For the eighth year, the NCAA is inviting more than 230 current student-athletes, NCAA scholarship and grant recipients, all with an interest in working within the sports industry, to the Career in Sports Forum in Indianapolis June 1-4. Former Hilbert College baseball player Tyler Shaw and Pitt-Bradford's Dahmir Noel were both chosen from the AMCC to attend this workshop.
Shaw graduated in 2016 after four solid seasons on the Hawks' baseball team. He was named the Hilbert male Scholar-Athlete of the Year as the 2016 McGrath Award recipient, having graduated with a 3.69 cumulative grade point average and a degree in criminal justice. The Martinez, California product returned to Hilbert this past year, competed on the Hawks’ golf team and continued his studies towards a second bachelor’s degree in sports industry management. He closed his baseball career with 31 hits, 23 RBI’s, six doubles and one homerun. Shaw, who is interning in the Hawk athletic department this fall, is looking to gain a wide range of experiences to keep his options open in both high school and collegiate athletics down the road. He sees himself someday possibly being a high school athletic director. .
"Tyler is a great pick for this program," stated Hilbert Athletic Director John Czarnecki. "He is a bright young man who has a long career in sports ahead of him. Participation in this forum will give him the tools and confidence to be a strong candidate for many athletic positions out there."
Noel graduated with academic honors while majoring in sports and recreation management and picking up a minor in athletic coaching. He is currently a volunteer assistant football coach for Otto-Eldred High School and has also interned for the Big 30 football charities classic and also within the Pitt-Bradford Athletic Department. Noel was also selected to attend the 2017 NCAA National Convention as a student attendee. Noel's future plans include coaching football and to obtain his master's degree so that he can become an athletic director for a university.
“ I got to know Dahmir his junior year here at Pitt Bradford as student in our Sports Management program," stated Pitt-Bradford Athletic Director Bret Butler. "I initially met him while he was working off campus at Wal Mart, when I made it a point to get to know him. From that point on, we struck up a friendship, and I encouraged him to get involved with our Athletic Department. He became very involved with our local sports community, as well as being our Department Intern spring semester of his senior year. Dahmir did a great job, and I expect him to continue to make strides towards his goal of working in collegiate athletics and collegiate athletic administration.”
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.
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