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2018 NCAA Inclusion Grant Recipients
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Apply for the CoSIDA Attendance Grant Deadline: Feb. 9, Midnight (ET)
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#CoSIDA18 Convention Information
Thanks to a partnership between CoSIDA and the NCAA, six athletics communications professionals will attend the
2018 CoSIDA Convention in Washington D.C.
The NCAA’s media coordination staff and Office of Inclusion and Leadership Development recently solicited applications from ethnic minorities in the industry. Working with CoSIDA board members to identify individuals for the purpose of advocating for diversity within the sports information profession, six recipients from a pool of 33 applicants were selected. Each applicant had to submit an essay and have a letter of recommendation written on his or her behalf.
In addition to attending the convention, the NCAA grant allows for recipients to visit the NCAA national office and pairs them with a CoSIDA mentor for 2018-19.
After attending the 2016 CoSIDA Convention, David Worlock and Sahar Abdur-Rashid of the NCAA’s media coordination and statistics staff approached their colleagues in the Office of Inclusion and Leadership Development with the concept of using NCAA resources to fund convention attendance grants for two ethnic minorities in Divisions I, II and III.
“For the second year, we are thankful to our NCAA colleagues within the Office of Inclusion and Leadership Development along with our partnership with CoSIDA to assist with diversity and inclusion efforts in our profession. “said Worlock, NCAA director of media coordination and statistics. “We are thrilled with the quality of candidates and look forward to continuing to engage those in our field through professional development opportunities.”
NCAA Inclusion CoSIDA Convention Grant Recipients
| NCAA Division I |
NCAA Division II |
NCAA Division III |
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 |
 |
 |
 |
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Marissa Avanzato
East Tennessee
State University |
Alexandria Brown
University of
Houston |
Jaclyn Lam
Rocky Mountain
Athletic Conference |
Sean Montgomery
Georgia College
& State University |
Kayla Lawrence
Bryn Mawr
College |
Moussa Traore
Montclair State
University |
The six NCAA/CoSIDA grant winners join 20 convention attendance grant recipients as well as two ethnic minority grant recipients – all chosen by CoSIDA in March as part of its convention attendance grant program. In addition, the NCAA Division III governance staff will host six students who are interested in the athletics communications profession during the convention’s Divisional Day June 28.
Louise McCleary, the NCAA’s Director of Division III, said the selected students will participate in Division III Day, be exposed to the CoSIDA Convention, its members and the athletics communication profession. Grant recipients will attend welcome and debrief meetings and be assigned a mentor. The goal is to build the pipeline in an effort to ultimately diversify the Division III athletics communication landscape.
“These opportunities are important to CoSIDA as they open the door for six of our talented ethnic minority members to grow professionally and get more engaged in our organization,” CoSIDA Executive Director Doug Vance said. “We are deeply appreciative of the NCAA’s media coordination and statistics staff and Office of Inclusion and Leadership Development for their partnership and support in this effort.”
Reminder: Applications are open for the CoSIDA Attendance Grant through Feb. 9 at Midnight (ET). Twenty-two (22) individual will be selected. Two grants are specifically designated for minorities in the profession.
Learn more and apply here.