Rowan Student Athlete Group Appoints Liaisons

Rowan University has named the students that will lead the group that acts as the liaison between the university’s student athletes and the athletic department to advance the interests of all athletic programs at the school.

Volleyball player Emma Cormican (sr. Wallingford, PA/Strath Haven) and baseball player Jared Marks (sr. South Plainfield, NJ/South Plainfield) will serve as co-presidents of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) for the 2020-21 academic year, the university announced on Thursday.

Men’s cross country/track & field runner Brandon Jarrett (so. Woodbridge, NJ/Woodbridge) holds the post of treasurer and women’s cross country/track & field athlete Keller Bean (jr. Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West) is the social media director.

SAAC consists of representatives from all 18 intercollegiate athletic teams at Rowan. One of its goals is to provide insight on the student-athlete experience and to offer input on the rules, regulations and polices that affect student-athletes' lives on the Rowan campus.

In addition to the four officers, the SAAC representatives for 2020-21 are:

• Emily August — Softball (sr. Mahwah, NJ/Mahwah)
• Brianna De La Cruz — Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field (sr. Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough)
• Dayna DeVincentz — Field Hockey (sr. Flemington, NJ/Central Reg.)
• Connor Dickerson — Men’s Basketball (jr. Marlton, NJ/Moorestown)
• Jazlyn Duverglas — Women’s Basketball (jr. Hamilton, NJ/Cedar Creek)
• Liz Fox — Field Hockey (jr. Green Lane, PA/Upper Perkiomen)
• Luke Genise — Football (sr. Somerville, NJ/Somerville)
• Dara Hennessy — Lacrosse (sr. Marmora, NJ/Ocean City)
• Jake Logar — Men’s Soccer (so. Sewell, NJ/Washington Twp.)
• Colin O’Hara — Football (sr. Tinton Falls, NJ/Red Bank Catholic)
• Erin Quay — Women’s Swimming & Diving (jr. Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East)
• Alyssa Sanders — Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field (sr. Pitman, NJ/Pitman)
• Aidan Sheehan — Women’s Soccer (sr. Hamilton Square, NJ/Steinert)
• Christian Termine — Men’s Swimming & Diving (sr. Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East)
• Francis Terry — Men’s Cross Country/Track & Field (sr. Laurel Springs, NJ/Sterling)
• Miguel Vera — Men’s Cross Country/Track & Field (so. Cedarville, NJ/Cumberland Reg.)

The committee has led numerous activities over the years, including service projects such as collecting canned goods to benefit charities in the area and the AOK “Gifts of Giving” project where the student-athletes were paired with local children to take them shopping for holiday gifts for their families. SAAC has also hosted Rowan Unified Sports Nights which feature Special Olympic athletes competing at halftime of selected Profs’ games.

“SAAC is one of the most important groups that student-athletes can be involved in. Any problems that are occurring on teams or any help that is needed from the athletic department can go directly through SAAC to be handled,” said Cormican, a math and secondary education major. “This organization also focuses on giving back to the community This year is tricky because we’re relying on the student-athletes to really come together and think of creative ways to give back to our community even though COVID has so many regulations, but we’re optimistic that we’ll have a few events for next semester!”

“At this point, our goals are to find any way to help and fundraise for any particular group that has needs. As everyone knows, dealing with COVID isn’t the easiest, but be we want to be there and find ways to make some of our annual fundraisers and activities possible,” said Marks, who is an accounting major.

In 2019-20, SAAC instituted the Prof Cup, a year-long competition amongst all of Rowan’s intercollegiate teams, with the teams earning points based on five areas of the department’s core values.