NEWPORT NEWS, Va.— Junior women's volleyball player Morghan Martin is one of three individuals from the Atlantic 10 Conference, two student-athletes and a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) advisor, selected to attend the 2015 NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum, which began Thursday and continues through Sunday in Orlando, Fla.
Martin was selected alongside Tyler David, a junior men's soccer player at Saint Louis as the two A-10 student-athletes. Danny Bonifas, the SAAC advisor at Richmond, is also attending the four-day conference.
Both Martin and David were nominated for the forum by the A-10 under new NCAA criteria that allows for conference s to submit up to two member student-athletes as well as one administrator. In 2013-14 under the previous regional and rotational format, all eight of the eligible A-10 institutions sent a representative to the Leadership Forum.
Designed to cultivate leadership skills in student-athletes, the Leadership Forum helps explore the relationship between personal values, core beliefs and behavioral styles, as well as build a thorough understanding of the NCAA as a whole, the different divisional perspectives and the valuable role of SAAC. Created in 1997, the Leadership Forum, has been a life-changing experience for nearly 5,000 student-athletes, many who have grown personally and professionally, gained a new network of peers and friends, as well as felt the rewards and importance of community service.
Martin, an outside hitter from Rockledge, Fla., has been a two-year starter for the Patriots. She led Mason in kills and service aces and was second in digs. She is a member of the George Mason campus student-athlete advisory committee and joined the A-10 SAAC this past year, immediately embracing a leadership role.
David has started all 42 matches during his time at Saint Louis as both a defender and midfielder. A two-time All Conference Second Team selection, he has helped anchor the Billiken defense, which has ranked among the best in the A-10 during his tenure.
Bonifas has been the compliance coordinator and SAAC advisor at Richmond since the spring of 2012. He also worked at A-10 member VCU as a graduate assistant and was a compliance assistant at his alma mater, Coastal Carolina. He was a football student-athlete for the Chanticleers and was the president of the CCU SAAC.
