INDIANAPOLIS—Last week’s annual Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) introduced several legislative changes to the structure of SAAC.
 
During Saturday’s business meeting, the group motioned and ultimately voted to split the role of the National SAAC Representative and the Great Midwest SAAC Chair to be two separate and distinct roles. In previous years, the two roles were combined and one individual took on the responsibilities of both National SAAC and Great Midwest SAAC.
 
This change will allow for additional leadership opportunities, spread the work of National SAAC and Great Midwest SAAC to two student-athletes, and will allow the National SAAC representative to focus on issues at the national level while maintaining a connection to the Great Midwest SAAC.
 
Following the approval of the motion, the committee then voted on a secret ballot for the roles of Great Midwest Chair, Vice Chair, and Social Media Chair, with one institution receiving one vote.
 
Trent Maddox of Ashland University was voted by his peers as the Great Midwest Chair after serving as vice chair the past two years. Maddox is a senior on the Ashland football team and the president of Ashland’s SAAC. He will work alongside Alexis Montalvo, a senior women’s lacrosse player for Ashland, who was selected as the National SAAC Representative this past spring.
 
“I am extremely excited to serve all student athletes across the G-MAC,” said Maddox. “I am looking forward to working alongside the conference staff to continue to allow for the student athletes voices to be heard.”
 
Ohio Dominican’s Camryn Pickerill was voted as Vice Chair. Pickerill currently serves as the SAAC President on Ohio Dominican’s campus and is a senior on the women’s basketball team.
 
The Social Media Chair was voted to be Ashland’s Avery Rosso, a junior on the women’s soccer team.
 
The new legislative changes to SAAC are effective immediately for the 2023-24 academic year.