FEATURE: Moyer participates in 2024 NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum

INDIANA, Pa. – IUP student-athlete Erik Moyer was among over 230 college athletes, coaches and administrators to take part in the 2024 Student-Athlete Leadership Forum in Bethesda, Maryland earlier this month.

Moyer, a marketing major from Schwenksville, Pa., is a member of the IUP cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field teams as a distance competitor. He is in his first year as the president of the IUP Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

As the IUP SAAC president, Moyer serves an important role as a key voice to the athletic and university administration. With other SAAC representatives, Moyer and the group also work together to enhance the overall student-athlete experience at IUP.

The NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum, created in 1997, has served as a life-changing experience for more than 5,000 student-athletes who have grown personally and professionally as a result of their attendance. 

With his participation at the forum, Moyer took part in a four-day set of transformational programming offered by the NCAA. 

Student-athletes selected to attend the forum return to campus with invaluable leadership skills, a refined understanding of the relationship among personal values, core beliefs and behavioral styles, and the support of a close personal network of like-minded peers to provide continued connection and dialogue after the program concludes. 

Building relationships was a key focus of the 2024 program and was encouraged through small group activities. Participants were each assigned to a color team with about 30 other student-athletes, coaches and administrators, as well as two trained facilitators, who serve as college athletics administrators on campuses throughout the NCAA membership. Facilitators guided participants through a series of workshops that encouraged introspection and discussion about leadership.

Moyer was inspired following his attendance and participation in the leadership forum.

Keynote speaker Jonathan Sprinkles, founder of the Connection Lab, closed out the program by speaking with participants about how to develop confidence and use their talents and abilities to maximize their potential. He emphasized the importance of leadership, relationship building and connection.