Student athletes take leadership to a whole new level – on and off the field. Dedicated athletes make it their job to better Hamline and the diverse community inside. These students have formed the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (S.A.A.C.) and has an ambitious mission statement of, “Student Athletes working together to be ambassadors to unify Hamline Athletics, Hamline University and our community.”  

This aspiring collaboration of students is made up of two representatives from many different varsity sports, allowing it to become rich with all sorts of backgrounds, ideas, opinions, and perspectives.

“We have representatives from each of our 20 varsity interscholastic activities at Hamline. Our goal is to, enhance the total student-athlete experience by promoting opportunity for all student-athletes; protecting student-athletes’ well-being; and fostering a positive student-athlete image, while maintaining the tenants of the Division III philosophy,” said Advisor and Head Women’s Basketball Coach Alex Focke.

Other leadership roles are filled by Co-Presidents Kiana Verdugo, a senior who competes in track and field, and Charlie Shervheim, a senior football player.  

“S.A.A.C. plans a lot of events including the CODE RED highlighted games,” said Verdugo. “Each CODE RED event is a celebration for the sport that consists of a theme, a fan competition to involve the dedicated student fan base, and, of course, prizes.”

“Some of the events we run throughout the year include: Blood Drive, Fall BBQ, Hamline Harvest, Unified Football/Basketball/Softball/Bowling with the Special Olympics and other fun events throughout the year!” said Focke.

When students see posters everywhere and wonder why the Bishop wears a CODE RED t-shirt announcing the special game for the day/evening. It is because S.A.A.C. frequently involve themselves in community service around campus and the St. Paul community. They also host many other events and activities for students and student athletes alike.

Verdugo said that “[her] most exciting moment was when they were the NCAA Special Olympics Spotlight Winner in 2016 that won them a $500 grant to go towards other Special Olympics events.”  

S.A.A.C also runs the infamous Piper Cup tournament between the varsity sports. A competition between athletes to see who can volunteer and be the most involved in the Hamline Community through categories of conference recognition, athletic achievement, piper pride in attending events and activities, community service, school and GPA, leadership, and special S.A.A.C. challenges.  

“Follow S.A.A.C on twitter @HamlineSAAC or on Instagram at HamlineSAAC to get involved and participate in some of the fun events throughout the year. We are also always looking for volunteers if anyone ever wants to help out. We also have an event schedule that we update regularly at: hamlineathletics.com/schedule” said Focke.  

S.A.A.C encourages student athletes to stay within Hamline’s ideals and motto while participating as a full-time college athlete. Leading in the Piper Cup for Women is the Gymnastics Team with Cross Country and Swim and Dive coming in second. For Men the leader is Baseball with Soccer in the the second place slot.