Posted with permission, article and pictures, courtesy of University of Hawaii Hilo

What’s the Latest with UH Hilo SAAC?

There has been a lot of excitement involving the UH Hilo Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). From participating in conventions to hosting events our SAAC has been active.

Men’s soccer David Mayser has recently been appointed as the PacWest’s representative on the NCAA DII Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Mayser will represent the entire conference as the voting representative on the national SAAC committee. He is one of only 28 members who will report on behalf of their respective DII conference from all around the nation. 
(CLICK HERE: to view the current national Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Roster)

UH Hilo SAAC also attended the DII SAAC Super Region Convention that took place in Anaheim, Calif. Women’s Soccers’ Piper Collado and men’s basketball’s Darren Williams represented the Vulcans’ as well as national SAAC representative Mayser. 

All three of our representatives had a good time and came back to Hilo ready to share their experience with their fellow SAAC members…

“The Super Region Convention was great for every school in the west region to connect with each other,” said Mayser. “The goal was to share ideas and perspectives on how to improve the student-athlete experience. The convention was precisely planned and organized by the NCAA and the national DII SAAC. It is a huge honor for me to be the representative for the PacWest conference on National SAAC. I am very happy to be part of this special group.”

“The DII SAAC Convention was an eye-opening experience for me,” said Williams. “Going for the first time and not knowing what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised with how impactful the event was. I had many takeaways from the weekend and hope to be able to implement some new things I learned on our campus here at UH Hilo to help improve the student-athlete experience.” 

“I was truly honored to represent UH Hilo at the 2022 Division II SAAC Super Region Convention,” stated Collado. “I was able to learn a lot from this convention from building connections and leadership skills. I can’t wait to take what I learned from this convention and enforce it in athletics. Although I am a senior SAAC member, I hope to build a foundation and legacy for the future Vulcan SAAC to follow.”

After the convention, SAAC got to work on co-hosting their first event, the 2021-22 Vulcan Athletics All-Sports Celebration. 

SAAC president Jamieson Hirayama (baseball) and senior representative Makena Morris (cross country) announced the award ceremony and Collado ran the first annual Vulcan Games, which was a friendly competition among all 12 teams. Women’s soccer ended up being the first ever Vulcan Games Champion and SAAC has begun a legacy that will surely continue and foster unity among our 12 teams. 

Jamison Montgomery, men’s basketball assistant coach and SAAC advisor, shared, “I have been the SAAC advisor for the past two years and have seen growth among our members as well as around our campus. SAAC has provided leadership opportunities for our student-athletes by giving them a voice on campus and I am excited to be a part of these opportunities and experiences.”