Grant Accelerates an Athletics Career Through NCAA Student Immersion Program

Track & Field student-athlete Tenley Grant has been chosen to attend the 2025 NCAA Convention in Nashville, Tenn., as part of the NCAA Division III Student Immersion Program.  Launched in 2015, the program is designed to develop talented ethnic minority candidates for jobs in intercollegiate athletics with a focus on coaching and administrative roles in NCAA Division III.

The program's goal is to build a pipeline of candidates who have an interest in Division III coaching and/or administration to ultimately help bring diverse talent to the division. At the 2025 NCAA Convention in Nashville, Jan. 14–17, Grant will have the opportunity to learn about Division III, its members, and the governance process. In addition to the scheduled Division III Convention programming, Grant will also gain valuable professional development experience through welcome and debrief meetings, participating in a DISC leadership assessment, and working with a mentor. 

"I am very excited for Tenley to have this opportunity," said Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Rob Passage. "She has been a leader on our campus and already participated in the NCAA Inclusion Forum last spring to get a sense of what folks are doing across the country and build her network. This will be another tremendous growth opportunity for her and I am thankful for the NCAA for providing programs like this to student-athletes."

"I'm excited to make more connections with other fellow athletes who are also seeking a future in athletics," said Grant. "I have been interested in a future career in athletics to help build more opportunities for student-athletes of color and young women's athletes. I hope I learn and develop skills that will help me in my future endeavors."

Grant has consistently served as an advocate and leader during her time as a Bearcat. She is currently the co-president of Willamette's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) after serving on the executive board last year and is serving this year as the president of the Northwest Conference SAAC.  

Tenley has been a program assistant in the Office of Intercultural Engagement & Inclusion and developed the Association of Student-Athletes of Color on Willamette's campus as a way to build and foster community. She also served as a student representative on the JED Committee for Mental Health and continues to advocate for reducing the stigma around student-athlete mental health and ensuring folks are aware of the resources available to them.

This is the tenth year for the program and Grant is the sixth Willamette student-athlete to be selected to participate during the program's history. Joshua Perez (men's basketball) and Jordyn Johnson (softball) participated last year; Analyssa Ruiz (women's golf) in 2021; Kyanna Benjamin (volleyball) in 2020; and Crystal Zamora (women's soccer) in 2018.

A Senior from Longview, Washington, and Kelso High School, Grant is a thrower on the Women's Track & Field team. She received first-team all-conference honors in 2024 with a second-place finish in the hammer throw at the NWC Championships with a distance of 46.68m (153'2"). She is ranked #2 on Willamette's all-time list for hammer with a throw of 48.37m (158'8") that won first place at Linfield University's Jenn Boyman Memorial Invitational in 2024.