Well known for the Puritans, a famous tea party and enormous calzones, Boston is always a popular destination for travelers. This week, it turned out to be a standout locale for the NCAA’s 18^th annual Gender Equity and Issues Forum.

Nearly 300 athletics administrators from across the country gathered in New England’s largest city from April 27-29 to learn about the most pressing issues facing both male and female student-athletes across the NCAA.

The forum kicked off with a panel discussion moderated by NCAA President Myles Brand, titled “Where Do We Go From Here?” The panel included former Olympic gold medalist Nancy Hogshead-Makar, Smith College professor of economics Andrew Zimbalist and former Women’s Sports Foundation CEO Donna Lopiano.

“It was important to have some of the national leaders in this area talk about these issues,” said Brand, on his weekly Double-A Zone podcast Mondays With Myles. “Since 1972, when Title IX first passed, the number of women participating has gone up six times, which is remarkable. Now there are about 180,000 women participating in college sports, which is absolutely astounding and great. But it’s only 42 percent of those participating.”

Following the opening panel discussion, attendees had the opportunity to split into divisional groups and receive updates on hot-button issues from their respective NCAA governance staffs.

On Monday, Adelphi Assistant Director of Athletics and Senior Woman Administrator Deneé Rivera-Barracato took part in a panel discussion titled “Women of Color: Perceptions and Realities.” Rivera-Barracato used her portion of the presentation to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing Hispanic student-athletes.

“I think a lot of people may not know that Hispanics make up the largest minority to date in the United States and that number is only going to continue growing,” said Rivera-Barracato on the Double-A Zone’s Campus Connection. “It’s important for administrators, coaches and staff members to know that the number of Hispanics on their campuses are going to grow, and although the number of Hispanic student-athletes make up the lowest number of student-athletes at this time, I think those percentages are going to increase.”

Other informational sessions throughout the forum included “Title IX Overview,” “Female Athletes and Mental Health” and “Emerging Sports.”