Cardenas Selected for NCAA Career in Sports Forum

Webster University senior and softball team member Karissa Cardenas has been selected to attend the NCAA Career In Sports Forum. This is the eighth year the NCAA has invited student-athletes with an interest in working in the sports industry to attend the forum.

Cardenas, of Henderson, Colorado, was one of over 230 student-athletes nationwide who will be attending this year's forum in Indianapolis, Indiana, June 1-4.  

She applied for the forum and was selected by a committee from within the NCAA membership group. Cardenas will be the lone representative from St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schools.

A biological sciences major, Cardenas was an Easton/NFCA 2016 All-America Scholar Athlete and SLIAC Spring 2016 All-Academic Team awardee.

Participants who expressed an interest in pursuing a career in sports, and who were viewed as leaders on their campus, were invited to apply to attend the forum after a nomination by athletics administrators at their respective schools. Many current and past attendees are members of their Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), the student-athlete voice within the NCAA governance structure. The selection committee is comprised of administrators and coaches within the NCAA, many former forum participants themselves.

"Supporting NCAA student-athlete leaders with their education is a key goal for the Association," said Bernard Franklin, NCAA executive vice president of education and community engagement and chief inclusion officer. "Our Career in Sports Forum puts student-athletes, postgraduate scholarship recipients in a non-traditional academic setting where they can learn directly from successful leaders, which can have a positive impact on their future after graduation."

One of more than 45 annual conferences and seminars organized and directed by the NCAA leadership development department, the Career in Sports Forum provides college athletes with a broader scope of the career tracks available within the sports business, with the primary focus on college athletics. The forum provides student-athletes interactive experiences with successful individuals in the sports business and a peek into their day-to-day duties and responsibilities.

Forum attendees, with representation from 73 conferences, will hear from various keynote speakers and panelists, highlighted by Stevie Baker-Watson, associate vice president and director of athletics at DePauw University; Jason Burton, head women's basketball coach at the Texas A&M University-Commerce; Clyde Doughty Jr, director of athletics at Bowie State University; Oliver Luck, NCAA executive vice president of regulatory affairs; Felicia Martin, vice president of the NCAA Eligibility Center; and Craig McPhail, director of athletics at Lees-McRae College. The participants also learn best practices for gaining employment and gathering a better understanding of what future expectations will be once they get a job in sports.

Search #LearnLead on Twitter to follow the social conversation and events at the 2017 Career in Sports Forum, as well as all NCAA leadership development programs.

From SLIAC Sports Information