General | 7/28/2022 12:31:00 PM

DALLAS, Texas (July 25, 2022) – After a year of service, community involvement and meetings, the Texas Woman's University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) finished third in the Lone Star Conference SAAC Cup standings.

"I am very proud of our 2021-22 SAAC group and all they did this past season to give back to TWU and our community," Anecia Richardson, a TWU SAAC advisor, said. "This was our first year back actually being able to do community engagement and be involved on campus as a group, and our student athlete leaders came back full swing ready to serve out their purpose. It's an honor to work with them and help them achieve their goals."

The LSC SAAC Cup began being awarded to encourage participation in LSC SAAC initiatives. The Cup is awarded annually to the campus SAAC with the most points accumulated by the end of the academic year.

Throughout the year, campus SAACs receive points based on the following criteria, as outlined by the LSC:

LSC Community Service Months: Receive 500 points for SAAC-organized community service projects that occur in November and April, community service months.
Make-A-Wish Participation/Other Fundraising Projects: Receive 1⁄2 point up to $1,499 and 1 point for every dollar raised thereafter ($1500 and up) for the Make-A-Wish Foundation or other charitable fundraising projects (other than Make-A-Wish).
LSC SAAC Meetings: Receive 250 points for each attendee (a maximum of two) at LSC SAAC meeting in July.
Campus SAAC Meetings: Receive 100 points for campus SAAC meetings (a maximum of two per month).
SAAC Legislative Grid: Receive 500 points for completing the NCAA SAAC Legislative Grid and returning it to the LSC Division II SAAC representative by the required due date.
Other Community Service: Receive 250 points for SAAC-organized community service projects that occur outside of November and April.

In 2021-22, the TWU SAAC was led by President Trixie Oche, a volleyball student-athlete, who guided the SAAC to a third place finish.

"Progressing out of the past two years was not without its obstacles, and I am very grateful to have gotten the opportunity to lead our SAAC group," Oche said. "We have such a resilient team of officers, representatives and advisors, and I appreciate the time they have committed to move our campus SAAC forward."

The Pioneers received points in all of the categories above. They hosted a Holiday Gift Program and a Mobile Food Pantry during the months of November and April. They recorded attendance at all required meetings, attended the LSC SAAC meeting in 2021 and submitted the Legislative Grid. Additionally, the Pioneers raised over $500 for Make-A-Wish. Throughout the year, TWU SAAC participated in seven community service events to benefit the Denton community.

Most recently, TWU SAAC representatives, Scout Huffman, basketball student-athlete, and Clayre Pullin, volleyball student-athlete, attended the LSC SAAC Retreat on July 22-24 at Dallas Baptist University.

"SAAC represents the voice of student-athletes and gives us an opportunity to be heard, Huffman said. "My involvement in SAAC has helped me grow as a leader and has encouraged me to advocate for the athletes that we represent. This past weekend was an amazing experience to meet many other athletes from our conference, and get to hear what their experience has been like. Clayre and I were able to share our ideas and have come back with new concepts. We cannot wait to share our new initiatives with TWU SAAC this fall, and we are so excited for what is to come."

During the retreat, the top three SAAC Cup schools presented their top campus community engagement, community service and fundraising events over the 2021-22 academic year.

Huffman and Pullin presented the big events TWU SAAC organized and participated in, including TWU Block Party, Boo at U, Mobile Food Pantry and Holiday Gift Program.

Following the presentation, the winner of the 2022 LSC SAAC Cup was revealed—Lubbock Christian University came in first, Dallas Baptist University came in second and TWU placed third.

While at the LSC retreat, the participants served at OurCalling, a homeless ministry in the Dallas community. Additionally, they were treated to presentations on Identity and Sport, and Mental Health, before enjoying a group outing at Chicken N Pickle.

"This weekend was a blast," Pullin said. "I think my favorite part of the weekend was serving at a homeless shelter, OurCalling. It was very eye-opening to me to see people who have so little be so happy. I think this definitely changed my perspective on a lot of things and I hope to go back to serve again in the future. I'm excited to bring back a lot of ideas to campus."