April 12, 2007

MILWAUKEE - Marquette University junior decathlete Adeola Giwa has been selected as the school's representative to attend the 2007 NCAA Leadership Conference that will be held May 28-31 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Giwa will be one of 356 student-athletes from NCAA institutions throughout the country attending the 11th annual conference.

The 2007 NCAA Leadership Conference provides student-athletes with a forum to openly discuss issues that may affect them on their campuses and in their communities, while also providing them with the opportunity to enhance their communication and leadership skill sets. The NCAA Leadership Conference also promotes better communication among student-athletes, coaches, administrators, faculty and communities. The conference consists of daily exercises and activities to help the student-athletes develop as individuals and as contributing members to a group.

During the leadership conference, student-athletes will discuss a variety of topics such as sportsmanship; public perceptions of student-athletes; conflict resolution; student-athlete mental health; and social responsibilities. They also will discuss division-specific issues, create dialogue surrounding possible solutions to division-specific issues, and discuss potential career direction. In addition to the speaker and discussion sessions, the student-athletes will participate in teambuilding initiative games at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex

Criteria for selection include the student-athletes' demonstrated ability and strong desire to be a leader and the student-athletes' potential to benefit significantly from a leadership development experience. This year there were 1,308 nominations from Divisions I, II and III institutions.

Giwa is in his third season with the Marquette track & field team and second as a competitor in the heptathlon and decathlon. At the 2005 BIG EAST Indoor Championships, he placed 13th in the heptathlon, scoring 4,085 points. At the 2006 indoor championships, he again placed 13th in the event. Only four others in MU history have bettered his 2005 score. His javelin toss of 99-4 at the Iowa Musco Twilight last outdoor season also ranks as the ninth farthest ever.