COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (May 26, 2023) – After a successful inaugural cohort, the USA Basketball Foundation announced today that applications for the 2023-24 Torch Leadership in Sport Mentoring Program will be accepted from June 1-30, 2023. The program, which mentored eight students in 2022-23, empowers the next generation of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) leaders in sport by introducing them to opportunities at USA Basketball and other sports-related entities.
Torch Leadership provides students at Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCU), Hispanic-serving institutions and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions (AANAPISI) access to leaders at USA Basketball and the sports industry, while also providing one-on-one in-person and virtual mentoring during the academic year.
“I am extremely excited to open the application process for our second Torch Leadership cohort,” said Jennifer Lynne Williams, USA Basketball Foundation chief development officer. “Our first eight mentees set the bar extremely high, having received jobs and internship positions after completing the program. The Chicago Bulls, NASCAR and the WNBA are just a few of their landing spots. Torch is a great opportunity for students who attend minority serving institutions and identify as a BIPOC to obtain mentorship from our USA Basketball staff and gain tangible experience in the sports industry.”
Application requirements include maintaining a minimum GPA of 3.0; having a junior, senior or graduate-level standing at an HBCU, Hispanic-serving institution of AANAPISI; and submission of a resume, cover letter and letter of recommendation.
The 2023-24 cohort will be selected in August with programming beginning in September. The fully funded program runs until the following May.
For more information on the Torch Leadership in Sport Mentoring Program, visit usabfoundation.org.