PITTSBURGH, PA. – The United States Collegiate Athletic Association held its 2026 National Convention from June 7th – 9th in Winston-Salem, North Carolina at the Winston-Salem Marriott. The annual meeting brought together member institutions from around the country to discuss current issues and bring forth ideas and legislation to improve the organization.
The National Convention began with two early sessions on Sunday afternoon following check-in, both dealing with USCAA reporting. The first, an Eligibility Panel discussion with members of the USCAA Eligibility & Compliance Committee, including Assistant Director of Championships & Compliance, Jenna Petrucci. Running concurrently was a session focused on statistical reporting hosted by Assistant Director of Championships & Marketing, Jared Sullenberger and the Sports Information Director from the Apprentice School, Walker McCrary.
These sessions were followed by the annual Hall of Fame dinner on Sunday evening with the induction of five new members. The 2026 USCAA Hall of Fame Class inductees were Jim Chester (Penn State Greater Allegheny), Klint Pleasant (Rochester College), Jim Heath (Apprentice School / USCAA), Kaitlyn Dormire (Cleary University) and Matthew Little (Andrews University).
The night featured an opening reception with USCAA members, staff, and the Hall of Fame class preceding dinner and the award ceremony. The guest speaker on the evening was Tom Walter, the Head Baseball Coach at Wake Forest University. With more than 900 career victories and a track record of building nationally competitive programs, Coach Walter has led Wake Forest to multiple NCAA Tournament appearances, including a trip to the College World Series. Beyond the wins and accolades, Coach Walter is widely admired for his commitment to leadership, service, and student-athlete development. He gained national recognition for donating a kidney to one of his players in 2011, a powerful example of servant leadership and personal sacrifice that inspired people across the country. A former team captain and standout student-athlete at Georgetown University, Coach Walter brought a message centered on culture, accountability, teamwork, and leading with purpose.
Following the Hall of Fame induction, members in attendance were invited to participate in the USCAA Mixer, a casual event featuring a DJ and the annual cornhole tournament, allowing current member administrators to mingle with the newest class of the USCAA Hall of Fame and their guests. This year’s cornhole champions were USCAA CEO, BJ Bertges and Andy Kirschner, Athletic Director from Penn State Beaver.
On Monday morning the opening session of the convention was held, including the State of the Association from Chief Executive Officer, BJ Bertges. In addition to the annual report the Association honored its End of Year Award winners. SUNY ESF was crowned the newly named Bill Casto Director’s Cup Champion; Carlow University claimed the President’s Cup title for the 2025-26 academic year; and Walker McCrary (Apprentice School) was named the Garth Pleasant Administrator of the Year.
Following the opening session the USCAA offered two professional development sessions that included, “Developing a Winning Culture in Small College Athletics” led by USCAA Hall of Fame inductee, Jim Chester and “Building a Smarter Athletics Department - Recruiting, Operations & Athlete Development in One Ecosystem” presented by Cecelia Brandon from NCSA | Front Rush.
Following the two professional development opportunities were the Strategic Plan Review led by USCAA Board members, Andy Kirschner and Patrick Quest who covered the highlights of the newly approved 5-year plan; the USCAA Championship report provided by USCAA Assistant Director of Championships, Jared Sullenberger; and the General Town Hall session for ratings/selections and championships. Complete meeting videos are linked below. The subcommittees for ratings/selections and championships also met during the Convention to file their recommendations based on discussion from these sessions. Those recommendations will be distributed in the coming months.
Following the second Town Hall, members had the opportunity to hear from Jenna Petrucci who hosted a second eligibility workshop on best practices for Improving Accuracy and Efficiency in reporting as well as Athletic Director from Central Maine Community College, Dave Gonyea who presented the best practices for Student Athlete Orientation. These sessions were followed by the final town hall session of the day where all legislative items were discussed in an open forum.
On Monday evening attendees were given the option to participate in two social events. The first option was a walking tour of downtown Winston-Salem, led by Kay Calzolari from Visit Winston-Salem that highlighted the rich history of the city and its landmarks. The other option was a casual evening of networking at Top Golf where attendees competed for one of the top three spots in “Block Party”, one of the many mini-games available at the venue.
Tuesday continued this year’s Professional Development Series with four more opportunities to view presenters. In the first session of the day attendees had the chance to hear from Stephen Czarda, Assistant AD for Communications & Content from Wake Forest on “Effective Social Media Strategy for Athletic Departments” as well as Athletic Director at Penn State Shenango, Brandon Padgett on “Fundraising Best Practices for Small Colleges”. In the second session, James Adler from the Buffalo Sports Commission spoke on how member institutions can work with their local CVB’s to host National Championships while next door attendees heard from Jen Farrell, a sports psychologist from UNC Greensboro, on Student Athlete Mental Health.
The full line up of topics and speakers can be found below and all recordings online at www.uscaasportsnetwork.com. For those in attendance, you can request the recordings by contacting the National Office. Those not in attendance can purchase each session for a small fee.
Presto, Power Rankings, & USCAA Poll
Developing a Winning Culture in Small College Athletics
Eligibility Workshop: Improving Accuracy & Efficiency
Best Practices: Student-Athlete Orientation
Effective Social Media Strategy for Athletic Departments - pending upload
Fundraising Best Practices for Small Colleges
Working with your local CVB to host National Championships - pending upload
The Convention was capped off with the Business Meeting which is where the proposed legislation is voted on. The full meeting can be viewed using the link below.
Below is the complete 2026 USCAA National Convention report. If you have any questions, please contact the National Office at 757-798-9536 or by email at info@theuscaa.com.
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Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
2025-26 USCAA Championships Report (PDF)
2025-26 USCAA Championships Report (Video)
Business Meeting