SCAC Student-Athletes Capitalize on NCAA Convention Trip to Washington, D.C.
The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference continued its long-standing commitment to student-athlete leadership and engagement last week, as 23 SCAC student-athletes attended the 2026 NCAA Convention in Washington, D.C. With support from the NCAA Division III Strategic Initiative Grant, the trip marked the fifth time since 2012 that the conference has brought student-athletes to the Convention, pushing the total number of SCAC participants to 102 across five trips.
SUWANEE, Ga. -- The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference continued its long-standing commitment to student-athlete leadership and engagement last week, as 23 SCAC student-athletes attended the 2026 NCAA Convention in Washington, D.C. With support from the NCAA Division III Strategic Initiative Grant, the trip marked the fifth time since 2012 that the conference has brought student-athletes to the Convention, pushing the total number of SCAC participants to 102 across five trips.
"We were again thrilled to provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to our 23 student-athletes who attended this year's NCAA Convention," said SCAC Commissioner Dwayne Hanberry. "This is the fifth different cohort we've taken to Convention since our original group attended in 2012 and each time we've done this, it seems to get better and better."
Since first attending the NCAA Convention with student-athletes in 2012, the SCAC has made a deliberate effort to provide meaningful opportunities for its student-athletes to engage with Division III governance, educational programming, and national leadership initiatives.
This year's trip continued that tradition, building on past experiences in 2012, 2016, 2018 and 2023 while offering a new group of student-athletes a firsthand look at how Division III operates on a national level.
Student-athletes from all 12 SCAC member institutions attended, including: Kaden McFarland and Avery Rague of Austin College; Sam Brocato, Lenny Forth and Marie Smith of Centenary College; Will Jones and Zaniya Burno Munn of Colorado College; Breanna Garrett of Concordia University (Tex.); George Clahane and Kimberly Esparza of University of Dallas; Braxton Waller and Amelia Don of Hendrix College; Zach Ferris, Timothy Black and Maddy Hirneise of LeTourneau University; Johnathen Joiner and Madelyn Gollihar of McMurry University; Makinzie Erwin and Kaitlyn Murphree of University of the Ozarks (Ark.); Cameron Armer and Giana Hilliard of Schreiner University; Trinity Provost of University of St. Thomas and Adam Peavy of Texas Lutheran University.
See full release and video here: https://www.scacsports.com/news/ncaa_convention/2026_convention_recap
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