In the opening remarks of the 2025 NCAA Impact Forum, Amy Wilson, NCAA managing director of inclusion, listed what she and her staff hoped attendees would receive from the forum in its first year.
"A successful impact is one that will empower you with tangible strategies and resources to support your meaningful work. … It will strengthen your connections and build new ones that will help us to persist in our purpose," Wilson said.
These remarks set the table for three days of programming organized by the NCAA office of inclusion for leaders within higher education and intercollegiate athletics, including student-athletes, with events themed around embracing humanity and building community. The professional development experience, held this week in Indianapolis, offered educational and engaging sessions centered around creating cultures of belonging and well-being.
"The 2025 Impact Forum was a wonderful opportunity to support our membership and to provide student-athlete with tools, resources and takeaways designed just for them," said Felicia Martin, NCAA senior vice president of inclusion, education and community engagement. "The NCAA is dedicated to our mission to create world-class student-athlete experiences that foster lifelong well-being."Â
Participants learned practical information and tools related to community building and other learning strategies they can take back to campus. Attendees also engaged in sessions and dialogue focused on enhancing efforts to support student-athletes. Included in the activities was a community engagement project in which participants had the opportunity to pack celebration kits and write notes of affirmation for local high school students.
Conflict facilitator and author Priya Parker opened day one's programming with a discussion on purposeful community building and the importance of intentional gatherings that foster belonging. Former Northwestern football student-athlete and current visual artist Dwight White II followed to share his personal story of how student-athletes can carve new identities beyond roles and results.Â
Day two saw almost 100 student-athlete attendees participate in dedicated programming focused on leadership, well-being and creating inclusive environments across sports and campuses. Sessions included exploring personal growth, discovering individual gifts and values, developing authentic voices and leadership, and reflecting on legacy and curiosity.
"Having a community is obviously inherent. It's something that you're going to automatically have (in your sport), but being able to strengthen that community is something that's kind of taboo. It's not something that's talked about or explained to anybody," said Ky'Renae Matlock, a track and field student-athlete at Cleveland State. "So learning and getting the tools to do that is something that's so important, so necessary."
Student-athletes at the Division II level took part in additional programming through the Division II Enhanced Attendance Program. Attendees from 21 Division II schools came together with administrators to identify and develop specific action plans to enhance cultures of belonging and well-being within their department and on their campus.
"(My group) had a lot of ideas," said Devon Isaac, a football student-athlete at Wayne State (Michigan). "They told us no idea was a bad idea, and we ended up with the idea of building affinity groups within our athletic department, providing student-athletes with different communities based on their specific identities and giving them intentional time to connect."Â
The final day of programming began with a session on the power of community from Trevon Jenifer, a four-time wheelchair basketball Paralympian, who shared how strength and success come from unity and shared purpose. To conclude the forum, a panel of student-athletes shared their personal stories and reflections on leadership, empathy and creating an inclusive culture on campus. That inspired attendees to reflect on what they hope to take away from the forum and implement on their campuses and within their lives.
"It's important as student-athletes to learn about the experiences that the Impact Forum is bringing forward, especially at the Division III level, where most of us are from smaller schools," said Leo Fornara, a baseball student-athlete at Mount Union. "It broadens our perspective on life in general and how we can be responsible adults, how we can critically think about problems and different people that we encounter in our lives."
