What SAAC does
Every NCAA member school has a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Porter's has three jobs: give student-athletes a formal voice in department decisions, run the department's community service, and represent Porter in the conference SAAC, which casts a vote on NCAA Division III legislation every January. It meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 9:00 p.m., after the last practice, in Ironclad Fieldhouse 214. Meetings are open to any student-athlete.
The advisor is Dr. Tamsin Okerlund, associate athletic director and Senior Woman Administrator; faculty athletics representative Prof. Ingrid Moe attends twice a semester. Contact details for both are in the staff directory.
Members, 2026–27
Each team chooses its own representatives each spring; larger rosters send two.
| Team | Representative(s) |
|---|---|
| Baseball | Luis Ferreira (Jr., construction management); Sam Rudolph (So., business administration) |
| Men's basketball | Jalen Whitcomb (Sr., mechanical engineering) |
| Women's basketball | Rachel Ostby (Jr., nursing) |
| Men's cross country | Ben Ostrowski (Sr., applied mathematics) |
| Women's cross country | Signe Arneson (Jr., applied mathematics) — secretary |
| Football | Owen Krause (Sr., construction management); Isaiah Lindqvist (Jr., computer engineering) |
| Men's golf | Henry Paulsen (So., hospitality management) |
| Women's golf | Grace Tveit (So., dietetics) |
| Men's soccer | Emeka Adebayo (Jr., supply chain management) |
| Women's soccer | Paige Duerst (Jr., early childhood education) — service chair |
| Softball | Morgan Hessel (Sr., kinesiology) |
| Men's track & field | Darius Kellerman (Jr., electrical engineering) |
| Women's track & field | Nora Pfeifer (Sr., chemistry) |
| Volleyball | Brianna Kvale (Sr., industrial engineering) — president |
| Wrestling | Cole Marten (Jr., manufacturing engineering) — vice president |
Community service
Ironclad teams logged 3,180 service hours in 2025–26. SAAC schedules the department-wide projects; teams add their own, such as the men's soccer youth league.
| Project | Partner | 2025–26 |
|---|---|---|
| Read with an Ironclad (weekly, October–April) | Porter Falls Area School District elementary schools | 640 hours |
| Fill the Anvil food drive at the Forge Bowl | The campus food pantry | 2.4 tons collected |
| Saturday cleanup at the Depot Plaza farmers market | Depot District merchants | 22 Saturdays |
| Riverfront Trail spring cleanup | Facilities Management | 146 volunteers |
| Winter Carnival youth clinics | Porter Falls parks department | 9 sports, 310 kids |
Students looking for individual opportunities can also use the university's listings for community service in Porter Falls.
How a proposal reaches the athletic director
- Raise it with your team rep. Anything from practice scheduling to locker-room supplies. Reps can keep the source anonymous.
- SAAC discusses it at the next meeting and votes on whether to carry it forward. A proposal needs a majority of reps present.
- The officers write it up: one page stating the problem, the ask, the likely cost and which teams it affects.
- The advisor delivers it. Dr. Okerlund brings it to her monthly meeting with Director of Athletics Chuck Running; the SAAC president attends.
- A written answer within 30 days: adopted, adopted with changes, deferred (with a reason and a date), or declined (with a reason). Answers are read into the SAAC minutes.
Questions about eligibility or NCAA rules go to compliance rather than through SAAC; see the eligibility page.
Recent proposals
| Proposal | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Keep the Fieldhouse study room open until 11 p.m., Sunday–Thursday | Adopted January 2026; funded by the Ironclad Club |
| Counselor office hours inside the Fieldhouse | Adopted fall 2026: Tuesdays 2–5 p.m., staffed by Counseling Services |
| No required team activities after 8 p.m. during finals week | Adopted as department policy, May 2026 |
| Replace the 2009 cold tubs in the training room | Deferred to the 2027–28 capital request |
| Survey athletes on the conference move | Done: 318 responses, 81% in favor, shared before the announcement |
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. This committee, its members, service totals and proposals are invented; no real student-athletes are named or described.