Moorhead, Minn – 33 student-athletes and 17 Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Liaisons broke new ground at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference on the Minnesota State University Moorhead campus this week.

Working within the theme of "Developing the Leader Within" NCAA Associate Director Josh Looney and NCAA Consultant Jill Wilson launched two new partnerships that will be rolled out across NCAA Division II in the coming months at the NSIC SAAC Summit.

"It was an unbelievable experience for our student-athletes", said MSUM Athletic Director Doug Peters.  "Having Josh and Jill bring their programming and sharing their experiences and insights made for a fantastic summit."

The first launch was focused around the NCAA's Digital Leadership partnership with the best-selling author of Socialnomics, Erik Qualman.  A former NCAA student-athlete, Qualman has been called a digital Dale Carnegie and programming was centered around his latest book "What Happens on Campus Stays on YouTube".   Sharing concepts such as being FLAWsome and creating an understanding of the difference between a student-athletes digital footprint, digital stamp, and digital shadow created a social media savvy learning experience for student-athletes and administrators.

"Not only is Erik a best-selling author and world leader on digital reputation, he is also a former NCAA student-athlete. The ability for Division II athletes to work directly with Erik on their online brand is an incredible partnership we are excited to launch," said Looney.

NCAA representative Kristen Matha also introduced inaugural programming focusing on increasing awareness around inclusion and LGBTQ topics.  Derek Schell, the first openly gay NCAA Division II student-athlete joined in and shared his story providing summit participants a unique look at his experiences throughout his final year as a collegiate athlete.

Another ground breaking session included the community engagement segment at Robert Asp Elementary School in Moorhead.  Traditionally, the community engagement has been a service project for the host community.  This year the SAAC Summit helped conduct a field day that included running races, long jumps, bubble contests, and sack races.

The student-athletes also spent significant time with institution presidents who were on campus for the NSIC Board of Directors meetings.  Interaction began with round table discussion focusing on sexual violence, communication on campus, mental health issues, and inclusion.  Presidents, student-athletes, and other administrators then gathered for the first ever combined social hour and dinner.  

In addition to the development sessions student-athletes and liaisons had working opening and business sessions.  In the opening session Commissioner Erin Lind shared initiatives and changes that resulted from the 2014 NSIC SAAC Summit including the league wide championship memento program and the weekly NSIC Experience television show that highlights all 17 NSIC sports.

For the first time during the business session the student-athletes and liaisons had a split meeting before joining together to close out the summit.  The student-athlete segment was led by Katie Mnichowicz, the NSIC's NCAA Division II SAAC Representative who is also the first student-athlete to serve on NCAA Division II's management council.   Agenda items included discussion on increasing the voice of the student-athlete on campus and within the conference.  The student-athletes also discussed and choose mental health as the awareness topic for the upcoming year. 

Dragon track and field student-athlete Erinn Eidelbes summed it up best in one of her tweets: "Probably one of the best experiences I have had at college!  All the people I met were amazing!

 

Student-Athletes
Jessica Dulz	Bemidji State University Tennis
Katelyn Miller	Bemidji State University Women's Basketball
Zach Rengel	Concordia St. Paul Baseball
Riley Hanson	Concordia St. Paul Volleyball
Savannah Stone	Concordia St. Paul Women's Golf
Micah Holmen	Minot State University Baseball
Breanna Hatfield	Minot State University Soccer
Ty Dennis	MSU Mankato Football
Dana Mogren	MSU Mankato Softball
Sydney Powell	MSU Mankato Volleyball
Matt Nelson	MSU Moorhead Men's Basketball
Viviane Nagasaki	MSU Moorhead Swimming
Erinn Eidelbes	MSU Moorhead Track & Field
Sasha Hovind	Northern State University Track & Field
Emily Pratt	St. Cloud State University  Women's Basketball
Stephanie Waletzko	St. Cloud State University Women's Track & Field
Tyler Flud	Southwest Minnesota State University Football
Alex O'Conner	Southwest Minnesota State University Softball
Claire Sames	Southwest Minnesota State University Volleyball
Alejandro Sanchez	Southwest Minnesota State University Cross Country & Track
Christian Archer	Upper Iowa University Men's Golf
Katie Mnichowicz	Upper Iowa University Softball
Samantha Garrett	Upper Iowa University Softball
Darien Saeman	University of Mary Football
Alana Norman	University of Mary Softball
Ashley Schilling	University of Minnesota Duluth Softball
Mac Johnson	University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball
Kebu Johnson	University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball
David Anderson	Wayne State College Men's Basketball
Andrea DeSimone	Wayne State College Women's Track & Field
Josh Mongan	Winona State University Men's Basketball
Abbey Ristow	Winona State University Track & Field
Devon Richards	Winona State University Soccer
Administrators
Sarah Levesque	Bemidji State University
Carley Jeffery	St. Cloud State University
Kristle Wolcott	MSU Mankato
Muffin Morris	Wayne State College
Kamille Wahlin	University Minnesota Crookston
Pam Gohl	University Sioux Falls
Rolly Muller	Southwest Minnesota State University
Regan McAthie	Concordia University St. Paul
Nora Stauber	University Minnesota Duluth
Erik Olson	Upper Iowa University
Steven Swenson	Minot State University
Brandi Rideout	Upper Iowa University
Sara Christenson Blair	Northern State University
Maureen Moriarty	University of Mary
Jo Stejskal	Winona State University
Melissa Sewick	NSIC
Doug Peters	MSU Moorhead