Full Name
DeeDee Merritt
Job Title
Managing Director of Leadership Development
Company (Please input the full name of your organization)
National Collegiate Athletic Association
Speaker Bio
DeeDee Merritt serves as managing director of NCAA leadership development, a position she has held since September 2023. As the department lead, Merritt oversees the promotion, establishment, execution, evaluation and expansion of all NCAA leadership development initiatives and programs, playing a key role in fulfilling the missions of both the NCAA and the leadership development department.
Merritt has been instrumental in asserting her group as a prominent national voice in the area of student-athlete development in intercollegiate athletics. In 2019, Merritt led the department through a comprehensive evaluation process that resulted in the creation of a program pipeline designed to educate and develop student-athletes and those who serve them at all levels of their professional career.
During her tenure, Merritt has overseen the creation and execution of several new transformative programmatic offerings, including Lessons in Management, a curriculum delivered to an all-female cohort of first-time managers; Foundations of Fundraising, an immersive educational opportunity designed to provide women and minorities in-depth education in the field of fundraising; ARISE, a virtual mentoring program for HBCU student-athletes interested in careers in STEM; and Athletes Using Their Power (A4), a virtual program educating student-athletes on how to maximize their voices and platforms. Additionally, she led the creation of the NCAA Leadership Collective, a platform designed to promote inclusive hiring practices within college sports administration and coaching. In 2021, the work of leadership development was featured in Forbes magazine. In 2023, Merritt was named Nike Executive of the Year by Women Leaders in College Sports.
Prior to her promotion to managing director, Merritt spent three years as director of leadership development, and in 2016 began her tenure at the NCAA as an associate director of leadership development Before her transition to the NCAA national office, Merritt held various positions at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, including assistant athletics director, director of special projects, and coordinator of women’s services and advocacy.
Merritt has a Bachelor of Science in business management from the University of Phoenix and a master’s degree in business administration from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee.
Merritt has been instrumental in asserting her group as a prominent national voice in the area of student-athlete development in intercollegiate athletics. In 2019, Merritt led the department through a comprehensive evaluation process that resulted in the creation of a program pipeline designed to educate and develop student-athletes and those who serve them at all levels of their professional career.
During her tenure, Merritt has overseen the creation and execution of several new transformative programmatic offerings, including Lessons in Management, a curriculum delivered to an all-female cohort of first-time managers; Foundations of Fundraising, an immersive educational opportunity designed to provide women and minorities in-depth education in the field of fundraising; ARISE, a virtual mentoring program for HBCU student-athletes interested in careers in STEM; and Athletes Using Their Power (A4), a virtual program educating student-athletes on how to maximize their voices and platforms. Additionally, she led the creation of the NCAA Leadership Collective, a platform designed to promote inclusive hiring practices within college sports administration and coaching. In 2021, the work of leadership development was featured in Forbes magazine. In 2023, Merritt was named Nike Executive of the Year by Women Leaders in College Sports.
Prior to her promotion to managing director, Merritt spent three years as director of leadership development, and in 2016 began her tenure at the NCAA as an associate director of leadership development Before her transition to the NCAA national office, Merritt held various positions at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, including assistant athletics director, director of special projects, and coordinator of women’s services and advocacy.
Merritt has a Bachelor of Science in business management from the University of Phoenix and a master’s degree in business administration from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee.
