Ali Teopas Spungen

Learn more below about? Ali Spungen , associate director of Division III governance, as part of?our NCAA Life Series.?The series?highlights staff members who have?been a student-athlete or administrator?within the NCAA membership.?Each week, we’ll feature a different staff member to learn more about how their membership experience has shaped them and their work at the NCAA national office.

Name and Title:

Ali Teopas Spungen, and I'm the associate director of Division III.

Student-athlete:

I played softball at Denison University .

NCAA membership experience:

I was the assistant athletic director for external operations at? Wittenberg University .

What life lessons did you take away from your time as a student-athlete?

I learned perseverance - how to overcome setbacks and achieve goals - individually or as a member of a team. I also learned adaptability - the ability to be a team player and take on a certain role to help your team succeed. Finally, my time as a student-athlete helped me become unflappable. Being a Division III Student-Athlete, I was able to get a holistic and well-rounded educational experience that involved leadership positions (SAAC), work-study jobs, research, DJ at the college radio station as well as a top-notch athletic experience that prepared me for life after athletics.

How does your membership experience impact your work at the national office?

I'm forever grateful for my membership experience on campus at Wittenberg University. I was able to learn the ropes as a young administrator from some veterans like Garnett Purnell (retired AD) and Becky Hall (current AD at Kalamazoo College) through the Division III Ethnic Minority and Women's Internship Grant. I also had a tremendous mentor in Lynn Schweizer (retired senior associate director of athletics and recreation) while I was a student-athlete at Denison. She guided me through my four years on campus and to this day with her friendship. Without my campus experience and the Division III Internship Grant and opportunities from the NCAA, I don't think I would be at the national office today.