The Student Athlete Advisory Committee continued their work to bridge the gap between athletes on City College campus and faculty at their meeting on Thursday, Feb. 22.

The committee, also known as SAAC, is comprised of two athletes representing each City College sport. Advised by athletic counselor JoAnn Graham and student athlete success coordinator Michael Gamboa, they meet on campus twice a month to discuss each sports needs, and how they can better the community as a whole. 

The Student Athlete Advisory Committee which was formerly known as Captain’s Council for many years, made a comeback last semester after their multiple year hiatus. In a separate meeting with Graham, she described the need for the return, a crucial reason being the long time misconception of athletes on City College campus.

“The misperception on campus about athletes is that they’re a pampered group of students, but that is the opposite of what is happening here,” Graham said.

Graham continued to express that there is much more to being a student athlete than what meets the eye. She explained the class requirements that come with being an athlete at City College, as well as the time requirements outside of school. 

“Each student needs a minimum of nine units per semester, and if they are dropped from any of those classes, they are immediately ineligible.” Graham expressed. 

As for the hours outside of school, students that are in passing range need a combined 3 hours at the achievement zone, which is a work space for students to get help in their classes. If students are not in passing range during the semester, they are required to go to the achievement zone weekly until they are passing again. 

Graham expressed the committee’s ultimate goal, which is for athletes on City College Campus to have a positive impact and reputation in the community. She is hoping to get the committee to play with younger athletes at local elementary schools, as well as at the Boys and Girls Club. 

This goal was further discussed at the committee’s meeting, led by Gamboa. Though the group is working hard to make sure every athlete’s needs are heard and met, they are missing many sports representatives. As of now, The Student Athlete Advisory Committee is missing over half of the sports on their advisory, mainly because of the lack of advertisement across City College’s website and social media pages. Gamboa has been doing his best to combat this issue, saying he “asks coaches for representatives weekly.”

He presented their upcoming events, beginning as soon as Feb. 26th. The bone marrow drive will take place at the Sports Pavilion at 11 a.m. where SAAC will be volunteering and donating for people with life threatening cancers. 

On April 18, SAAC will be hosting Vaquero Vibes, a social hour for all athletes on campus. This usually takes place outside the Sports Pavilion, but there was talk about moving it to Leadbetter beach. The last Vaquero Vibes event took place on Thursday, Feb. 15 where athletes from each sport had time to bond with teammates over pizza.

The SAAC will have a table at the local high school outreach program on April 19 where they will talk to high school students about what it means to be a student athlete and a leader on campus.

On May 19 there will be a 5k fun run on campus. More information about the fun run will be released in the upcoming weeks. 

Any athlete interested in joining the Student Athlete Advisory Committee at City College can contact JoAnn Graham or Michael Gamboa for more information.