MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – There is a leadership group of responsible and career-oriented WVU student-athletes who meet every three weeks to preside over current issues and topics related to collegiate athletics.
 
The group is called the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, SAAC for short, and it's overseen by Stephanie White, assistant athletics director for student-athlete development and enhancement.
 
SAAC was created to enhance the complete student-athlete experience "by serving as a medium of communication between student-athletes, institutional and conference administrators, NCAA representatives and coaches," according to the SAAC's mission statement posted on WVUsports.com.
 
It also works to "encourage academic excellence, personal development and community engagement within a diverse and inclusive environment."
 
This falls in line with current director of athletics Shane Lyons' vision for the student-athlete experience at WVU. 
 
According to White, there are 34 members on this year's SAAC committee with at least two members representing each sport at WVU. Within this is a 16-person executive committee responsible for setting the agenda for each two-hour meeting.
 
"For SAAC, in general, we have at least two representatives for each sport and some sports provided more than two because of the interest within their teams," White said.
 
Swimming and diving's Abigail Riggs, daughter of WVU swimming and diving head coach Vic Riggs, and wrestling's Patrick Daum serve as co-presidents.
 
Vice president is rowing's Ashley Dibling and the secretary is track and field and cross country's Katherine Dowie.
 
West Virginia's two SAAC co-presidents and its two Big 12 representatives, gymnastics' Agatha Handono and football's Jalen Thornton, were selected to be a part of the four-person group that represents West Virginia University on the Big 12 SAAC Committee. 
 
The Big 12 group meets periodically to discuss legislation and other relevant matters concerning collegiate athletics, and the WVU SAAC members share this information with their peers. They had their first Big 12 meeting earlier this week and are also scheduled to have an in-person meeting in Arlington, Texas, during the Big 12 football championship weekend.
 
Other members of the SAAC executive committee include track and field's Ceili McCabe and gymnastics' Abigail Pierson (responsible for community service), golf's Kurtis Grant and track and field's Mikenna Vanderheyden (student welfare), baseball's Austin Davis (campus outreach) and baseball's Kevin Dowdell (social media), men's basketball's Pauly Paulicap (diversity and inclusion) and volleyball's Adrian Ell and swimming and diving's Zach Boley (student events).
 
Each sub-committee provides a vital service for WVU student-athletes. For instance, the community service sub-committee essentially establishes the department's community service initiatives for the year.
 
The events sub-committee plans the very popular and well-received Blue & Golden Globes Award in the spring, as well as the holiday party for WVU student-athletes.
 
The outreach sub-committee scans the weekly campus calendar and identifies key events for student-athlete participation. And, of course, student welfare and diversity and inclusion are always extremely important to the student-athlete growth and experience. 
 
What their participation on SAAC is providing them are the necessary leadership and networking skills required to be successful in their post-athletic careers, White explained.
 
White also noted that there have been some significant policies adopted through SAAC, such as the continuation of the WVU bus service at the Coliseum.
 
"At one point in time that service stopped because the thought was it wasn't being utilized," White recalled. "Well, it really affected our student-athletes and their schedules. Truthfully, it affected a lot of students who park at the Coliseum and the committee brought this up a couple of years ago and the service was reinstated."
 
White said another valuable undertaking recently established through SAAC was the WVU One Team initiative that encourages student-athletes to go out and support each other's events.
 
"They receive points for participation and at the end of the year the team with the most points receives an award," White explained.
 
The SAAC twitter account contains resume cover-letter writing tips, job searches, nutritional advice and important motivational messages. 
 
White said SAAC was established more than 15 years ago and has undergone several different iterations since then.
 
The group is scheduled to meet once again next week.