SAAC Meeting Minutes
October 14, 2007

Attendance:

Rowing
Kelsie Chaudoin

Women’s Cross Country
Stephanie Garcia
Janine Ricci

Men’s Cross Country
Trey Mills

Women’s Tennis
Cathy Nimitz
Maggie Yahner

Women’s Track and Field
Katie Tershei
Billie Jo Grant

Men’s Swimming and Diving
PJ Sullivan

Women’s Swimming and Diving
Stephanie Glover

Men’s Basketball
Jerome Meyinsse

1. Team Updates
a. Cross country -Men and Women ran in pre-nationals. The men placed fourth as a team. Women’s side place 18th. Emily Harrison was fourth over all in the nation. ACC’s are in two weeks, come out and support your Hoos!
b. Swim team- Swam against top ranked Florida. Stephanie said it was a very positive experience. Both teams swam very well and the women fought every step of the way.
c. Volleyball won Friday in 3 against NC State.
d. Football is now bowl eligible!

2. Social Night
a. 10 people came out for trivia night – awesome experience!
b. Guesstures for next time (two weeks from tonight (October 28). Bring another teammate!

3. Athletics Advisory Meeting Update- This committee is made up of mostly faculty and administration. The meetings give feedback from faculty about their interactions with athletes.
a. New seating arrangement for faculty at football games
i. Seating now based only on donations, not on length of time buying season tickets. If you’re not donating, you’re moved to the end of the list. This is causing problems with loyal ticket buyers who cannot make large donations.

4. Thursday night football game
i. We currently have one every other year. Big video contract that is tough to get rid of
ii. Tough on students
1. You have to move your car by 3:30, miss classes which is problematic
2. Faculty/staff are not paid after 3:30, not reimbursed for pay
a. It is however a big source of revenue for our school. Opinions from SAAC’s were to let it be, it happens only once every other year.

5. Banquet Update
a. Positive feedback from administration!
b. Current ideas: Emmy-like style.
i. Student athlete hosts
ii. Formal dress- more people want to wear cocktail dresses and the guys jackets.
iii. On screen interviews when you arrive
iv. Fun awards- voted for on the internet
v. Team photos
vi. Red carpet
vii. Performer ideas?- dance?
viii. Other ideas were:
1. Have a prom-style photo booth, possibly having alumni of some sort coming back.

6. Student athlete handbook- The exit interviews are finding that people don’t know the rules. We need a more efficient way to actually read the rules.
a. Ways to get student athletes to read the handbook
i. Separate the hand book and the planner
ii. Have quotes on the pages from the planner. Example: rule of the week. Teasers? Challenge the people to go and look it up.
b. Signs in the locker room with top ten rules
c. Get familiar meeting at the start of the year
d. What are ideas to get athletes to know the rules better?
i. Offer t-shirts if you pass a test?
ii. Fourth years on each team making a presentation to the team about the most important rules. This could be the SAAC reps responsibility.

7. SARG update (Sarah) – A group of student-athletes with a GPA of 3.2 or higher in their major. These students would be a resource for younger student-athletes who need help planning their major and classes.
a. There aren’t many people on the list, so please put a couple teammates on the list that you would recommend.

8. Canned Food Drive
a. We need HELP with planning
b. Are people willing to collect cans on the night of the game? Tuesday or Wednesday night. Competition with VA Tech.
i. Advertise at the previous game.

9. Other
a. Nutritionist Rob Skinner-
i. 2 office locations. One behind cookie table at JPJ and the other is in McCue. He is working on getting a supplement budget so athletes will have access to sports drinks and shakes; he is aiming to have that done before January. Anyone who wants to go in for a nutrition check up can come in and meet with him. Rob is also working with JPJ to change around the format of the dining hall.
b. Athletes have no priority when it comes to Basketball games. This should be addressed to the Student Council athletic advisory committee.
c. 24,000 stipend internship in Indiana. Deadline is on December 7, 2007.
d. ACC Futures pays 16000 and we have three nominees from our school.
10. Life Skills webpage: www.Athletic.Virginia.edu/lifeskills