CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference announced its 2024-25 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Executive Board for the upcoming year today.
Pitt senior women’s lacrosse student-athlete Riley Patrick will serve as the Chair of the 2024-25 SAAC Executive Board. Patrick will lead the executive board with the help of ACC SAAC Vice Chair Atira O’Neil of the Stanford artistic swimming team and Matthew Dennis of the Wake Forest football team who will serve as the ACC’s representative to the NCAA Division I SAAC, which reports directly to the NCAA Division I Council.
"SAAC - both at our respective institutions and the conference level - is a vital committee that we significantly rely on for input surrounding both league and national initiatives," said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. "ACC SAAC represents our more than 12,200 student-athletes across all 18 of our member institutions, completing in our 28 sponsored sports. The ideas, perspectives, and feedback they provide is critical as we continue to offer the very best educational and athletic opportunities within college athletics."
Jake Serra of the Clemson men’s track & field and cross country team will be the league’s alternate representative to the NCAA Division I SAAC. Alyssa Andrews of the Wake Forest women’s basketball team will serve as the Communications Chair and Azariah Rusher of the Florida State men’s tennis team will serve as the Community Service Chair. Jack Hoagland of the SMU men’s swimming & diving team will serve as the Governance Chair, while Rob Joseph of the Miami track & field team will be the Mental Health Subcommittee Chair.
New this year, the ACC added student-athletes to four ACC Standing Committees. Patrick will be on the Media Committee, Grace Norair of the Duke field hockey team will serve on the Infractions & Sportsmanship Committee, Will Joseph of the North Carolina men’s fencing team will be on the Nominating Committee and Hunter Hollenback of the Stanford men’s swimming & diving team will serve on the Legislation Committee.
Each of the league’s 18 schools put forward their respective ACC SAAC representatives while the Executive Board was selected based on a nomination and voting process among ACC SAAC members.
ACC SAAC representatives play an important role in bridging the gap between administrative personnel and the student-athlete body both at their respective institutions and throughout the conference. The committee is designed to incorporate ideas and opinions from student-athletes into legislative decisions that will affect our academic and athletic pursuits. These athletes are developing valuable leadership skills as they address changes in rules and regulations, organize community service events, and build a positive image for collegiate athletes.
The ACC SAAC will be guided by the following principles: ethics, integrity, fairness, and a respect for diversity, which shall include attention to gender, race, ethnicity and sport.
2024-25 SAAC representatives:
Senior Women’s Administrator Representative: Reyna Gilbert-Lowry, Virginia Tech
Faculty Athletics Representative: Krista Wallace-Boaz, Louisville
NCAA Division I SAAC Representative: Matthew Dennis, Wake Forest, Football
Boston College
Keri Clougherty, Women’s Ice Hockey
Kelly Scott, Women’s Swimming & Diving
Hannah Slike, Softball
California
Elana Eisenberg, Field Hockey
eMjae Frazier, Gymnastics
Miya Meskis, Rowing
Clemson
Patrick Donovan, Men’s Soccer
Mia McGrath, Volleyball
Jake Serra, Men’s Track & Field and Cross Country
Duke
Michael Bennett, Men’s Track & Field and Cross Country
Grace Norair, Field Hockey
Sydney Smith, Women’s Lacrosse
Florida State
Victoria Cervantes-Milan, Women’s Swimming & Diving
Hudson Rowan, Baseball
Azariah Rusher, Men’s Tennis
Georgia Tech
Jill Catton, Women’s Track & Field and Cross Country
Sabina Mrzyglod, Women’s Swimming & Diving
Allie Walker, Women’s Track & Field and Cross Country
Louisville
Zach Cader, Men’s Track & Field and Cross Country
J Pleck, Women’s Lacrosse
Merissah Russell, Women’s Basketball
Miami
Robert Joseph, Men’s Track & Field and Cross Country
Elle Mezzio, Women’s Track & Field and Cross Country
Semrit Nijjar, Volleyball
North Carolina
Will Joseph, Men’s Fencing
Riley Quartermain, Women’s Golf
Kaimon Rucker, Football
NC State
Jordan Snell, Men’s Basketball
Jaiden Thomas, Women’s Soccer
Caden Tolentino, Men’s Soccer
Notre Dame
Liam Egan, Men’s Soccer
Josh Methner, Men’s Track & Field and Cross Country
Clodagh McEvoy-Johnston, Rowing
Pitt
Ellen Baker, Women’s Track & Field and Cross Country
Ellie Coffield, Women’s Soccer
Riley Patrick, Women’s Lacrosse
SMU
Jack Hoagland, Men’s Swimming & Diving
Sammy Nieves, Women’s Soccer
Raelyn Roberson, Women’s Track & Field and Cross Country
Stanford
Zach Buckey, Football
Hunter Hollenbeck, Men’s Swimming & Diving
Atira O’Neil, Women’s Artistic Swimming
Syracuse
Lauren Coop, Rowing
Payton Gauthier, Men’s Rowing
Ruben Rojas-Betanzos, Men’s Track & Field and Cross Country
Virginia
Sophie Atkinson, Women’s Track & Field and Cross Country
Ella Bathurst, Women’s Swimming & Diving
Matthew Hunter, Men’s Soccer
Virginia Tech
Keelin Byrne, Women’s Lacrosse
Zach Glesius, Men’s Soccer
Christian Jackson, Men’s Track & Field and Cross Country
Wake Forest
Alyssa Andrews, Women’s Basketball
Matthew Dennis, Football
Amelia Frey, Field Hockey
About the ACC
The Atlantic Coast Conference, in its 72nd year and 18 members strong, stands as one of the most competitive and revered intercollegiate conferences in the nation. ACC members including Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Notre Dame, Pitt, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest are dedicated to upholding the league's founding values of academic excellence, athletic competition at the highest level, and integrity. The ACC supports 28 NCAA sports, with 15 for women and 13 for men, and its member institutions span 12 states. In August 2019, the ACC and ESPN partnered to launch ACC Network (ACCN), a 24/7 national network exclusively devoted to ACC sports and original programming. For more information, visit theACC.com and follow the ACC on Instagram (@accsports), Twitter/X (@theACC) and Facebook (facebook.com/theACC).