MONMOUTH, Ore. --- Western Oregon's Dustyn McKenney has been named as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference national representative for the NCAA Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

McKenney, a member of the Wolves' cross country and track & field teams, will serve this role until the NCAA Convention in January 2026.

McKenney, from Clovis, California, has been part of the WOU cross country and track & field program since 2019. He's a three-time GNAC All-Academic selection (2021-23) in cross country and a two-time section (2022-23) in track and field. This season he's already set a personal best in the 3,000 indoor with a time of 8:43.46.

SAAC serves as the primary governance arm representing student-athlete interests in Division II affairs. SAAC members serve as student-athlete liaisons that monitor and discuss happenings on campuses, within conference and at the national level.

Representatives are responsible for gathering feedback and reporting on behalf of their conference, as well as relaying important events, hot topics and educational information to both the campus and conference levels. In addition to relaying information across campuses and conferences, the committee speaks on behalf of the entire Division II student-athlete body throughout the NCAA governance structure.

Division II SAAC members serve as voting members on a number of Division II committees, including the Management Council and Presidents Council. The SAAC also has voting authority during the Division II Business Session at the annual NCAA Convention.

Currently 28 members, including representatives from each of the 23 Division II multisport voting conferences, three at-large representatives, and two members of the Management Council. The two members of the Management Council and one member of the Presidents Council serve as ex-officio and nonvoting members.

The Division II SAAC Nominating Subcommittee selects national committee members from a diverse pool of candidates that conference offices submit. The Division II Administrative Committee ratifies the appointments, and each student-athlete serves a non-renewable three-year term; however the student-athlete may serve only up to one year after exhausting his or her eligibility.