This year, the UWF SAAC had the opportunity of teaming up with the NCAA here in Pensacola for the NCAA Division II National Championships Festival. The Fall Festival included competition in Volleyball, Men and Women's Soccer, Men and Women's Cross Country, and Field Hockey. Each West Florida athletic team played a significant role in the success of the Championships and used this as an opportunity to help the surrounding community.

It started off when the UWF SAAC and members from all the athletic teams gathered together to help stuff roughly 300 packets for the Youth Education through Sports (YES) Clinic. The clinic exposed children to three of the four sports involved with the Championships and focused on good sportsmanship. The Men and Women Basketball teams volunteered their time as role models for the younger children attending the YES Clinic. They helped to entertain the future student-athletes while also teaching them the importance of sports. The Baseball and Softball teams provided assistance with the Habitat for Humanity build project. This project created six new homes for families in the Pensacola area who are in need due to Hurricane Katrina. The remaining athletic teams assisted with the actual Championships; providing help with the setting up and tearing down of the athletic venues, passing out surveys to spectators and participants, acting as ticket takers, parking attendants, field and course crew members, and much more.

SAAC has also been involved with raising money for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. This took place at a home volleyball game in October since that is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Student-athletes and members of SAAC walked around the gymnasium collecting money from spectators to donate towards research done for breast cancer.

The Baseball team was also involved with a `Senior Prom' project supporting the Bayview Senior Citizens Center. The theme of the dance was "1950's: Come As You Were" and was hosted by Junior League. The Baseball team paired up with members of the center and danced the night away while attempting to bridge the gap between the generations while helping to better understand each other.

The Baseball team plans to participate in a Valentine's Day dance at Azalea Trace on February 8th. The team will put on their dancing shoes and spend the evening dancing and mingling with the retirement community.

At the February 19th home basketball games, members from SAAC will take part in a spare change drive to raise money for Make-A-Wish. Student-athletes will walk around the gymnasium stands collecting money from the spectators for this wonderful foundation. All proceeds will be donated to Make-A-Wish to help make a young child's dream a reality.

The Baseball and Softball teams will be involved with the 2006 Gulf Coast Baseball/Softball Clinic. The clinic will be held at the University of West Florida on March 4th for baseball and March 18th for softball. This event will not only promote baseball and softball to boys and girls in Northwest Florida, but give them an opportunity to work with our UWF athletes. The clinic will touch on all the areas of the sport - throwing, hitting, infield and outfield skills, running the bases, and much more.

Once the Men's Basketball season comes to a close for the season, the men will be participating in the `Just Say No' campaign for the Escambia County Schools. This program promotes the negative aspects of alcohol and drug use while encouraging the young children to stay in school and be active.

The UWF Women's Basketball team is pairing up with the Hospice of the Emerald Coast for a Valentine's Day project. The Hospice Center is accepting Valentine's Day gift baskets in which will be handed out to the patients in which they serve. The basketball team will be donating several Valentine's Day gift baskets filled with items such as stuffed animals, lotions, inspirational cards and poems, UWF paraphernalia, and much more.