By Colton Little
It wasn’t till a few years ago that Mesa State College brought the Student Athletic Advisory Committee to the sidewalks of campus. SAAC gives student athletes a voice on campus. A group ran for the athletes, by the athletes, SAAC consists of more than thirty varsity athletes on the verge of making differences.
In 1997 SAAC was formed at Mesa State College. It was in this year that the NCAA’s legislation mandated that all member institutions and member conferences establish student-athletic advisory groups. SAAC is essentially a group of varsity athletes, two or three from each varsity team, whom come together to be voice in the community as well as the athletic venues Mesa State has to offer. Kris Mort, Mesa State’s head softball coach, is the faculty supervisor and mentor of SAAC. “It is a good way to connect with the community as well as your school,” said Mort. Not just anybody who is a varsity athlete can join the club. The head coach from each varsity sport proudly picks the players who represent the group. The head coaches look at responsibility, truthfulness, work ethic, and leadership in order to make their decisions onto who gets to become part of SAAC. All four of these characteristics ultimately come down to who can represent Mesa State in the way Mesa State wants to be represented. Of the athletes that are chosen from the coaches, the athletes choose the President, Vice President, and Secretary. Zay Lopez, a senior football player from California is this year’s President. Kelly Husky, a senior soccer player from Colorado is the Vice President, and Victoria Sargent, a senior tennis player from Colorado is the Secretary. “It feels good to be part of something like SAAC,”said Lopez
When SAAC was formed in 1997, the NCAA also mandated that the SAAC groups should adopt a charity in need. Mesa State and SAAC have teamed up with the Make-A-Wish foundation. There are several ways that SAAC creates money for this the Make-A-Wish foundation. One way is through a raffle that is set up every home event. The SAAC representatives go around to the fans and ask if they want to buy a raffle ticket. At a point in time during the game, the raffle is called and the person who wins gets half the pot and the other half goes to Make-A-Wish. The other way that they are able to raise money is through dinners. Helping out with important dinners like the Hall of Fame dinner, or the Alumni dinner, allows SAAC to earn a percentage that goes to Make-A-Wish. The Foundation is a very important aspect of SAAC. It is just an example of how they can explore outside of Mesa State College and into the community.
Two years ago, a young man, Johnny Maxfield, was killed in a car accident while he was home over break. Johnny was a football player and a SAAC representative. He loved everything about SAAC. He loved getting out in the community, making a difference. Now, in memory of Johnny, there is a SAAC scholarship that is given to a SAAC member every year. In order to win this award you must write an essay explaining why this award should go to you. The winner of the award is also awarded duty of highway clean-up. At mile marker 58, just before the DeBeque exit, is a strip of highway that SAAC has adopted to clean. It is to be clean twice a year as a group.
To some people SAAC is just a group that gets together once in a while. But if you really knew, they were a group trying to make a difference. They are a group of people trying to be a voice for the others. They are a group of people trying to lend a hand. “I enjoy SAAC. It brings athletes, Mesa, and the community together like it always should have,” said Sargent.