Courtesy of Norfolk State Athletic Communications


NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State women's basketball player Armani Franklin has always been a high achiever.

From earning MEAC All-Rookie Team honors as a freshman to graduating with honors in just three years, Franklin has been a star on and off the court since matriculating at Norfolk State in the fall of 2017. So her selection as this year's NSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) President should not come as a surprise.

The SAAC is a committee made up of student-athletes assembled to provide insight on the student-athlete experience. The SAAC also offers input to University administration on the rules, regulations and polices that affect student-athletes' lives on NCAA member institution campuses. After serving as a team representative on the SAAC previously, Franklin now serves as its lead voice.

Franklin answered the following questions about her role with SAAC and her goals for the position during the 2020-21 academic year.

Q: What has your experience been with SAAC?
A: My experience with SAAC has been a fun, yet challenging one. Even though COVID-19 has kind of made it difficult to hold events, I've still met and worked with so many amazing student-athletes on campus as well as at neighboring universities.

Q: Why did you want to be elected SAAC President?
A: I wanted to become SAAC President because not only do I care about my fellow student-athletes, I felt as if I could represent our program with integrity while continuing to build a family atmosphere among student-athletes on campus.

Q: What was the process like to be selected President?
A: The process moved pretty quickly. We didn't know for a while (in the spring) whether we would have on-campus classes this fall. But once we found out that we would, our SAAC advisors knew we would need representation for the SAAC board and made selections based off of the people nominated for specific positions as swiftly as they could.

Q: What are you like as a leader?
A: As a leader, I would say my main goal is to make sure I speak on behalf of the NSU athletes when there needs to be communication between administration and ourselves. I also am big on delegating roles to people that suit their strengths. I believe success is achieved when we work together as a team so our committee can run smoothly.

Q: What is the importance of SAAC?
A: SAAC is important for student-athletes on campus because it builds a community among us. It also encourages us to participate in volunteer work in the community, promotes communication between student-athletes and athletics administration, provides feedback and insight to departmental issues and allows for student-athletes to have a voice within the athletics department, all while promoting a positive self-image of student-athletes on campus.

Q: What are your goals for SAAC this year?
A: This year for SAAC my main goals are to have our campus committee participate in as many volunteering opportunities as possible. Being that COVID-19 has affected so many communities and families, SAAC will be using our volunteer hours to help out as much as we can. Another goal we aim to reach is to improve our communication between student-athletes and athletics administration.

Q: What challenges has COVID-19 presented for student-athletes in general and SAAC specifically? How are you trying to manage those? 
A: Overall, I believe COVID-19 has made it difficult on student-athletes because it altered our seasons and even canceled several in the spring. From a SAAC perspective, it has made it very difficult to have meetings and hold events that we scheduled to have during the year.

Q: One of your first events as President was the Unity Walk in Norfolk over the summer. What was that event like, and what do you hope comes from it? 
A: The Unity Walk was the very first event of the school year for our SAAC committee and we were all very pleased with the positive impact it had on our school. Our athletics program has been very supportive of student-athletes and our right to speak out about societal issues. During the event it brought together not only our student-athletes at NSU, but also many student-athletes from surrounding universities.

Franklin is a senior on the Spartan women's basketball team this year. She has been a member of the NSU Athletics Director's Honor Roll, the MEAC All-Academic Team and is a member of Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society. She graduated magna cum laude in just three years, earning her bachelor's degree in political science in the spring. Franklin is currently enrolled in the master's program for urban affairs at NSU. On the court, Franklin has played in 77 games and started 34 times during her career. She was sixth in the MEAC in steals in 2019-20.