Iowa Wesleyan SAAC Captures Network Choice Award

Iowa Campus Compact conducted the first ever Network Choice Award this year after a large number of nominations in their Student Leadership Award category of the third annual Engaged Campus Awards.  The University of Iowa's Just Living Student Ambassadors were selected as the winner of the Student Leadership Awards, but the Network Choice Poll was created to select an additional winner.

The poll closed at noon on May 26, 2016 with a total of 3, 150 votes casted for eleven Student Leadership nominees.  Iowa Wesleyan's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee received 1,074 votes to finish 51 votes ahead of Buena Vista to win the award.  They were presented the award on Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at the Iowa Memorial Union at the University of Iowa along with the other 2016 Engaged Campus Awards event.

The Iowa Wesleyan SAAC group gives opportunities for student-athletes on campus to have their voice heard at the institution and in the conference.  They review and respond to proposed NCAA legislation, actively promote athletics on campus, and support the community and conference through a variety of efforts throughout the year.  The SAAC group is made up of 20 student-athletes representing all ten athletic teams.

One of the major events the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee put on this year was the Southeastern Iowa Special Olympic Spring Games. This event was held at Mapleleaf Athletic Complex, and eleven area counties were represented.  A total of 182 Special Olympic athletes came to Mount Pleasant, Iowa, along with 180 volunteers for the one day event.  These volunteers consisted of many Iowa Wesleyan students and employees, as well as local community members.

The SAAC group had given back to the community through fundraising for the Special Olympic event, canned food drives for the Fellowship Cup, and other events throughout the school year.

STORY COURTESY OF IOWA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION OFFICE