For Immediate Release

June 8, 2012

Additional Reporting Provided by the Pace Athletics Communications Staff

South Easton, Mass. – The Northeast-10 Conference announced that the Pace University Athletics Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) won the 2012 NE-10 award for most money raised for the Make-A-Wish Foundation as they raised more then $6,200.

Pace is the third school in the NE-10 to receive this honor since the awards establishment.

This year the 16 member schools of the Northeast-10 helped raise nearly $36,000 for Make-A-Wish. The league's donation total since the relationship with Make-A-Wish over the past eight years is now over $235,000.

With seven graduating seniors from the Executive Board, this is a momentous accomplishment. Many of the senior Executive Board members were involved with SAAC during their entire four-year career as a Pace Athlete.

Outgoing SAAC President Shea Hansen was excited to hear the news. "I have always hoped that our SAAC would win this award. We have worked so hard to create fundraising initiatives that will maximize our chances to raise the most money in the NE-10. I am proud of our student-athletes and glad we were able to make a large contribution to the Make-A-Wish Foundation."

Pace's Student Athlete Advisory Committee had a dynamic year in 2011-12 with their annual Bingo Night raising $2,700 with a large crowd on hand in the Goldstein Health and Fitness Center. In addition to Bingo, SAAC sold t-shirts promoting unity among all student-athletes with all proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

They also raised money at Homecoming, held a staff/faculty auction during halftime of a men's basketball game and collected donations throughout the year. SAAC was also recognized at the Pace Pride Awards as they took home four individual or group awards this year for their work in the campus community.

In addition to the Make-A-Wish initiative, Pace SAAC also partnered with Colleges Against Cancer to create a campaign called "Pace Goes Pink" which raised money for the Dickstein Cancer Treatment Center at White Plains Hospital. In total, $2,579.50 was raised for the hospital in the campaign's first year of existence.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation and "Pace Goes Pink" efforts by SAAC came together in a joint effort for the "Play4Kay" women's basketball game in February. Pace Athletics generated $1,250 for the Kay Yow Foundation, which is the largest total recorded by the department.

For the 2011-12 school year, SAAC and the Pace Athletics department combined to raise $10,035.71 for local and national organizations. SAAC will return in the fall and begin planning events in hopes of repeating as the top contributor to the Make-A-Wish Foundation in the Northeast-10 Conference.

The Northeast-10 is an association of 16 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that are committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 6,500 student-athletes. Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in Conference championships in 23 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.

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