LOWELL, Mass. -- The UMass Lowell Athletic Department and the Tsongas Center will host to the 2018 America East Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) summer meetings over the weekend, which will include student-athletes from all nine member institutions.

A total of 18 institutional SAAC representatives (2 from each campus) discuss NCAA legislation, national topics affecting student-athletes, community service projects, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and most importantly, AE SAAC's mental health initiative.

"We are thrilled to be at UMass Lowell for our America East SAAC July meeting and are appreciative of the investment in this weekend's programming by the entire UMass Lowell athletic department,." said Kate Bergstrom, America East Associate Commissioner for Internal Operations. "This July meeting provides an opportunity for the leaders from our nine institutions to share ideas, collaborate on conference initiatives, and build a roadmap for the upcoming academic year so that they return to campus energized and excited."

The group will also elect a new AE SAAC Vice Chair, to serve with UMass Lowell distance runner Chris Skelly (Pepperell, Mass.) during his last term as America East SAAC President.

SAAC will also do DiSC Assessment programming to help AE SAAC members be better leaders and facilitators when they return to campus this fall, which is a tool used for discussion of people's behavioral differences.