University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Vannatta Continues to Represent UNC Asheville, Big South Strongly on NCAA Division I National SAAC
07.18.2017 | Men's Basketball
NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
INDIANAPOLIS - UNC Asheville men's basketball student-athlete Kevin Vannatta was very tentative at first, but going into his second year as a part of the NCAA Division I National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) that has definitely changed.
"After one year I've realized that it was one of my best decisions yet because of the relationships and network I'm building with student-athletes, athletic directors and commissioners across the country," Vannatta told UNCABulldogs.com.
UNC Asheville men's basketball head coach Nick McDevitt is extremely proud of Vannatta's efforts.
"Kevin possesses all the qualities that you look for in a great leader and he continues to strengthen those both on and off the court," McDevitt said. "He is clearly one of our team leaders, but he is also very active in a number of organizations, both on our campus and at a national level. He continues to make us very proud to call him one of our own."
A rising senior guard for UNC Asheville men's basketball, Vannatta represents the Bulldogs and the over 4,000 Big South Conference student-athletes as part of the national SAAC.
"My role as a National SAAC member is to represent the student-athletes, for all sports, of the Big South Conference," Vannatta said. "I attend these meetings and then report back to our conference SAAC with the information, and that is where each Big South institution sends a member so that they can then take the information back to their campuses. They get feedback on any issue or discussion topic and then return that feedback to me, and I, while working with our commissioner, bring the Big South perspective to the table during our next conference call or in-person meeting."
The 2017-18 UNC Asheville SAAC President, Vannatta recently attended the NCAA Division I National SAAC meetings at the NCAA offices in Indianapolis.
Obviously, Vannatta cannot talk about all that the group is working on, but says "without going into any specific detail, our main focus right now is trying to tackle the transfer and early recruiting issues."
The whole experience overall has been a strong one for Vannatta.
"This experience has allowed me to hear so many different opinions and perspectives of what it is like to be a student-athlete around the country," Vannatta said. "It has allowed me to change my opinion on certain issues, and allowed me to develop even stronger feelings for others. The more I learn, the more I realize that there is so much more that is still out there for me to learn. It makes me eager to play the sport that I love because I see what hard work is going into providing the absolute best experience for student-athletes while they're in college. And when I'm finished, I hope that I have left the state of intercollegiate athletics in a better state than when I started."
Vannatta enters his senior season with the Bulldogs owning a 3.94 grade-point average as an Accounting major.
Vannatta was named to the 2016-17 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District® 3 Men's Basketball first-team in addition to being tabbed as a DI-AAA ADA Scholar-Athlete and to the NABC Honors Court.
Last season, Vannatta played in all 33 games on the season, starting 32. He finished his junior campaign averaging 9.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and team-best and league fifth-best 3.3 assists per game. Vannatta's 110 assists on the year were also a career-best. Vannatta led the Big South in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.93). He enters his senior season with 913 career points.
Vannatta and the UNC Asheville men's basketball program picked up their sixth Big South Conference regular-season title in the 2016-17 season (1996-97, 1997-98, 2001-02, 2007-08, 2011-12 and 2016-17).
The Bulldogs will commence the 2017-18 season having collected back-to-back 20-win seasons and having made two straight postseason appearances with the Bulldogs playing in the 2016 NCAA Tournament and the 2017 CollegeInsider.com Tournament.
The 2016-17 Bulldogs earned the second-most wins in program history in a season with 23. Asheville reached 20 wins faster than any other team in program history in 27 games.
UNC Asheville is currently accepting deposits for season tickets, and fans can reserve their season ticket for only $50 per seat. The season ticket includes both men's and women's home regular-season basketball games.
To purchase your tickets today, please visit HERE.
**Vannatta pictured with the NCAA Division I National SAAC**
INDIANAPOLIS - UNC Asheville men's basketball student-athlete Kevin Vannatta was very tentative at first, but going into his second year as a part of the NCAA Division I National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) that has definitely changed.
"After one year I've realized that it was one of my best decisions yet because of the relationships and network I'm building with student-athletes, athletic directors and commissioners across the country," Vannatta told UNCABulldogs.com.
UNC Asheville men's basketball head coach Nick McDevitt is extremely proud of Vannatta's efforts.
"Kevin possesses all the qualities that you look for in a great leader and he continues to strengthen those both on and off the court," McDevitt said. "He is clearly one of our team leaders, but he is also very active in a number of organizations, both on our campus and at a national level. He continues to make us very proud to call him one of our own."
A rising senior guard for UNC Asheville men's basketball, Vannatta represents the Bulldogs and the over 4,000 Big South Conference student-athletes as part of the national SAAC.
"My role as a National SAAC member is to represent the student-athletes, for all sports, of the Big South Conference," Vannatta said. "I attend these meetings and then report back to our conference SAAC with the information, and that is where each Big South institution sends a member so that they can then take the information back to their campuses. They get feedback on any issue or discussion topic and then return that feedback to me, and I, while working with our commissioner, bring the Big South perspective to the table during our next conference call or in-person meeting."
The 2017-18 UNC Asheville SAAC President, Vannatta recently attended the NCAA Division I National SAAC meetings at the NCAA offices in Indianapolis.
Obviously, Vannatta cannot talk about all that the group is working on, but says "without going into any specific detail, our main focus right now is trying to tackle the transfer and early recruiting issues."
The whole experience overall has been a strong one for Vannatta.
"This experience has allowed me to hear so many different opinions and perspectives of what it is like to be a student-athlete around the country," Vannatta said. "It has allowed me to change my opinion on certain issues, and allowed me to develop even stronger feelings for others. The more I learn, the more I realize that there is so much more that is still out there for me to learn. It makes me eager to play the sport that I love because I see what hard work is going into providing the absolute best experience for student-athletes while they're in college. And when I'm finished, I hope that I have left the state of intercollegiate athletics in a better state than when I started."
Vannatta enters his senior season with the Bulldogs owning a 3.94 grade-point average as an Accounting major.
Vannatta was named to the 2016-17 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District® 3 Men's Basketball first-team in addition to being tabbed as a DI-AAA ADA Scholar-Athlete and to the NABC Honors Court.
Last season, Vannatta played in all 33 games on the season, starting 32. He finished his junior campaign averaging 9.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and team-best and league fifth-best 3.3 assists per game. Vannatta's 110 assists on the year were also a career-best. Vannatta led the Big South in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.93). He enters his senior season with 913 career points.
Vannatta and the UNC Asheville men's basketball program picked up their sixth Big South Conference regular-season title in the 2016-17 season (1996-97, 1997-98, 2001-02, 2007-08, 2011-12 and 2016-17).
The Bulldogs will commence the 2017-18 season having collected back-to-back 20-win seasons and having made two straight postseason appearances with the Bulldogs playing in the 2016 NCAA Tournament and the 2017 CollegeInsider.com Tournament.
The 2016-17 Bulldogs earned the second-most wins in program history in a season with 23. Asheville reached 20 wins faster than any other team in program history in 27 games.
UNC Asheville is currently accepting deposits for season tickets, and fans can reserve their season ticket for only $50 per seat. The season ticket includes both men's and women's home regular-season basketball games.
To purchase your tickets today, please visit HERE.
**Vannatta pictured with the NCAA Division I National SAAC**
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