The Salem College Department of Athletics will further showcase its support for the "United As One" initiative that the three NCAA Divisional Student-Athlete Advisory Committees and Board of Governors Student-Athlete Engagement Committee, by donning a national Unity Pledge patch that focuses on symbolic gestures which generate stronger unity among the NCAA's 1,100-plus schools and nearly 500,000 student-athletes.

Salem College student-athletes are also encouraged to support the Unity Pledge in the hope of creating a more perfect world. The logo includes three different colored hands holding one another's wrists inside a circle with "United As One" at the bottom. The mark was sent to all NCAA schools in the form of a patch which will be placed on uniforms.

"I am proud to be a part of this NCAA initiative," said Salem Director of Athletics Trish Hughes. "We at Salem College take tremendous pride in being part of our community on a local, state and national level. This United as One patch demonstrates yet another way that we are doing our part in the unification process."

The three SAAC chairs — Braly Keller for Division III, a former Nebraska Wesleyan athlete; Alex Shillow for Division II, a football player at Texas A&M-Commerce; and Ethan Good for Division I, a former men's basketball player at Bowling Green — joined Colby Pepper, a former men's soccer player at Division III Covenant and a member of the Board of Governors SAEC, in leading the effort to create the pledge and the corresponding mark. The four enlisted feedback from their respective committee members, too.

Keller, Shillow, Good and Pepper released the following statement regarding the Unity Pledge: "The Unity Pledge has been months in the making. Through the challenges that student-athletes have faced in the COVID-19 pandemic, Division I SAAC, Division II SAAC, Division III SAAC and the Board of Governors Student-Athlete Engagement Committee have come together to lead and advocate for our nearly half-million peers across the country. In light of the social injustice and hate our country has experienced, we wanted a unified statement written by student-athletes, for student-athletes. We encourage student-athletes, coaches and administrators to use this statement in your conference, campus and with your teams as we push forward for change as a collective group, united as one."

Student-Athlete Unity Pledge

I am an NCAA student-athlete and I pledge to be a Champion of Unity on my team, on my campus, and in my community
I pledge to stand against all forces of division and separation.
I pledge to embrace differences and strive for inclusion and collaboration.
I pledge to stand against racism, hate, and discrimination.
I pledge to strive for love, care, and forgiveness.
I pledge to stand against silence, deceit, and obscurity.
I pledge to strive for dialogue, truth, and understanding.
I pledge to stand against fear and doubt.
I pledge to strive for trust and belief in one another.
I pledge to stand against complacency and stagnancy.
I pledge to strive for change and growth.
I commit to supporting my fellow student-athletes in all circumstances that impact them.
I commit to both choosing unity personally and encouraging it for all.
I pledge these things because we are stronger together.