INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – SUNY Maritime College's Chris Deddo (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) was selected to become a member of the NCAA Division III National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representing the Skyline Conference and the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference, as announced by the NCAA in January.
 
Deddo, who is currently a sophomore on the Maritime Baseball team, also serves as one of the team's SAAC representatives. He will join the NCAA DIII SAAC and begins the first year of a three-year term, serving as a liaison between the NCAA and the two conferences that he will represent.
 
He will represent the 11 schools that currently comprise the Skyline Conference; Farmingdale State College, SUNY Maritime College, Mount St. Mary College, the College of Mount St. Vincent, SUNY Old Westbury, Purchase College, The Sage Colleges, Sarah Lawrence College, St. Joseph's College of Brooklyn, St. Joseph's College of Long Island, and Yeshiva University. He will also represent the United States Merchant Marine Academy upon its arrival to the Skyline Conference beginning on July 1, 2016.
 
In addition to the current 11 Skyline Conference schools, Deddo will represent the 10 colleges and universities that make the up the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference; D'Youville College, Franciscan University, Hilbert College, LaRoche College, Medaille College, Mount Aloysius College, Penn State-The Behrend College, Penn State-Altoona Campus, The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, and The University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg.
 
Deddo presently studies Marine Environmental Science at SUNY Maritime College and is minoring in Marine Biology. Upon graduation, Chris intends to become a United States Marine Corps Officer.
 
"Having the opportunity to represent student athletes from the Skyline Conference and Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference is something that I will not take lightly," commented Deddo. "It is a great honor to even be on the SAAC committee for Maritime College. I would like to thank [Director of Athletics] Heather MacCulloch, [Maritime SAAC Advisor] Ann Denning, [Head Baseball Coach] Charlie Barbieri and [Sports Information Director] Sean Engel for giving me the opportunity to be a leader in the athletic community and for the chance to make a difference in not only student athletes lives on campus, but also on the national level. I will be sure to represent Maritime College well on the national level and will work day in and day out to make a difference for all DIII athletes."
 
"I am extremely excited to have one of our student-athletes, representing the Skyline and Alleghany Mountain Conferences," said MacCulloch. "I am looking forward to working with Chris as it will really provide a great opportunity for him to get an in-depth understanding of how the NCAA and the conference offices operate from an administrative standpoint. The goal is to promote student-athlete welfare and the NCAA National SAAC will allow him to have an active role in the adoption of policies and procedures that ultimately affect all student-athletes."
 
"I am beyond proud of Chris being selected to be as National SAAC representative for the Skyline and Alleghany Mountains Conferences," added Denning. "Although he is only a sophomore Chris has demonstrated great dedication to Maritime College, not only in Athletics and the classroom, but the campus as a whole. Chris has been a crucial part of SAAC and the Student Government Association, acting as the bridge between the two groups. He is an energetic and creative representative who will bring that enthusiasm to his new role as a National SAAC representative."
 
"I'm extremely proud of Chris for being named as a national SAAC representative," said Coach Barbieri on Deddo. "He is an outstanding choice and is one of only 21 Division III representatives throughout the country. Chris was a first team All-Conference performer last year and was recently named one of our baseball captains for the 2016 season. Chris embodies the type of student-athlete that we want representing Maritime College both in the classroom and on the athletic field. He's a natural born leader that will excel in his new position."
 
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.