SPORTS

 

DAVIDSON, N.C. — For the second straight year, Davidson assistant men’s basketball coach Kevin Kuwik has been selected to participate in the prestigious 2021 TopConnect Basketball Virtual Symposium taking place on August 17 and 18 presented by Teamworks and INFLCR.

Now in his fifth season on the Davidson staff, Kuwik has helped the Wildcats to a 74-45 overall mark, 44-21 league record and three postseason appearances.

TopConnect (formerly Villa 7), originated in 2003 by then VCU Athletic Director Dr. Richard Sander, identifies the top assistant basketball coaches in the country and connects them with mid-major Athletic Directors providing tremendous networking and leadership development opportunities for both parties.

In its fourth year, TopConnect develops educational programming that allows these top assistant coaches to hear from a wide variety of successful leaders and speakers. The 2021 virtual symposium is headlined by a panel of prominent and successful head coaches in Tina Langley, Head Women’s Basketball Coach at The University of Washington, and Mike Rhoades, Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Virginia Commonwealth University. The fan-favorite session of “Speed Dating” returns and allow for rapid networking to take place between the assistant coaches and administrators. 

Other sessions include a panel of mid-major Athletic Directors who recently completed a basketball coaching search; a breakout session on the first 100 days on the job from recent head coaching hires during the past year, navigating the media, a small group setting with search firm representatives from across the country and a panel on coaches who are entering their second year and the lessons they’ve learned. The three-word mantra of “Connect. Prepare. Lead.” identifies the purpose of TopConnect.

TopConnect continues to pave the way in development of the next generation of leaders in college athletics. Since its inception in 2018, seventeen attendees have been hired as Athletic Director, Head Men’s Basketball Coach or Head Women’s Basketball Coach. 

Men’s Basketball: 
Dwayne Killings, University at Albany; Kyle Neptune, Fordham University; Tony Stubblefield, DePaul University; Greg Gary, Mercer University; Kim English, George Mason University; Brett Nelson, College of the Holy Cross; Rashon Burno, Northern Illinois University; Bryan Mullins, Southern Illinois University; Steve Lutz, Texas A&M, Corpus Christi; Isaac Brown, Wichita State University; Drew Valentine, Loyola University, Chicago; and Jay Young, Fairfield University. 

Women’s Basketball: 
Ganiyat Adeduntan, Colgate University; Mark Campbell, California State University – Sacramento and Cayla Petree, Morehead State University

Director of Athletics: 
Randale Richmond, Kent State University and Dr. Trayvean Scott, Grambling State University 

TopConnect is on all social media platforms @TopConnectLead. If you have questions regarding TopConnect, please contact Dr. Richard Sander at [email protected]. TopConnect works in conjunction with Connected Media, LLC, East Tennessee State University’s Doctoral program in Global Sport Leadership, #INFLCR and Teamworks.