Tennessee’s Madeline Banic, Brianna Leverenz and Riley Lovingood are among 28 members of the Southeastern Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) who will meet at the SEC headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama this Friday and Saturday.
The purpose of the SEC SAAC is to provide student-athletes with additional opportunities to engage with campus leaders and conference office staff. Additional councils with similar purposes were introduced by the conference in 2016 for football and men’s and women’s basketball. Each council convenes annually, and a joint meeting is held during the summer. The SEC Football Leadership Council conducted its two-day meeting last weekend, and the basketball councils meet during the fall.
Banic has earned 13 SEC swimmer medals over her four-year career on Rocky Top, including six golds. Three of Banic’s six gold medals came in her firs- ever SEC Championships meet as a true freshman. Over her career, Banic has tallied eight All-American certificates, five SEC honors and has logged 12 top-10 times in the program records book.
Leverenz and Banic make up two of three Lady Vol seniors on the Tennessee women’s swimming team. Leverenz has competed in more than 30 meets in her career as a Lady Vol, registered more than 200 community-service hours and has been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll three times. In her time at Tennessee, the Lady Vols swimming and diving team has recorded a pair of top-three finishes in the SEC Championships (2016 and 2018) and a top-10 NCAA Championship finish in 2018.
Lovingood is a rising senior longsnapper on the Tennessee football team who has appeared in 26 games during his career on Rocky Top. The Hendersonville, Tenn., native is a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll and was named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week on Oct. 3, 2016. Lovingood graduated in just three years, earning his undergraduate degree in recreation and sport management.
Agenda items for this weekend’s SEC SAAC meeting include a presentation on leadership by Growing Leaders, Inc., a conversation with SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, a review of NCAA and SEC legislative items with SEC Assistant Commissioner Matt Boyer, and an open discussion on various topics facilitated by Misty Brown, SEC Director of Student-Athlete Engagement. The group will also elect officers at the end of its meeting.
Student-athletes scheduled to attend the meeting include: Kat Rogers (Alabama soccer), Taylor Beitz (Arkansas soccer), Landon Ernst (Arkansas men’s golf), Abigail Meadows (Auburn soccer), Bill Taylor (Auburn football), Addie Baggarly (Florida women’s golf), Rachel Kramer (Florida volleyball), Katie Higgins (Georgia soccer), Ryan Peppenhorst (Georgia cross country), Zoe Collins (Kentucky women’s golf), Jacob Cook (Kentucky men’s golf), Harrison Martingayle (LSU cross country), Milan Stokes (LSU volleyball), Myles Hartsfield (Ole Miss football), Gabby Little (Ole Miss soccer), Kanani Price (Mississippi State volleyball), Kody Schexnayder (Mississippi State football), Jacob Bohlken (Missouri wrestling), Riley Sents (Missouri volleyball), Jack Parrott (South Carolina men’s golf), Simone Wark (South Carolina soccer), Madeline Banic (Tennessee women’s swimming and diving), Brianna Leverenz (Tennessee women’s swimming and diving), Riley Lovingood (Tennessee football), Jake Gibbons (Texas A&M men’s swimming and diving), Maddy Stulce (Texas A&M women’s track and field), Mary Beckwith (Vanderbilt women’s swimming) and Namilla Sanchez (Vanderbilt women’s swimming).
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