THE STUDENT-ATHLETE
ADVISORY COMMITTEE (SAAC)
Article I
NAME: The name of this student run NCAA affiliated organization is the Bridgewater College Student – Athlete Advisory Committee.
Article II
I.
II.
PURPOSE:
The
purpose of the SAAC is as follows:
o To form a communication link between the Bridgewater College Athletic Department and the student-athletes through which communication
o To
promote unity among the student-athlete community of
o To encourage school-wide awareness and support of Bridgewater College Athletics
o To educate and inform the student-athlete community about issues and changes in NCAA Division III legislation and provide a forum through which they can suggest legislation
o To encourage student-athlete involvement beyond academics and athletics in community service
o To design programs which win encourage academic success, health promotion, social responsibility, and general awareness of the needs of the entire student body
o To participate in activities provided by the ODAC SAAC and to promote the philosophy of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference with an emphasis on sportsmanship
Article III
I. MEMBERSHIP:
a. Representation
i. The membership shall consist of two representatives from each varsity sport, male and female, an athletic representative, and a faculty athletic representative.
ii. Freshmen, sophomores, juniors, or seniors can represent their respective team.
iii. Representatives must be full time student-athletes.
iv. The term of membership will be one year.
1. The term can be renewed year to year.
b. Loss of Membership
i. A member can lose membership due to:
1. The removal from a varsity athletic team for disciplinary problems or offenses with the law.
2. A drop in academic performance below the minimum GPA needed to participate in varsity athletics no matter if it during the season or in the off-season. The representative for the Student – Athlete Academic Support Program will notify such a violation.
3. If, at the discretion of the membership, the student-athlete is deemed unfit to participate in the SAAC because of problems with compliance of its mission statement in their actions on and off the field, the member in question may be removed.
II. DUTIES OF MEMBERSHIP
a. The membership shall:
o Communicate with their respective teams the issues discussed during meetings of the Bridgewater College SAAC.
o Attend every meeting of the Bridgewater College SAAC barring an excused absence due to academic or athletic responsibility or extenuating circumstance.
o Actively carry out the mission statement and purposes of the Bridgewater College SAAC
Article IV
I. OFFICERS:
The officers of the organization shall be:
1) Formal Officers
o Advisor
o Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR)
o President
o Vice – President
o Secretary/Treasurer
o Committee Chairs
2) Informal Officers
o Student – Athlete Mentors
o Head Coaches
II. DUTIES AND CRITERIA OF OFFICERS
1) Advisor
a. The Advisor will be the head-athletic director, the assistant athletic director, or an athletic coach appointed by one of the abovementioned.
b. The Advisor will serve as a facilitator for the group and represent the organization at the Athletic Department meetings.
c. The Advisor will assist the officers in any way possible.
2) Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR)
a. The FAR will attend meetings of the Bridgewater College SAAC when requested by officers.
b. The FAR will provide a liaison between the faculty and the student – athletes.
c. The FAR will inform the Bridgewater College SAAC about any academic related issue that would affect student – athletes.
3) President
a. The President shall be the Vice – President from the year before. The President is therefore a succession position.
b. The President shall preside over meetings in conjunction with the Advisor.
c. The President shall meet with the Head Athletic Director once a semester to exchange information.
d. The President shall be in charge of overall organization and communication between the members of the organization.
e. The President shall educate the Vice – President on procedures of the Bridgewater College SAAC.
f. The President shall be a member of the Policy, Procedures, and Legislation Committee.
4) Vice President
a. The Vice – President shall be elected by a majority vote of the formal officers of the membership. Candidates shall be nominated by the formal officers.
b. The Vice – President shall be a freshman, sophomore, or junior who will take over the role of President the following year. The role of the Vice – President is to learn from the President and assist the President with anything the President delegates.
5) Secretary/Treasurer
a. The Secretary/Treasurer shall be elected by a majority vote of the formal officers of the membership. Candidates shall be nominated by the formal officers.
b. The Secretary/Treasurer shall keep detailed notes of the meetings.
c. The Secretary/Treasurer shall help with the overall and organization and communication between the members of the organization.
6) Committee
a. Policies, Procedures, and Legislation Committee
i. The President shall be a member of this committee.
ii. The committee deals with changes, issues, and suggestions concerning the NCAA, ODAC, and/or Bridgewater College Athletic Department.
b. Advertising and Promotion Committee
i. This committee advertises for athletic events with the partnership of the athletic department.
ii. The chair of this committee is responsible for getting knowledge about the Bridgewater College SAAC out to the student athletes and student body at-large.
c. Fan Committee
i. The committee is in charge of coordinating “Pack the Stands” events.
ii. The committee is in charge of soliciting fan support by word of mouth and extra advertising and promotion.
d. Fundraising Committee
i. The committee is in charge of brainstorming for ideas of fundraising, preparing budget requests for the Bridgewater College Athletic Department, and organizing fundraising efforts.
e. Community
i.
The committee reaches out to the community of the town
of
ii. The committee is primarily responsible for community service.
f. Sportsmanship
i.
The committee assesses the commitment to sportsmanship
on the
ii. The committee finds ways to promote more sportsmanship.
iii. The committee organizes events that promote sportsmanship.
7) Informal Officers
a. Student – Athlete Mentors (SAMs)
i. Each team shall have one student – athlete mentor appointed by the head coach.
ii. The SAMs will be responsible for helping incoming freshman in their sport adjust to college life and specifically college athletics. They will be available for help for the freshman.
iii. The SAMs will inform the freshman of their position and make contact information available for them.
iv. The SAMs will report to the Bridgewater College SAAC meeting that comes closest to the end of their respective seasons. The purpose of this attendance would be to dialogue with each other and the membership of the SAAC about the role of the SAM and make any suggestions about it.
b. Head Coaches
i. The Head Coach will select two representatives from their team to be on the Bridgewater College SAAC.
ii. The Head Coach will select one member of their team that is a sophomore, junior, or senior to be the SAM.
iii. The Head Coach will cooperate with the SAAC in fulfilling its purpose and do anything necessary to help with attendance.
III. ELECTION OF OFFICERS:
o The election of officers for the following year shall be done for secretary/treasure and committee chairs at the next to last SAAC meeting of the spring semester.
o The election for Vice-President will be at the second SAAC meeting of each fall semester. The importance of the Vice-President will be announced at the last two meetings of the Spring Semester
Article V
I. ACTIVITIES:
The Bridgewater College SAAC shall be necessarily involved in the following activities:
o Meetings:
1) The Bridgewater College SAAC shall meet on the first Thursday morning of every month or as necessary at a time designated by the President and Advisor.
2) The Bridgewater College SAAC shall send two representatives, one male and one female, to the ODAC SAAC Meeting in the fall of the academic school year.
o A brief informative session at the beginning of the year when the Head Athletic Director meets with all student – athletes to discuss policies of the NCAA and the Bridgewater College Athletic Department
o Participation
in the
o A student – athlete social event to promote unity and to inform student – athletes about the SAAC
o Organize the “Pack the Stands” events – “Pack the Stands” is an effort to encourage attendance of student – athletes to other student – athletes’ athletic events to promote unity among the student – athletes. “Pack the Stands” also extends to the entire student body. The coach of each team will select one game (other than Homecoming) that he/she wants an especially large crowd and it will be advertised as such.
o Any other informal activities added.
ARTICLE VI
I. AMENDMENTS: This constitution may be amended by a two step process in this order:
1) A 2/3 majority vote of the members present at a particular meeting when an amendment is being discussed
2) Followed by, a 2/3 majority vote of the Student Senate of Bridgewater College
Compiled by:
Jonathan E. Small
SAAC President 2004 – 2005
November 18th, 2004
Revised: Nov. 30th, 2004