absolute best that it can be,” she said. “We have a voice, and SAAC allows for it to be not only heard, but to be taken into consideration.”
“I love being a part of SAAC because our institutions' opinions are valued and respected, “Leshnack added. “Not only did we have the opportunity to vote on legislation, but discuss our concerns and have them noted for review. It's so important for our voice to be heard because these rules are directly impacting us and the future of our programs.”
Some of the ideas she mentioned from other schools included a coin drive by Cedarville, a pie-in-the-face for coaches fundraiser at Davis & Elkins and others. Ursuline does bakes sales, raffles and is in the process of organizing its own ESPY’s night.
The G-MAC SAAC pledged to continue to contribute to the Make-A-Wish program, setting a goal of $10,000 to be raised without conference assistance. Make-A-Wish Stars will also continue to be sold and two institutions have conducted Make-A-Wish Reveals in the last year (Cedarville, Davis & Elkins)
The group also wanted to continue to push for another year of the Athletes Collecting Toiletries in Service (A.C.T.S.). These items gathered from various hotels on road trips will be donated at the end of the year to a shelter in need.
Kentucky Wesleyan is participating in Team IMPACT and has welcomed 11-year old Allyson as a full-fledged member of the Panthers women’s basketball program this season. She was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder and enjoyed her first practice with the team back on Sept. 2. KWC celebrated her birthday and is prominently featured in the women’s basketball Twitter handle (@kwcwomenshoops).
Eighteen total proposals were laid out and reviewed. The proposals will be voted on at the NCAA Convention in Nashville, Tenn. One topic that sparked a 45-minute discussion was on 2-4 relating to amateurism.
The G-MAC SAAC is also sending three to the Student-Athlete Leadership Forum on Nov. 10-13 in Baltimore, including Leshnack. Joining her will be Cedarville’s Jaden Cleland (baseball) and Ursuline’s Grace Savage (lacrosse) accompanied by Teetzel.
The group is scheduled to meet again next over a conference call in January.
2016-17 G-MAC SAAC Fall Attendees
Jes Hicks (Ursuline – Cross Country, Track & Field/President)
Sarah Mersing (Alderson Broaddus – Swimming & Diving)
Lauren Jackson (Cedarville – Tennis)
Abby Shelton (Cedarville – Volleyball)
Allie Lapallo (Davis & Elkins – Softball)
Sam Windham (Davis & Elkins – Swimming & Diving)
Tyler Walsh (Kentucky Wesleyan – Baseball)
Brian Cassler (Malone – Track & Field)
John Tyler Stephens (Ohio Valley – Baseball)
Melinda Koppinger (Ohio Valley – Softball)
Danielle Tyson (Trevecca Nazarene – Softball)
Garrett Evans (Trevecca Nazarene – Golf)
Leah Leshnack (Ursuline – Softball)
Breana Cervantes (Ursuline – Lacrosse)