The SAAC is an advisory group for the Athletic Department on matters pertaining to intercollegiate athletics and student-athlete affairs. The SAAC also coordinates events throughout the academic year that involve student-athletes from all of the intercollegiate teams.
The members of the SAAC vote on a President, Vice President, and Treasurer of their committee on an annual basis. These elected officials serve on the SAAC executive committee that meets on a bi-weekly basis with the SAAC advisor.
| Name | Sport Representing | SAAC Rep Since |
| Jared Benson | Men's Basketball | 2007-08 |
| Stephanie Boyer | Track and Field | 2006-07 |
| Tim Cook | Men's Nordic Skiing | 2006-07 |
| Robert Desimone | Golf | 2004-05 |
| Al Dorich | Hockey | 2007-08 |
| Dan Elmore | Football | 2006-07 |
| Ingrid Fjeldheim | Women's Nordic Skiing | 2007-08 |
| Amanda Gadomski | Soccer | 2005-06 |
| Christina Gillis | Cross Country | 2007-08 |
| Michaela Harris | Soccer | 2006-07 |
| Kaylie Laakso | Track and Field | 2006-07 |
| Tyler Larson | Football | 2006-07 |
| Renee LeBlanc | Soccer | 2007-08 |
| Mimi Marschall | Swimming and Diving | 2005-06 |
| Derek May | Hockey | 2006-07 |
| Brittany McGowan | Volleyball | 2006-07 |
| Meghan Merkey | Swimming and Diving | 2006-07 |
| Erin Powers | Women's Basketball | 2007-08 |
| Cassi Rushford | Women's Basketball | 2006-07 |
| Eric Sirrine | Men's Basketball | 2005-06 |
| Phil Violett | Men's Nordic Skiing | 2007-08 |
| Breanne Zaremba | Volleyball | 2006-07 |
September 23
October 21
November 18
December 9
February 10
March 16
CHAMPS Lifeskills Sessions
Northern Michigan University is a member of the NCAA CHAMPS LifeSkills program that supports the five aspects of CHallenging Athletes Minds for Personal Success, commitment to athletic excellence, commitment to academic excellence, commitment to service, commitment to personal development, and commitment to career development. Through the use of SAAC input and a needs assessment the 2007-08 CHAMPS seminars are:
October 28 - Michigan Law with Don Peterman
December 2 - Effects of Alcohol with Lenny Shible
February 10 - Personal Finances with Buffy Adams
All student-athletes are required to attend two of the three seminars which are held at 6:00 p.m. in Jamrich 103.
Athlete of the Month
Individual committee members nominate student-athletes for the Athlete of the Month Award. Nominations are then voted on by a committee within the Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreational Sports Department.
September 2007 - Mark Bossuah and Renee LeBlanc
October 2007 - Buddy Rivera and Caryn VanBeckum
November 2007 - Nick Sirota and Brittany McGowan
December 2007 - Brian Stewart and Allison Carroll
January 2008 - Jake Suardini and Mimi Marschall
February 2008 - Matt Siddall and Morgan Smyth
2008 ASNMU/SAAC Volunteer Auction
The SAAC partnered with ASNMU and hosted a volunteer auction to benefit Make-A-Wish. More Info
Graveraet Intermediate School Project
The SAAC decided to create a consistent volunteer project that would last throughout the school year with participation opportunities from the various intercollegiate athletics teams. The SAAC organized a program in which they are having their teammates work with fourth and fifth graders at Graveraet Intermediate School. Overall the project consists of two visits to each of 19 gym classes with one visit consisting of representative from a female team and the other with representatives from a male team.
| Date - Team | Journal |
| November 7 - Women's Basketball | |
| November 7 - Men's Basketball | We stretched with the kids and then we talked about how we stretch, then ran through a portion of our warm-ups. We covered basic passing techniques and the teacher showed us some games to play with different passes. We talked about shooting form and combined shooting and passing in one drill. We then ran a drill incorporating dribbling, passing, and shooting that they had already learned. For the rest of the hour we taught the kids how to play lightning. |
| November 8 - Women's Basketball | |
| November 8 - Men's Basketball | We started the same as the previous day with stretching. We then showed the kids some dribbling drills along with some ball handling. We covered passing fundamental and incorporated them into a relay with four different groups. We finished the hour with lay-up lines. |
| November 9 - Women's Basketball | |
| November 9 - Men's Basketball | We started the same way again, stretching and some warm-up running. We covered basic passing again and ran through the passing relay we had showed the other classes. The last few times we did the relay we turned it into a race. We talked about shooting mechanics and rant the kids through lay-up lines. We finished the hour by having each team race to make 10 lay-ups. |
| December 4 - Football | This experience was a lot of fun. All of the kids at Graveraet Intermediate School enjoyed themselves, too. The student-athletes liked doing this and said they would do it again. The kids liked the presentation with the football equipment. They seemed very interested in what we had to say. They asked many questions for the football players. The gym teacher was thrilled to have us there to interact with her classes. Overall, this is a great thing for the young kids to experience, and the NMU student athletes to do for their community. |
| December 5- Football | |
| December 5 - CC Running | |
| December 6 - Football | |
| December 6 - CC Running | |
| December 7 - Football | We started with introductions and some question and answer time. They asked very good questions, for instance, one asked how hard it was to choose a college. Another asked why we liked to play the game so much. They were very intuitive kids and well spoken. We then split into stations to monitor and guide them in their testing. The kids were well behaved and were fascinated at the fact that we were college football players. Some of the kids challenged Nathan Yelk to see how far he could reach on the flexibility test. He did not turn them down and they thought that was funny that he got down and did it. After it was all done the teacher handed back tests which all of the kids proceeded to use for an autograph sheet! We signed about 20 autographs and that was it, except for Nathan Yelk. They begged Nathan to stay and play football with them at recess. Nathan consulted their teacher and she said it was fine, so he joined in on a little playground football. He did not tackle anyone so no harm was done. They were just tickled at the idea that he was playing with them and they had a blast. So all in all, it was a good experience for us and we know the kids enjoyed our time there. |
| December 7 - CC Running | |
| January 8 - Hockey | We arrived and all the children were excited to see that their guests were members of the NMU hockey team. We introduced ourselves and talked about how we all made our way to Northern Michigan University. After the kids did a short warm-up we started with some hockey drills. We set up three stations: one for stick-handling, one for shooting, and one for passing. After the kids went through each station we ended with a group activity. It involved a big circle and three hoola hoops. Hard to explain but fun to play! Overall it was a fun experience! |
| January 9 - Hockey | |
| January 10 - Hockey | |
| January 11 - Hockey | |
| February 20 - Swimming and Diving | The Women's Swimming and Diving Team told the students a little bit about themselves including what events we swim (or dive), what our majors are and what our favorite grade school class was, and how swimming has been important in our lives. We then asked if anyone knew all four competitive strokes, and then explained the differences a bit. We told them what the longest and shortest events are, and how many lengths of the pool they are. Then we answered any questions they had. Some were how much we practice, how far we travel and where we go for meets. We also showed them our team swim cap, goggles, and a racing suit. For the class activity, they were finishing their jump rope for heart activities, and had a free day as a reward for the unit. We helped them swing jump ropes for double dutch, and helped them balance on balance boards and stilts. Each class had a few students who were swimmers, and a few remembered some of us from the summer camps, so they were excited that we were there. |
| February 21 - Swimming and Diving | |
| February 22 - Swimming and Diving | |
| March 26 - Men's Nordic Skiing | |
| March 26 - Women's Nordic Skiing | |
| March 27 - Men's Nordic Skiing | |
| March 27 - Women's Nordic Skiing | |
| March 28 - Men's Nordic Skiing | |
| March 28 - Women's Nordic Skiing | |
| April 8 - Track and Field | |
| April 8 - Track and Field | |
| April 8 - Track and Field | |
| April 22 - Volleyball | |
| April 23 - Volleyball | |
| April 24 - Volleyball | |
| April 25 - Volleyball | |
| May 7 - Soccer | |
| May 8 - Soccer | |
| May 9 - Soccer |
