WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University junior Tony Gruenke, a member of the Cardinals swimming and diving program, has been selected to represent SMU at the 2003 NCAA Leadership Conference.

Gruenke was one of 273 student-athletes, from a pool of 1,172 nominees from 302 institutions, selected by the NCAA to take part in the five-day conference, which will be held May 25-29 at the Coronado Springs Resort and Walt Disney World Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla.

The NCAA Leadership Conference is one of the largest noncompetitive gatherings of NCAA student-athletes. This will be the seventh leadership conference that the NCAA has hosted for student-athletes who compete in fall, winter and spring sports in Divisions I, II and III. The conference was designed as a forum for student-athletes to discuss key issues collectively, and to provide them with an opportunity to enhance skills, which will enable them to become more effective leaders and motivators when they return to their campuses.

During the five-day leadership conference, student-athletes have the opportunity to discuss a variety of topics, which include the demands and expectations of student-athletes; inclusion education; international student-athlete experiences; recruiting visits; student-athlete responsibility; party behaviors; trust gaps within intercollegiate athletics; and sportsmanship.

Following the leadership conference, the student-athletes will be asked to share their experiences and topic discussions with their campus student-athlete advisory committees, as well as other campus leaders. The participants are also asked to develop a strategic plan that will address or solve an issue on their campus or in their community, and implement the plan when they return to their campuses.

In order to be eligible for the leadership conference, the student-athletes must be in good academic standing and must have athletics eligibility remaining in the following academic year.