MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Many people have heard the term SAAC before and many have not. But the acronym is one of the most crucial for Morehead State and all student athletes at institutions all across the country.

SAAC stands for student-athlete advisory committee, and it's the group that gives leadership opportunities, a chance to learn about aspects of other sports and a voice to Morehead State student-athletes.

MSUEagles.com recently chatted with co-President Josh Grogan to learn about how SAAC is making an important impact on the Eagle athletic department and across campus. Grogan is a junior cross country/track and field athlete from Paducah, Ky.

Q: How has your experience been serving as co-President?

JG: "The one word I would use would be rewarding. Being co-president along with (Rifle junior) Ryan Hinson has forced us, in a good way, to lead our fellow SAAC reps on how we can improve the athlete experience at Morehead State. Looking back it's funny because Ryan and I were kind of forced into the co-president roles by the upperclassmen our freshman year. Since then we have learned through success and failure on how to lead meetings, events, and projects. Another reason why it's so rewarding to me is the relationships I've built from this position. I have gotten to know athletes, coaches, and faculty of the athletic department that I wouldn't have gotten a chance to know if I wasn't in this position. It has really showed me how much of a family the #EagleEmpire is and increased my pride for my school!"

Q: What are some of the projects/decisions SAAC has been a part of in the past year?

JG: The projects and decisions align with the six different goals I'll also get to later on. How we reach these goals each year is by trying to implement and organize projects/decisions that align with them. Academically we try to encourage and remind our reps the importance of working hard in the classroom (student comes first in the word student-athlete for a reason). In regards to health, safety, & well-being we are fortune to have our women's golf coach Stephanie Barker serve as the Assistant Director of Student-Athlete Well-Being, and she always brings some phenomenal resources to each meeting for our reps.

Every fall we also host a Mental Health Week along with the Student Government Association to bring awareness to the importance of mental health. What is involved throughout that week is a yoga night, a mental health panel that our school counselors and coach Barker is on, encourage students to wear green one day, hand out green wristbands at an athletic event, and post videos on social media of athletes explaining what mental health means to them. For student-athlete development we have (Character Coach) Rich (Duffield) come in to our meetings. In terms of community involvement our biggest project has always been Penny Wars where we raise money to send a United States veteran to the OVC basketball tournament. This spring was going to be our first time doing something as a SAAC group in the community but unfortunately COVID-19 ruined those plans.

Competition and Championship goals is more at the conference level. One example is our golf team was in favor of the OVC changing the conference championship to match play over championship play. Our SAAC casted the vote along with other institutions and because of "our voice" they changed championship play to match play. Another would be the OVC has encouraged us to push the importance of sportsmanship. We have created videos of our reps explaining the importance of sportsmanship on the field that has been aired at games.

Q: How do you feel being a member of SAAC helps student-athletes become better leaders?

JG: Being a part of this group automatically puts you in the position to be a leader. The reason being is the main duty of SAAC is to be the liaison between the athletes and the coaches/faculty. To have that title on a team automatically puts the rep in a position to be a leader when a problem or conflict arises on their team. We make it clear to our reps that once they graduate to be strategic in recruiting the teammate to replace them because we want it to be an athlete that is looked up to or respected on each team. Also once you are in SAAC you are invested in on how to become a stronger leader. Rich Duffield (also campus ministry/director of Athletes in Action) leads the second half of our meetings by going through a leadership curriculum with us and leading discussions.

Q: When are most meetings held?

JG: Meetings are held once a month on Wednesdays. Typically the third or last Wednesday of the month.

Q: What are some unique things you've learned being able to interact with student-athletes from all different types of teams?

JG: One unique thing I've learned is all teams face their own challenges. It's easy for me to get caught up in my own team's agenda and goals. Helping lead this group has opened my eyes to the importance of being a voice for them when a conflict arises.

Q: How does the MSU SAAC interact with the OVC SAAC iniatives?

JG: How we interact with the OVC SAAC initiatives is through six different goals for our athletes: academic, health, safety, and well-being, student-athlete development; community, competition, and championships. These six different areas we recap and learn how to push forward at the conference level and then within our individual institutions.

Current Members of MSU SAAC

Abbi Neumann-All Girl Cheer
Marinda Bosley-All Girl Cheer
Julia Muehlbauer-Coed Cheer
Nate Mayorga-Coed Cheer
Bridget Connolly-Women's Golf
Bella Washka-Women's Golf
Chandler Clark-Volleyball
Liz Allen-Volleyball
Devonte Adams-Football
Trent Johnson-Football
Amber Schifano-Rifle (Secretary)
Ryan Hinson-Rifle (Co-President)
Abbigail Dorn-Women's CC/Track 
Maya Andrews-Women's CC/Track
Darby Pillow-Men's CC/Track
Josh Grogan-Men's CC/Track (co-President)
Jordan Walker-Men's Basketball
Dijmon Henson-Men's Basketball
Joe Muschong-Men's Golf
Michael Reed-Men's Golf
John Bakke-Baseball
John Sherman-Baseball
Katie Kiolbassa-Soccer
Haley Nelson-Soccer
Lakyn Largent-Softball
Taylor Rhea-Softball