Getting to know the National SAAC'ers

Hello readers! This is a new feature that we are going to post weekly that allows you to get to know each of the Division I National SAAC members. It is important to us that the student-athletes know about the individuals that are representing them.

Bob Nolte, swimming and diving student-athlete from Binghamton University representing the America East Conference, has created all the bios you will read. Thanks Bob!

The first post is an interview of Nick Fulton.


Nick Fulton is the D1 National SAAC representative for the Big 10 Conference and the current Chair of the committee. He spent the last year serving as the Vice-Chair. Nick graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 2009 with a dual degree in Political Science and Economics. As a Swimming Student-Athlete, he competed in the 100 and 200 Backstroke events for the Badgers.

How long have you been on National SAAC?
Since Fall 2007

How did you become involved with SAAC?
I was involved in my campus SAAC as a freshman. I eventually became an officer and was lucky enough to get to go to a conference SAAC meeting. It was at that meeting that I learned about the National SAAC.

What's one cool thing your campus SAAC does that makes you unique?
We have a sister organization called SAESO - Student Athletes Equally Supporting Others - that focuses exclusively on diversity issues. We have had some great discussions come out of this relationship.

What is your favorite memory from National SAAC?
I will always remember the people. I know that is probably cheating, but really, the biggest memory I will carry on forever from National SAAC are the people that I have been so fortunate to build relationships with.

What is the best thing about being a D1 Athlete?
The best thing about being a DI Athlete is that we get to compete at the highest level possible, while being provided with an extraordinary opportunity to go to some of the best Universities in the world.

Favorite food?
Pizza

Favorite TV show?
West Wing

Favorite Pro Sports Team?
Minnesota Vikings

If you could meet one person in the world, who would it be?
President Bill Clinton

Place you’ve never been that you’d love to visit?
Africa

The actor who plays you in the movie version of your life?
Ben Affleck

Hobby?
Traveling

One interesting fact about yourself?
Ed. Note- Nick didn’t answer this question, but I thought it was too cool to pass up. Nick qualified and competed at the 2008 Olympic Swimming Trials. He’s too proud to brag, so I thought I’d do a little for him- BN

What are some of your career goals?
I hope to be an Athletic Director at a Division I school.

Check back next week when we check in with Aminah Charles of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and hear about Hampton University’s Penny Drive.

NCAA News Story on National SAAC!

Wisconsin's Fulton provides strong voice for SAAC - NCAA.org

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Convention Wrap Up

As a new member of the Division I National Student Athlete Advisory Committee, I was extremely nervous about my first meeting. The fact that the meeting was in conjunction with the NCAA Convention didn’t help calm any of those butterflies either. First arriving in Atlanta from Colorado, I expected some nice southern weather, but apparently that doesn’t exist. There wasn’t much of a change from the frigid Colorado air to the frigid Georgia air. My flight got in really early that day, so all I could do was sit around and wait for people to show up. At first, I was exhausted and seriously lacking enthusiasm, however, as student-athletes from across the country began to gather, my energy grew. I knew I was going to have an amazing experience.

One would think that 14 hours of daily meetings would put a damper on a convention, but in my opinion that was the best part. I learned more in our daily meetings than I have learned in a long time and that is all due to the amazing members of SAAC. Each and every member of SAAC brings something different to the committee and everything they bring is valuable. I could write an entire blog entry on the members of SAAC alone, as well as the liaisons. A couple of things that I want to cover are the Division I Business Session as well as the Honors Celebration/Dinner.

Now for those of you who have never been to a NCAA Convention, believe me when I say it is a tad intimidating. When you walk in there are chairs for all of the delegates as well as microphones throughout for people to give speeches if they so choose. Being in the same room with university presidents, NCAA staff members and athletic administration from all over the country is a humbling and, quite frankly, a nerve-wrecking experience. But the fact is that every single one of them is there for the same purpose, to enhance the experiences of student-athletes, creates an electrifying atmosphere.

With two high profile and semi-controversial pieces of legislation up for override during the convention, my first business session and the preparation for it was interesting to say the least. Proposal 2008-46, in the simplest of terms, added another week to the baseball season, going from 13 weeks to 14 weeks. As student-athletes we felt that it was important that the season did extend, allowing for more rest for the baseball student-athletes, as well as, more scheduling flexibility to ensure less missed class time. Because this was so important to us, our chair, Matt Baysinger, gave an amazing speech to the entire business session. Proposal 2008-59 was the more controversial of the two; the override would take sand volleyball off of the Division I Emerging Sports List. When there was a motion to discuss this proposal, I could feel the tension in the room rising. Delegate after delegate walked up to a microphone to explain why people should support or oppose the override and our very own Danielle Neault gave a rousing speech about why people should oppose the override and allow sand volleyball to stay on the ESL. It was amazing to see the passion and viewpoints that all of the delegates brought to their speeches. It reminded me of how lucky I am to be a DI student-athlete because there are so many people working hard to make sure that I succeed in all ways possible.
On the final night of the convention there was the Honors Celebration and that was a real treat. The Honors Celebration is always on the last night of the convention and honors amazing people that have truly amazing stories. The Top VIII is a group of student athletes who showed an interest in not only being the best at their sport but also to academics and community service. Some of the Top VIII included Tim Tebow of the University of Florida, Courtney Kupets of the University of Georgia and Jeff Lerg of Michigan State.

The Silver Honorees were all former student-athletes on their 25th Anniversary of graduation. Doug Flutie, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Maureen O-Toole Purcell were just a few of the Silver Honorees. All of them had done great things throughout their lives, but I think the most important thing was that they all stood for what being a student-athlete can do for you in the long run. The NCAA also awarded the two awards of Valor; one to Richard Phillips and the other to Roxana Saberi. Phillips was the captain of the merchant ship that got attacked by Somalian pirates last year. But the most amazing part of this story was that he allowed himself to be kidnapped in order to protect the lives of the men and women on his ship. Saberi, a journalist, was arrested and had an unannounced trial where she was sentenced to eight years in an Iranian jail. She was not allowed visitors for some time and was put through all types of mental torture while in captivity. Exactly 100 days after her arrest, Saberi was released and has since been seen as a hero all over the country. There were two Inspiration awards given out: one to the Bluffton baseball team and the other to Lieutenant Colonel Gregory Gadson. The Bluffton baseball team lost five members in 2007 in a bus crash on the way to their season opener in Florida. A month after the accident, the remaining team members and the coaches decided that it was important to continue playing for the players that couldn’t be there. Gadson, a former football student-athlete from West Point, lost both of his legs to an improvised explosive device in Iraq. Gadson didn’t allow this incident to end his life and is a testament to us all that obstacles only stay in our way if we allow them to.

Something that was true about all of the honorees was that even though they had all done amazing things and had amazing stories; they were some of the most humble people I have ever met.

I have been lucky in my life to meet many different people but the people that I meet during the week of January 11-16 were and will remain unforgettable and I can’t wait until the next meeting.

Eugene Daniels
Colorado State University
Mountain West Conference
Division I National SAAC Member

Convention Blog

The 104^th NCAA Convention in Atlanta, Georgia was a great one for the DI National Student Athlete Advisory Committee. It served as a powerful reminder as to how much work we have put in during this past year and also how much more work lies ahead of us.

Convention offers opportunities for us to interact with many different administrators from campuses and conferences around the country, and to have the student-athlete voice be heard by the schools in attendance. At convention, SAAC is given the opportunity to meet with three of the most influential groups within the entire NCAA: the leadership council, the legislative council and the board of directors.

The leadership council is comprised of mainly higher administrators and experienced faculty members. They discuss broad topics facing the NCAA in the coming years and propose with strategies to tackle them.

The legislative council is the group that deals exclusively with voting on each year’s proposals each year which include everything from length of seasons to the role of text messaging in the recruiting process. Each conference has one representative on the Legislative Council.

Finally, the board of directors is a group of university presidents who are charged with leading the NCAA.

As you can see, these three groups are incredibly important when it comes to the rules and regulations of the NCAA – and SAAC has a chance to meet with each of these groups during our time at convention.

A big takeaway from our meeting this year was just how important the student-athlete voice is going to be over this coming year. It looks like there could be changes to NCAA regulations on recruiting, non-athletic financial aid, amateurism, men’s basketball and men’s football. Needless to say, SAAC has its plate full for this upcoming year.

As these changes are proposed, it is incredibly important that we hear views from all types of student-athletes. Each of the 31 members of National SAAC will be in touch with their conferences to collect important feedback that could shape what the NCAA looks like in the future. It is comforting to know that student-athletes have a voice on a national level. After all, the NCAA exists for the student-athletes.

Fall 2009 National SAAC Award of Excellence

The NCAA Division I National SAAC is proud to announct the two winners of the Fall 2009 National SAAC Award of Excellence.

University of Houston Cougars

In years past, The University of Houston’ Student-Athlete Council might have been considered "a sleeping giant" – a group with enormous potential but not much activity. But thanks to new leadership, student-athletes have been moving forward full throttle in the 2009-2010 school year. Only six weeks into the fall 2009 term, the UH Student-athlete council has already met four times – every other week. In this short time, the SAAC has created and implemented a SAAC webpage and committed to 5 community service events for fall: the American Diabetes "Step Up" Walk in November, the Houston Marathon Kids Kick-Off on October 10th, the Harvard Elementary School Literacy Night on October 20th, the Star of Hope Holiday Party on the first Monday in December, and a Cookies and Milk Event with Star of Hope Homeless Shelter residents in November (which will be come a monthly event).

Through the newly founded "Coog for a Coog" program, a SAAC led initiative, the group ask those who are not practicing or competing to attend their fellow student-athletes competitions. Turn out by student-athletes has increased dramatically at Womens' Soccer and Volleyball games, and student-athletes were all seated together to provide additional support to our football team at a Sept. 26th, nationally televised game.

The SAAC has also increased its leadership goals by inviting a Head Coach and an Athletic Administrator to each meeting to share their insights from a leadership perspective and to increase communication between the athletic department and its student-athletes. One of the SAAC representatives is also a member of the Student Government Association and our SAAC is in discussion with the SGA President to determine whether Athletics can have its own seat in UH Student Government.

Further, the SAAC has composed a list of short-term and long-term goals that are aimed at improving the UH community and student-athlete welfare. Two of those goals are the installation of an indoor bike rack to reduce theft of student-athlete bikes and encourage a ‘greener; way of living, as well as a "healthy options" food/sandwich cart that would improve lunch/snack options for student-athletes and staff by providing better choices than the nearby fast food chains.

In addition, the SAAC Officers are now meeting once a month with the Director of Athletics to discuss implementing their goals and to express the concerns of UH student-athletes. Communication, visibility, accountability and the development of understanding and respect between teams has been the immediate result of the increased activity and expansion of UH SAAC.

The Houston SAAC President, Clark Mitzner, was also elected C-USA SAAC Chair and attended the NCAA Leadership Development Conference last summer to increase his knowledge of best practices and his leadership abilities.

Finally, the University of Houston recently celebrated homecoming last weekend. In an effort to narrow the gap between students and student-athletes, each team had the opportunity to participate in the Homecoming Parade with a decorated Golf Cart. Teams came up with a theme and decorated their carts. Themes included Track and Field’s “Beat it” by Michael Jackson (Beat the Mustangs), while the Swimming and Diving Team kept to the water (Drown the Mustangs!).

In all, it is safe to say that the “Sleeping Giant” has been awakened, and that the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee at the University of Houston is quite alive and active. The National SAAC is proud to recognize the University of Houston as one of the recipients of the Fall 2009 National SAAC Award of Excellence. Houston’s student-athletes have shown that inter-sport team work, collaboration, and support can go a long way. The many accomplishments of your student-athletes this fall semester set a great example for the untapped potential within student-athlete groups all over the country. Keep up the good work, and congratulations!

The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers

The student-athlete advisory committee at the University of Minnesota is rooted in a number of traditions that have had an incredibly deep impact on its surrounding communities. For quite some time, the Minnesota SAAC has served as a great example of how institutions around the country are working with student-athletes to give back to their communities. This year marked the 3rd annual “Allianz HopeKids HopeDay Festival.” The event is held on the first Sunday of the semester as a “welcome back” to student athletes. More importantly however, is the HopeDay festival which accompanies the event.

The HopeDay festival included sporting clinics from all 25 Gopher sports and student-athletes, including a dunk tank by the swim teams and obstacle course with the men's and women's track and field teams. Along with the student-athlete clinics, there are a variety of other activities for kids and families to attend, including pony rides, a petting zoo, a rock-climbing wall and face painting. The event drew over 500 student-athletes and over 1,400 members from the HopeKids organization.

HopeKids is an organization which gives hope to children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses and their families by participating in ongoing, highly anticipated events with the message of hope. The idea is that hope, in and of itself, is a very powerful medicine.

Eric Decker, a U of M football student-athlete was one of many student-athletes helping with HopeDay. "The whole time, you could tell the younger kids were definitely looking up to the college players. It wasn't that they were in awe; I think they just wanted a buddy." Decker explained, "Being around those kids, I realize how fortunate I am to be where I am at Minnesota."

While the Minnesota SAAC holds a number of community events on their campus, they also have many opportunities to go out into the community to touch lives. Perhaps the biggest accomplishment of Minnesota SAAC was the acquisition of a 21-passenger bus specifically used for community service. St. Jude Medical Foundation donated the bus largely in part to all the work that SAAC does in the Twin Cities community. St. Jude Medical Foundation was extremely impressed with the U of M SAAC and even had the bus wrapped in Gopher graphics, including action photos of student-athletes. Not only is this bus used to bring University of Minnesota student-athletes out into the community, but it is also used to bring young students on to the University of Minnesota campus for special programming. The M.A.G.I.C. (Maroon and Gold Impacting the Community) Bus bus was on the road six times in the first two weeks of the 2009-2010 school year, and is set to navigate the roads of the Twin Cities bringing education, fun and excitement to area youth for years to come.

The University of Minnesota and its initiative within the Minneapolis/St. Paul community makes them an exceptionally deserving candidate of the National SAAC Award of Excellence. While community service and outreach is not the only impressive facet of the student-athletes at the University of Minnesota, it is certainly noteworthy and very deserving of recognition. The NCAA Division I National SAAC is honored to recognize the University of Minnesota as one of the recipients of the Fall 2009 National SAAC Award of Excellence.

Congratulations to both the University of Houston and the University of Minnesota. Your initiative, leadership qualities, and community outreach are exemplary qualities, and we are happy to present you both with this award.

Remembering Our "Head Coach"

Dr. Myles Brand will be remembered for his incessant passion for intercollegiate athletics and, more importantly, the student-athlete. From his undertakings as a university President to spearheading academic reform throughout the NCAA, Dr. Brand’s motives became increasingly clear: accountability & putting the student back in student-athlete. While we were playing our first high school games six or seven years ago, Dr. Brand was changing the academic landscape of intercollegiate athletics. Not only was he ensuring that we were prepared for our college courses, but he was also increasing the number of student-athletes that walked across the stage at graduation. He was acting as an agent of change long before most of us took the SAT's.

In our experiences with Dr. Brand, we can assure you that he was truly an advocate for student-athletes. His ability to see the big picture and articulate his answers regarding difficult topics was unmatched. No matter what the circumstance, Dr. Brand was always in our corner.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dr. Brand’s family and friends. We will truly miss Dr. Myles Brand.

Catching Up with Aminah Charles

Currently, Aminah Charles (MEAC/Hampton University) is doing an internship at Nike Headquarters in Oregon. We caught up with her and asked her a few questions about this tremendous opportunity. For more information about internships at Nike, visit them on the web at nikebiz.com.

What are your daily responsibilities?

Everyday is a little bit different from the last. Some my responsibilities include creating PowerPoint decks for our advertising team. I have worked on our digital & retail global marketing strategies for our 2010 season, conducted consumer research and focus groups. As an intern I have also been involved with the preparation for photo shoots and putting together our marketing strategy for the Serena and Maria’s run at the US Open.

What is your favorite part of the job?

My favorite part of the job is that I get a first hand look into all of the new upcoming products and technology that Nike will be offering in future seasons. I have gotten a peek at the new shoes and apparel that will be on the market in the 2011 season, its really cool to see how the company is always trying to stay on the cutting edge of style, fashion and performance.

Most intriguing person you have met while working there?

It’s a three way tie between Michael Jordan, Lebron James, and Howard White.

On our first day of intern orientation MJ came to campus for a special ceremony that celebrated his 25 year relationship with Nike. We all got to sit in on the ceremony, and then afterwards we got to join him at an afternoon employee celebration. During the summer Lebron James came to campus and I actually ran into him on my way to get some breakfast at the cafeteria in my building. Howard White is the Vice president of the Jordan Brand and I actually got the opportunity to sit down with him for an hour long meeting. His success story is very interesting and he had tons of great advice about life to share with me. Anyone who knows Howard White would tell you that he’s one of the funniest most inspiring people that you will ever meet.

Is there a particular aspect of marketing/branding your job? What about this do you like?

The best part of marketing and branding in Nike Women’s Training is that you get to develop stories around key female athletes, helping elevate women sports. Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, and Tiger Woods are all global sports icons. Working in Women’s Training gives me the opportunity to help work toward developing the female icons of the future; this hopefully will inspire girls around the country.

How has your career as a student-athlete prepared you for this internship?

My career as a student athlete has definitely given me the upper edge here at Nike. The strong network of people that I was able to build as a student athlete helped get me the position. Also, working in a hectic environment my time management skills that I developed as an athlete has helped me excel in the work place. Nike is all about competition and getting that victory, we have a vey competitive atmosphere here. Everyday I am able to use that competitive drive I have to help make Women’s Training one of the strongest categories in the company. My co-workers also really respect and value my opinion simply because their consumer is the athlete.

How will this experience affect your career in the future?

This experience has helped me developed many of the necessary skill sets that would help me function in any career. Over the past few months I have been a sponge soaking up tons of advice and learning new things from everyone around me. The work experience that I have gained from working on various projects and the network that I have built will hopefully help shape my career in the future.

One thing about Nike HQ that most people do not know.

Nike HQ is such a huge place. It reminds me of a college campus, everything you need to live is right here. There are two workout facilities, a soccer field, football field, softball field, outdoor sand volleyball courts, convenient stores, cafeterias, restaurants, a air salon, training rooms/rehab center, dry cleaning and much more. If I had a bed I could probably live here!

What is the best local restaurant?

In my opinion RIB City. It’s a taste of the south right here in Portland, great barbeque ribs, the best sweet tea, and delicious chicken!