Kansas State University Athletics
An Opportunity to Learn
Jun 13, 2025 | Sports Extra, Athletics
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Kansas State sophomore cornerback Donovan McIntosh was excited when he got the call. Former teammates attended the Black Student-Athlete Summit and returned with rave reviews along with professional networking connections and new friendships with other student-athlete attendees.
Now McIntosh was selected along with sophomore running back Joe Jackson, senior rower Leah Roane and graduate volleyball player Jordyn Williams to attend the three-day Black Student-Athlete Summit event on May 21-24 at the Hyatt Regency McCormik Place in Chicago, Illinois.
"It was an opportunity to learn about other black student-athletes and to learn from other people and their experiences," McIntosh said. "I know being a black athlete, you have a lot of eyes on you. It's important to me because I can show younger people who are the same color as me that they can do what I'm doing.
"They can come to a Division I school, be a great athlete, and be a pretty good person."
Williams recently graduated in communications and media studies and will play one final season on the K-State volleyball team. Networking came easy to her, and she maintains contact with many fellow attendees from other schools. But what she learned the most came within the ballroom walls of the Hyatt.
"It was about experiencing the growth and how much college athletics have grown within our community," she said. "It was great to see people who look like me succeeding. It was great seeing attendees at the Black Student-Athlete Summit pursue their careers. Learning about the growth was a big thing for me."
McIntosh, Jackson, Roane and Williams were selected to represent K-State by the Evans Competitive Advantage Program at K-State.
"We talked to academic counselors to see which ones were in a good position academically to be a good fit," said Delon Barbour, assistant director of Evans Competitive Advantage Program. "We tried to have as diverse of a group as possible. We went through our list of which athletes would have good representation for us and who would benefit from this experience, gain some leadership skills, and bring that back to K-State. Our group of student-athletes gelled really well together and had a good experience."
The Black Student-Athlete Summit continues to grow as well. A total of 1,163 student-athletes, administrators and professionals attended the annual event, which was held outside of a college campus for the first time.
Each morning session featured a speaker. The list included Ryan Clark of ESPN — "A Conversation with Ryan Clark," and Dr. Leonard Moore, a professor at Texas and a summit event director — "What Do I Do with My Life," and Jess Sims of College Gameday — "Culture and Conversations."
That was just the beginning.
"After the speakers, there were breakout sessions where the student-athletes would speak and listen to individuals in various industries," Barbour said. "It was a great networking opportunity. Within the presentations there were also athletes presenting on various topics. Our student-athletes were able to experience it all from different facets — learning about an industry they might want to pursue, and meeting with fellow student-athletes from different schools, and meeting different professionals.
"The whole idea was to bring together all these individuals to give black student-athletes exposure to other like-minded individuals and to gain experiences and meet with professionals outside of athletics to learn what opportunities are out there for them. It provides resources for them to grow."
Roane, who is entering her senior year in dietetics and nutrition and health — a dual major — with a secondary major in global food systems leadership, enjoyed the camaraderie at the summit.
"I've been the only black student-athlete on the rowing team the past two years, so it was nice to have people around me who looked like me and thought like me and wanted to be friends," Roane said. "It was great to learn from the speakers about life and how everything is going to work out. We have to work harder as black student-athletes, and it was great to hear from everyone on the ways we can navigate not just sports but life in general."
Roane's experience came with an added surprise.
"There were 700 students who attended, and there were other rowers, but I actually ran into a friend," Roane said. "My longtime friend from elementary, middle school and high school, Mia Moore, who plays volleyball at Clemson, was there. To be there with at this moment was crazy."
McIntosh maintains a group chat with several of the attendees that he met at the summit.
"I utilized the networking opportunities, spoke with a bunch of fellow student-athletes from different schools, spoke with guys from different businesses, and they spoke about what they do," he said. "I'm majoring in sports nutrition. I'll stay in that working for a team and trying to be the head guy — college or NFL. I learned most about myself that I can socialize. It was easy to talk to a lot of people and network. I learned I can get out of my comfort zone and learn about people, their school, and their aspirations professionally."
Williams appreciates the professional development provided at the summit.
"There were a lot of industries," she said. "There were people there in pre-med, engineering, and I also saw journalism majors. A lot of people spoke at the summit, people who I still keep in contact with today. It was great to see people go up and pursue what they wanted during their college career.
"I've always been pretty good at networking, but it's nice to know I can hold those conversations at a deeper level and show what I'm passionate about. I learned I can do that better than I thought and establish long-term relationships. The Black Student-Athlete Summit helped not only me, but others as well."
Kansas State sophomore cornerback Donovan McIntosh was excited when he got the call. Former teammates attended the Black Student-Athlete Summit and returned with rave reviews along with professional networking connections and new friendships with other student-athlete attendees.
Now McIntosh was selected along with sophomore running back Joe Jackson, senior rower Leah Roane and graduate volleyball player Jordyn Williams to attend the three-day Black Student-Athlete Summit event on May 21-24 at the Hyatt Regency McCormik Place in Chicago, Illinois.
"It was an opportunity to learn about other black student-athletes and to learn from other people and their experiences," McIntosh said. "I know being a black athlete, you have a lot of eyes on you. It's important to me because I can show younger people who are the same color as me that they can do what I'm doing.
"They can come to a Division I school, be a great athlete, and be a pretty good person."
Williams recently graduated in communications and media studies and will play one final season on the K-State volleyball team. Networking came easy to her, and she maintains contact with many fellow attendees from other schools. But what she learned the most came within the ballroom walls of the Hyatt.
"It was about experiencing the growth and how much college athletics have grown within our community," she said. "It was great to see people who look like me succeeding. It was great seeing attendees at the Black Student-Athlete Summit pursue their careers. Learning about the growth was a big thing for me."
McIntosh, Jackson, Roane and Williams were selected to represent K-State by the Evans Competitive Advantage Program at K-State.
"We talked to academic counselors to see which ones were in a good position academically to be a good fit," said Delon Barbour, assistant director of Evans Competitive Advantage Program. "We tried to have as diverse of a group as possible. We went through our list of which athletes would have good representation for us and who would benefit from this experience, gain some leadership skills, and bring that back to K-State. Our group of student-athletes gelled really well together and had a good experience."
The Black Student-Athlete Summit continues to grow as well. A total of 1,163 student-athletes, administrators and professionals attended the annual event, which was held outside of a college campus for the first time.
Each morning session featured a speaker. The list included Ryan Clark of ESPN — "A Conversation with Ryan Clark," and Dr. Leonard Moore, a professor at Texas and a summit event director — "What Do I Do with My Life," and Jess Sims of College Gameday — "Culture and Conversations."
That was just the beginning.
"After the speakers, there were breakout sessions where the student-athletes would speak and listen to individuals in various industries," Barbour said. "It was a great networking opportunity. Within the presentations there were also athletes presenting on various topics. Our student-athletes were able to experience it all from different facets — learning about an industry they might want to pursue, and meeting with fellow student-athletes from different schools, and meeting different professionals.
"The whole idea was to bring together all these individuals to give black student-athletes exposure to other like-minded individuals and to gain experiences and meet with professionals outside of athletics to learn what opportunities are out there for them. It provides resources for them to grow."
Roane, who is entering her senior year in dietetics and nutrition and health — a dual major — with a secondary major in global food systems leadership, enjoyed the camaraderie at the summit.
"I've been the only black student-athlete on the rowing team the past two years, so it was nice to have people around me who looked like me and thought like me and wanted to be friends," Roane said. "It was great to learn from the speakers about life and how everything is going to work out. We have to work harder as black student-athletes, and it was great to hear from everyone on the ways we can navigate not just sports but life in general."
Roane's experience came with an added surprise.
"There were 700 students who attended, and there were other rowers, but I actually ran into a friend," Roane said. "My longtime friend from elementary, middle school and high school, Mia Moore, who plays volleyball at Clemson, was there. To be there with at this moment was crazy."
McIntosh maintains a group chat with several of the attendees that he met at the summit.
"I utilized the networking opportunities, spoke with a bunch of fellow student-athletes from different schools, spoke with guys from different businesses, and they spoke about what they do," he said. "I'm majoring in sports nutrition. I'll stay in that working for a team and trying to be the head guy — college or NFL. I learned most about myself that I can socialize. It was easy to talk to a lot of people and network. I learned I can get out of my comfort zone and learn about people, their school, and their aspirations professionally."
Williams appreciates the professional development provided at the summit.
"There were a lot of industries," she said. "There were people there in pre-med, engineering, and I also saw journalism majors. A lot of people spoke at the summit, people who I still keep in contact with today. It was great to see people go up and pursue what they wanted during their college career.
"I've always been pretty good at networking, but it's nice to know I can hold those conversations at a deeper level and show what I'm passionate about. I learned I can do that better than I thought and establish long-term relationships. The Black Student-Athlete Summit helped not only me, but others as well."
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