Oct. 7, 2009
The Aggie Cup, a year-long, friendly challenge among the UC Davis intercollegiate athletics programs, enters its third year of competition. Founded by former swimmer Toki Burke and current senior volleyball player Avreeta Singh, the Aggie Cup serves to increase student-athlete participation in campus and community-service events while creating a sense of unity among the university's 27 varsity teams.
The award is administered by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), for which Singh serves as an officer. Teams score points toward the Aggie Cup based on success in athletics, academics and in the community. The designated categories are:
1. Team For Teams: attendance of other teams' athletics events;
2. Scholarly Success: making Dean's Lists and other honor rolls;
3. Community Outreach: performing volunteer work around the community;
4. Athletic Excellence: winning conference, advancing to postseason play;
5. SAAC Attendance: having perfect attendance at SAAC meetings and team participation in SAAC-sponsored events;
6. Above And Beyond: winning individual awards such as all-conference or Player of the Week honors.
According to Singh, the impetus for launching the Aggie Cup was to create a greater sense of community among the ICA teams. "That's something I thought was lacking when I was a freshman," she said. "There are 800 student-athletes on campus, yet a lot of them don't interact with people outside of their own team. It's something that bothered me as a freshman, and it's something I wanted to see improve."
Singh, a senior exercise biology and pre-med student, brought home the idea of such an award after being selected to represent the university at the 2007 NCAA Leadership Conference. Attendees were required to return to their institutions with an "action plan" regarding student-athlete leadership issues. It was from that experience that Singh became interested not only in starting the Aggie Cup, but expanding to reward a well-rounded participation in the athletics department.
"I went to that conference and talked to people from other schools who had started a similar `Cup' challenge," said Singh. "When I came back and joined SAAC, Toki also had the idea. He and I collaborated on it, and I used some of the information I learned from other schools at the conference."
Not surprisingly, Singh's UC Davis women's volleyball team has been highly successful during the first two years of the Aggie Cup race. The volleyball squad won the inaugural competition in 2007-08, then finished a close second behind the track and field teams in 2008-09. The SAAC officers maintain a team scoreboard throughout the year, using a point system contributed by Burke two years ago.
SAAC is the student-athlete leadership group within the athletics department. Each team has one or two representatives to the committee, while a handful of those representatives are selected to serve as SAAC officers. Singh is one of five SAAC officers for 2009-10, joining Jonathan Peterson (track & field/cross country), Russ Underwood (swimming & diving), Matthew Council (track & field) and Britt Farquharson (lacrosse). In addition to serving as a representative voice for the student-athletes and promoting student-athlete welfare, SAAC participates in numerous community service events throughout the year.
