SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Student-athletes and administrators from across the league gathered in Spartanburg, South Carolina, for a weekend of fun and leadership training at the Southern Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee winter meeting. The mission of the SoCon SAAC is to enhance the total student-athlete experience by promoting opportunity, protecting student-athlete well-being, and fostering positive student-athlete image.
The 2018 meeting got underway on Friday, January 26, with all 18 student-athletes meeting at the Southern Conference office where the group was able to get to know one another before heading out to dinner.
Day two of the meeting began early on Saturday with the group assembling for breakfast and then diving into SoCon SAAC business which included opening remarks from Commissioner John Iamarino. Associate Commissioner Sue Arakas continued the discussion as they talked about the mission statement and the expectations for the SoCon SAAC. That was followed by a corporate partner presentation by Fifth Third Bank which focused on finances for college students. The student-athletes were then treated to a presentation by Sharod K. Williams, Assistant Commissioner for External Operations, Conference Carolinas, where he discussed team building and DiSC assessment, a behavioral theory based around four traits: dominance, inducement, submission and compliance. Day two wrapped up with institutional SAAC updates regarding the frequency of campus SAAC meetings, athletics department cooperation, community service projects and institutional best practices followed by a National SAAC representative report from Wofford representative Ross Hammond which consisted of the function of the NCAA SAAC and the national SAAC focus. Following dinner, the group was treated to the Wofford-ETSU men’s basketball game inside the new Richardson Indoor Stadium.
The meeting concluded on Sunday with breakfast at the conference office and then a quick wrap up that included breakout sessions for SAAC members and advisors before everyone returned to their respective campuses.
The purpose of the organization is to protect, foster, and improve the student-athlete well-being by establishing a foundation for developing the SoCon SAAC into a solid organization, while utilizing each other's resources and providing guidance to strengthen SAAC's throughout the Southern Conference. The Southern Conference participates in the NCAA Division-I national SAAC, which consists of one student-athlete from each of the 31 Division-I conferences. Members are selected by the Division-I Management Council from a pool of three nominees from each of the represented conferences. Each student-athlete serves a two-year term. These conference representatives offer input and assist in shaping the proposed legislation for Division-I athletics.
What they're saying about SAAC:
Western Carolina's Eynde Frazier: The representatives that came to this years SAAC were all energetic and passionate and cared about the student-athletes. I learned a lot and feel like I have more that I can bring to the table now at Western Carolina's SAAC.
VMI's Matt Pita: I am excited to bring the leadership development aspect from the character building and be able to effectively communicate with the team with different personalities because of our DiSC training.
Sharod K. Williams, Assistant Commissioner for External Operations at Conference Carolinas: There are a lot of the new members and the group is willing to take ownership and really use their resources that were provided to them this weekend for effective communication and leadership. The student-athletes were given the opportunity to figure out the power they had with communicating with the Southern Conference.
ETSU's Rachel Harbin: I learned more about how to try and communicate with people and different types of personalities. It is important to share this with ETSU SAAC to get people more involved on campus. I would love to see the DiSC assessment come back for next year and the activities that made us vulnerable to each other which then allowed us to open up to each representative.