INDIANAPOLIS --- Approximately 200 Division III student-athletes will convene in Pittsburgh Friday for the NCAA Division III Student-Athlete Leadership Conference. Carrying the theme “Connecting the Rhythms of Leadership,” the conference will focus on empowering student-athletes to become agents of positive change. Participants will focus on enhancing their leadership skills and gaining a better understanding of the NCAA and Division III. The conference is designed to enable participants to be active within the NCAA structure, and most importantly, develop a plan to create positive change on their campus or in their conference.
The mission of the Division III Student-Athlete Leadership Conference is to prepare student-athletes for leadership in a diverse and dynamic society. Student-athletes, coaches and athletics administrators work together to facilitate critical dialogue, address Division III-specific issues and create collaborative partnerships to impact their daily student-athlete experience.
“This is a great opportunity to bring Division III student-athletes together in a non-competitive environment, to build relationships and to create connections within their conference and Division III,” said Sarah MacInnis, assistant director of student-athlete development and coordinator of the conference.
Luke Ravenstahl, mayor of Pittsburgh, will be the guest speaker during the conference. Ravenstahl will speak to the group and also facilitate dialogue, challenging participants to use the skills they learn as a student-athlete to help them strive in life. The 28-year-old mayor holds the distinction of being the youngest mayor of any U.S. city and was a football student-athlete at Division III Washington and Jefferson College.
For more information on Division III, visit the Division III homepage on NCAA.org.
Institutions and conferences participating in the Division III Leadership Conference are:
Alvernia College; Franklin and Marshall College; Frostburg State University; Gettysburg College; Grove City College; Hilbert College; Hood College; Hunter College; Immaculata University; Kean University; Keuka College; King’s College; La Roche College; Lebanon Valley College; McDaniel College; Medaille College; Medgar Evers College; Montclair State University; Moravian College; Mount Aloysius College; Neumann College; New Jersey City University; Penn State University, Altoona; Pennsylvania State University Erie, the Behrend College; Richard Stockton College of New Jersey; Rowan University; Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark; St. Mary’s College of Maryland; SUNY Brockport; SUNY Cortland; SUNY Fredonia; SUNY New Paltz; SUNY Old Westbury; SUNY Oneonta; SUNY Oswego; SUNY Institute of Technology; SUNY Maritime College; University of Pittsburgh, Bradford; University of Pittsburgh, Greensburg; University of Scranton; Washington and Jefferson College; Wells College; Westminster College, Pennsylvania; York College; Colonial States Athletic Conference; Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference; Centennial Conference; City University of New York Athletic Conference; Skyline Conference.
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