Oliver Williams of Westfield State football has been named the MASCAC representative to the Division III National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Williams replaces Rachel Sinclair of Worcester State who most recently served as MASCAC representative to National SAAC. He is the first Owl to serve in this role since Kelsey Carpenter, field hockey and softball student-athlete. 

Williams will bring an interesting viewpoint to the national committee, as the Leeds, England native is one of a handful of UK Natives playing American college football.

Being part of the Westfield State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) was an opportunity presented to him early in the fall.

"I didn't do it for the resume," he said. "I was part of school council in high school, I haven't missed a meeting yet. It's cool to give a voice to the football team.  We have an outstanding athletic department, I want to give a voice to the team and represent my guys, I like being a leader in that aspect. I think I represent the team well."

Westfield State head coach Pete Kowalski thought Williams was a great choice for the national committee.  "He's a wonderful, dedicated, hard-working enthusiastic player," said Westfield State head coach Pete Kowalski. "He's dependable, maybe the most dependable person we have. All the things you want in a player. He wants to achieve greatness, willing to put the effort in in the classroom, the community.  We really emphasize being part of the community."

When the league reached out about any potential NCAA SAAC nominees, "Oliver was an obvious choice," said Westfield State assistant athletic director Marlee Berg-Haryasz, who coordinates the Owls SAAC. "Oliver has brought ideas that he has implemented into actions, he has shared his time representing Westfield State Athletics during campus events and he runs our Westfield State SAAC Instagram page.  He's a strong communicator and incredibly organized; he's one of my go-to student-athletes."

The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) represents the Division III student-athlete voice in the Division III governance structure by reviewing legislation; identifying significant student-athlete issues; implementing national student-athlete based initiatives; encouraging community outreach; and enhancing Division III student-athlete involvement in and understanding of Division III in general.  The SAAC is also the committee that is primarily responsible for maintaining and coordinating the division’s nationwide partnership with Special Olympics.  The committee meets in-person four times each year in January, April, July and November.  It also conducts teleconferences as needed.

Portions of this release courtesy of Westfield State Sports Information