GREENVILLE, S.C. - The NCAA announced Conference Carolinas and it's "Leading the Way: Champions in Body, Mind, and Soul" Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Retreat has been recognized as a NCAA Division II Award of Excellence finalist.

Twenty-two schools and four conferences have been named finalists for the 2025 Division II Award of Excellence, an accolade recognizing initiatives in the past year that exemplify the Division II philosophy, community engagement and student-athlete leadership. Four finalists were picked as at-large honorees for submitting a strong nomination that was not chosen as the finalist for their conference.

The Leading the Way: Champions in Body, Mind and Soul SAAC Retreat Presented by Atlantic Casualty was held in Greenville, South Carolina in September. It included a visit to the Boys & Girls Club, a special dinner event that honored community impacts of SAAC on campus as well as leadership training sessions. The retreat aimed to develop student-athletes as leaders and included presentations on professional communication, networking and handling interviews. The event also inspired student-athletes to create events on their campuses to help Hurricane Helene victims and organize additional canned food drives, while taking the lessons learned to apply in their campus communities.

The student-athletes participated in important meetings and breakout sessions before having the tremendous opportunity to hear from North Carolina Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Student-Athlete Development Cricket Lane and Duke Associate Director of Athletics/Director of Student-Athlete Development Leslie Barnes. Lane and Barnes provided leadership training to all in attendance.
 
In addition, Atlantic Casualty presented to the group on opportunities and provided them real-world experience.

Division II honors its members each year for conducting events that promote student-athletes giving back and serving as leaders within their communities or on their campuses. A committee of athletics administrators determined this year’s finalists, and the national Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee selected the top three finalists, who will be announced at the Division II business session on Jan. 17 at the 2025 NCAA Convention in Nashville, Tennessee.