March 3, 2010

DAHLONEGA, GA – North Georgia College & State University student athlete Hilary Cox, a member of the NGCSU Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), has been named to the National SAAC Committee as the representative of the Peach Belt Conference.

Cox is a member of the North Georgia softball team and is in her first year as a member of the SAAC executive committee. Last spring, Cox turned into one of the most clutch hitter of the Saints’ 2009 postseason run, being named to the PBC All-Tournament team and Dahlonega Regional All-Tournament team. Cox hit .475 during postseason play last year, posting 19 hits and driving in nine runs while recording a pair of home runs while only striking out once.

“It is not only an extremely prestigious honor for Hilary to represent the Peach Belt Conference at the national level, but exemplifies her high level of academics, work ethic, strong sense of character and commitment to serve both the community, the University and the conference,” Senior Women’s Administrator Lindsay Reeves said of the achievement.

The Division II SAAC is a committee consisting of the 23 Division II multi-sport voting conferences, one representative of Division II independent institutions, and two at-large representatives. Additionally, two members of the Management Council and one member of the Presidents Council will serve as ex-officio and nonvoting members.

"The mission of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is to enhance the total student-athlete experience by promoting opportunity, protecting student-athlete welfare and fostering a positive student-athlete image."

The members serve as student-athlete liaisons between the happenings on campus, conference and national levels. Members are selected by the Division II SAAC Nominating Sub-Committee from a diverse pool of candidates submitted by the conference office. The Division II Management Council ratify the appointment and each student-athlete serves a non-renewable 3-year term; however the student-athlete may only serve up to one year after exhausting their eligibility.

Each representative is responsible for gathering feedback and reporting out on behalf of their conference and partner conference, as well as relaying important events, hot topics and educational information to both the campus and conference levels. In addition to relaying information across campuses and conferences, DII SAAC speaks on the behalf of the entire DII student-athlete body throughout the NCAA governance structure.

Currently, one representative from the DII National SAAC may sit on a multitude of Division II and association-wide committees in order to provide the student-athlete perspective on related issues. It is through these mechanisms that the NCAA Division II student-athlete offer input to assist in shaping the proposed legislation and other policies by which their division is governed.

The DII National SAAC works very hard to represent the voice of the Division II student-athlete. Our committee takes great pride in the well-being of all student-athletes.