Senior Haley Lorenzen will be among the five Gator student-athletes who will be participating in a joint meeting of the Southeastern Conference Student-Athlete Leadership Councils and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Friday through Sunday in Birmingham.
Pole vaulter Harry Glasser and soccer defender Courtney Douglas will attend as UF’s SAAC representatives. Leadership Council representatives for their respective sports are offensive lineman Martez Ivey (football), forward/center Kevarrius Hayes (men’s basketball) and forward Haley Lorenzen (women’s basketball).
A total of 69 SEC student-athletes are expected for the weekend. This marks the first joint meeting of these groups since they were introduced by Commissioner Greg Sankey in 2016. Leadership councils for the sports of football and men’s and women’s basketball were created to provide student-athletes with additional opportunities to engage with campus leaders and conference office staff.
Twenty-eight SAAC representatives will begin the three-day meeting on Friday afternoon. The student-athletes will participate in a presentation by Josh Foliart of Growing Leaders, and they will also have an opportunity to share programming ideas from their respective on-campus committees.
Saturday’s schedule includes a meeting with Commissioner Sankey, who will lead a discussion on a variety of topics chosen by the student-athletes. Former student-athletes Chris Draft and Freddie Scott II will also speak to the group, and SEC Assistant Commissioner Matt Boyer will review the SEC and NCAA governance structure and approved legislation for the 2017-18 school year.
Saturday afternoon the group will participate in community service projects at the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama and the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge. The Community Food Bank operates as a central clearinghouse for collecting food, and it serves 12 counties in Alabama. Hope Lodge offers free lodging to cancer patients and their families, and it also provides a variety of resources and information about cancer and how best to fight the disease.
The meeting will conclude on Sunday with an emphasis on career development. SEC Director of Student-Athlete Engagement Misty Brown and Jametta K. White will address the group.
Ronni Williams was the women’s basketball team’s representative on last year’s SEC Student-Athlete Leadership Council.
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