GNAC Helping Develop Young Professionals on NCAA Division III Ethnic Minority and Women's Grant

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

By Michael Ghika, GNAC Assistant Commissioner

NCAA grant launching
successful careers in college athletics

WINTHROP, Mass. – The Division III Ethnic Minority and Women’s Internship Grant was designed to provide financial assistance to NCAA Division III member institutions and conference offices that are committed to enhancing ethnic minority and gender representation in collegiate athletics.

At the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC), based out of Winthrop, Mass., the league office has prided itself on helping develop young professionals and launching them forward into successful careers in college athletics.

GNAC Commissioner Joe Walsh has always advocated to his conference members to apply for the Ethnic Minority and Women’s Grant. After all, he has seen it work firsthand time and time again.

“The NCAA Ethnic Minority and Women’s Grant is a wonderful opportunity for all parties involved to have an impact on the future landscape of Division III athletics administration,” said Walsh. “We have been extremely fortunate to have had wonderfully talented interns who have been mentored collaboratively by all of our GNAC athletic directors and sports information directors.”

Just last year during the 2014-15 academic year, the GNAC was thrilled to have former Boston University graduate Doug Chin serve on the conference staff through the grant. Chin coordinated and emceed the biennial GNAC Professional Development Seminar (PDS) in August 2014 before taking on an array of duties when fall sports kicked off that September.

Nonetheless, other opportunities came calling for Chin, who in October 2014 left the GNAC to become the full-time sports information director at Pine Manor College in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Less than a year later, he was named the full-time assistant commissioner at the Commonwealth Coast Conference under CCC Commissioner Gregg Kaye.

“The program creates a great environment for the recipients where they have a cohort of peers who are in similar situations trying to break into the business,” said Chin. “Bringing these groups together allows them to form bonds with people who, if all goes according to plan, they could be working with long into the future. I think the program is great.”

“Aside from just creating networking opportunities, I also loved that part of the grant allotted money for professional development,” added Chin, who is the only Asian-American assistant commissioner in Division III. “The ability to attend Regional Rules Seminars and CoSIDA conventions has definitely served me well in my career.”

After Chin departed, Commissioner Walsh brought in new candidates in an effort to replace him on the grant. As it turned out, a former Division III student-athlete named Rebecca Mullen proved to be the perfect fit.

Mullen, who after assisting in all areas of the GNAC day-to-day operations last year, was hired in June 2015 by New England Collegiate Conference Commissioner Del Malloy as the full-time assistant commissioner at the NECC. She too is grateful for her time at the GNAC and the opportunity the grant provided.

“The opportunity to work for Joe Walsh opened more doors for my future than I could have ever imagined,” said Mullen. “It was the grant that gave me the opportunity to learn the skills needed to continue on in the industry. The grant is a vital stepping stone to job opportunities in college athletics and I cannot express how thankful I am that the NCAA has it in place.”

In addition to Chin and Mullen using their time at the GNAC to propel their professional careers forward, the conference’s success with the Ethnic Minority and Women’s Grant actually began many years ago, which is just another indication of the program’s value.

After serving as a women’s basketball captain for the York College (Pa.) Spartans, Jessica Huntley worked under Commissioner Walsh at the GNAC from 2007-09 through the Ethnic Minority and Women’s Grant while earning her master’s degree from Boston College. Following her tenure with the GNAC, Huntley went on to become head women’s basketball coach at Bay Path College and the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Director of Division III Governance. Then in 2012, she was named to her current position of Assistant Executive Director at the Centennial Conference.

“The internship is a great opportunity for women and ethnic minorities to get their foot in the door,” said Huntley. “I have also had the unique opportunity to mentor and supervise my own intern through this grant at the Centennial Conference, and it was great to give back to the internship that did so much for me.”

Following Huntley’s tenure with the GNAC, Vaughn Calhoun worked at the GNAC on the Ethnic Minority and Women’s Grant during the 2009-10 academic year. After that, he worked at Emerson College in Boston as an Assistant Athletic Director for three years before joining Becker College’s School of Business as an Assistant Professor in May 2015.

“The Division III Ethnic Minority and Women’s Grant is a program that not only values diversity in number, but also in practice that provides mentorship, training, peer-to-peer support and networking opportunities even after young professionals complete their internship,” said Vaughn.

“Although I have changed careers,” he added, “I often reflect and use the experiences I gained while at the GNAC and bring them into the classroom.”

The Division III Ethnic Minority and Women’s Grant is administered by Division III Governance and Leadership Development. It is a two-year grant with an annual budget of just over $988,000, which allows for 40 recipients. The NCAA provides $20,100 for each year. 

“As evidenced by our success with the initiative at the GNAC,” said Walsh, “the program is a win-win-win for all involved. It benefits the individual, the school or conference that receives the grant, as well as the NCAA.”

For more information on the Division III Ethnic Minority and Women's Grant, please click HERE. For a PDF version of this story, please click HERE.

Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 17 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement. 

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