Owls' Moroney Voted MASCAC SAAC President for 2023

Westfield State junior Paige Moroney (Sterling, Mass./Wachussett Regional) was voted in by her peers as the president of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Student Athlete Advisory Committee for the 2023 calendar year.

Moroney, a sprinter on the Owls' women's track and field team, succeeds Rachel Sinclair of Worcester State and Colby Barbieri of Mass Maritime who served as the MASCAC SAAC's co-presidents last year.

"I think it's important to have more avenues to be more than just athletes and students, and when those opportunities come our way, to make sure those experiences count, and continue to happen for the students who are coming behind us as well," said Moroney when asked why she ran for the president's office.

Per the NCAA, a student-athlete advisory committee (SAAC) is a committee made up of student-athletes assembled to provide insight on the student-athlete experience. The SAAC offers input on the rules, regulations and policies that affect student-athletes' lives. There is a SAAC at the institution, conference and national levels.

At Westfield State the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee's mission is to provide an environment for student-athletes to develop their leadership and life skills - through promoting a positive image on campus and in the community; being the voice of their fellow student-athletes, providing their service on campus; in the community and at the conference level;  and by attending seminars and presentations to further their education in regards to leadership, alcohol awareness, sexual assault prevention, suicide awareness, career development and social growth.

Moroney joined Westfield State's SAAC as a first year student, encouraged by SAAC advisor Marlee Berg-Haryasz, who is also one of Moroney's coaches with the Owls' track and field team.

"I thought it was a good opportunity as an athlete.  If you have resources available, why not make the most of the opportunity and better yourself as a person and not just an athlete," said Moroney.

Moroney's former teammate Moira McDonald served as the the president of the league group in 2021.

Moroney's slate for the 2023 year includes community service along with league-wide initiatives.

"I'm excited about our conference community service project for this year," she said. "Typically we chose one campus' local area and try to make an impact there, but this year we are working on care packages to help people in shelters that will help out in the local area of each school's campus."

According to MASCAC assistant commissioner Emily Loux, who works with the league's SAAC, at the  April 16 meeting at Worcester State, member of the committee will pack the care packages.

"This not only brings athletes from all the league's schools together for one day to work together, but will also bring impact back to their individual campus communities," said Loux.

Loux also said Moroney and new SAAC VP Ava Novakoski (from Bridgewater State softball) would "work on our conference awards committee, as well as anything where th­­­e athletic directors want student-athlete feedback from across the league."

Moroney said she is also interested in some of the programming that the league's SAAC participates in, which has included "Mental health check-ins, trainings, as well as the ability to bring some of the information back to our teams."

Among her other priorities is, "branding ourselves, marketing ourselves as athletes," said Moroney.  "We spend a lot of time in athletics, and while it's not necessarily the same as some other programs on campus, athletics offers leadership skills, teamwork skills, and more to future employers."

Moroney said she also enjoys the social connections made with the athletes from other schools. 

"That part is super interesting – it's not just 'you're the girl who beat me' in the race last week, you can get away from the rivalry aspects of competition , and puts a name to the face and takes some of the edge away from the matchups the next time you compete."

Moroney, who placed second in the conference in both the 60-meter and 200-meter dash events at the 2022 MASCAC indoor championship meet, is a movement science major at Westfield State.

"I have the exercise science concentration and a minor in psychology and coaching. After graduation I'm not sure exactly what I want in terms of profession, but I know that I want to continue to stay involved and in some fashion work in athletics and movement science whether that be the mental side, like sport psychology or the physical side like PT or as an exercise physiologist."