Madeleine McKenna has been named to NCAA Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, the first Cal U student to be selected for the position.
McKenna, a sophomore volleyball player Madeleine McKenna has been named to the SAAC as the representative from the Pennsylvania State Athletic
Conference .
McKenna serves as president of SAAC at Cal U after serving as secretary for the organization
last academic year. She recently completed her sophomore season as a member of the
Cal U volleyball team and played in 11 matches, as the Vulcans advanced to the semifinals
of the PSAC Tournament and earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.
McKenna is pursuing a bachelor's degree in psychology while being a member of Alpha
Lambda Delta with a 3.86 cumulative grade-point average. The Ohio native has been
featured on the Dean's List and the Cal U Athletic Director Honor Roll in each her
three semesters while at the institution.
The NCAA Division II SAAC serves as the primary governance arm representing student-athlete
interests in NCAA Division II affairs. Committee members serve as student-athlete
liaisons that monitor and discuss happenings on campuses, within conference and at
the national level.
Representatives are responsible for gathering feedback and reporting on behalf of
their conference, as well as relaying important events, hot topics and educational
information to both the campus and conference levels. In addition to relaying information
across campuses and conferences, the committee speaks on behalf of the entire NCAA
Division II student-athlete body throughout the NCAA governance structure.
The NCAA Division II SAAC members serve as voting members on a number of NCAA Division
II committees, including the Management Council. The NCAA Division II SAAC also has
voting authority during the NCAA Division II Business Session at the annual NCAA Convention.
The NCAA Division II SAAC is currently comprised of 27 members, including representatives
from each of the 24 NCAA Division II multi-sport voting conferences, one representative
of NCAA Division II independent institutions, and two at-large representatives. Additionally,
two members of the Management Council and one member of the Presidents Council serve
as ex-officio and nonvoting members.
The NCAA Division II SAAC Nominating Subcommittee selects national committee members
from a diverse pool of candidates that conference offices submit. The NCAA Division
II Management Council ratifies the appointments, and each student-athlete serves a
non-renewable three-year term; however the student-athlete may serve only up to one
year after exhausting his or her eligibility.
McKenna will begin her time on the committee following the 2019 NCAA Convention and
will serve that role until January 2022. She replaces former West Chester women's
golfer Casey Monaghan as the PSAC representative on the NCAA Division II SAAC.
This marks the first-ever appointment of a Cal U student-athlete to NCAA Division
II SAAC.