AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen College Athletics Department intern Meaghan Kelsey has been named as one of the 226 entry-level interns and graduate assistants nationwide selected to attend the 2016 NCAA Emerging Leaders Seminar.  The announcement was officially made earlier this week by the NCAA leadership development department.  This year's program will take place this Wednesday, January 27 through Friday, January 29 at the NCAA national office in Indianapolis, Ind.

Kelsey began her internship with Daemen Athletics during the Fall 2015 semester, providing assistance with NCAA Division II compliance through legal research, analyzation of rules and regulations, preparing policy statements, drafting reports and presenting information to coaches and staff.  A 2013 cum laude graduate of the State University of New York (SUNY) at Geneseo, Kelsey holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology, and she's currently a Juris Doctor candidate at the SUNY at Buffalo Law School.

"Daemen Athletics has developed a very strong rapport with UB Law and Meaghan is truly an outstanding intern and a rising star in the NCAA compliance industry," said Director of Athletics Bridget Niland, herself a graduate of SUNY at Buffalo Law School.  "Meaghan's selection to the NCAA Emerging Leaders program is well deserved and indicative of her bright future in collegiate sports."

A committee comprised of members from the NCAA, a group that includes current administrators and past seminar participants across all NCAA divisions, selected the participants.  Besides national office interns, 59 conferences and affiliates and 165 schools are represented in the program this year.

The Emerging Leaders Seminar provides eductional and transitional programming for NCAA graduate assistants and interns who have shown a profound interested in pursuing a career in college sports. After attending, participants bring industry knowledge, leadership awareness and a broadened perspective of intercollegiate athletics back to their respective schools.

"I am very thankful for the opportunity to learn and grow professionally in college sports and the NCAA," Kelsey said.  "My internship at Daemen has been such a great experience, and I'm excited to represent the College and Buffalo at this program."

Over the eight years of the program's existence, the Emerging Leaders Seminar has welcomed more than 1,000 athletics professionals to the NCAA national office for this educational and networking opportunity.