Jan. 22, 2009

CLEVELAND - The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) is proud to announce that Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Director of Athletics at Southern Illinois University (SIU) Gale Sayers will be inducted into the John McLendon Minority Athletics Administrators Hall of Fame on the evening of June 19, 2009. The induction ceremony will be held in conjunction with the 44th Annual NACDA Convention at the Orlando World Center Marriott Resort.

Sayers broke onto the scene as an All-American halfback at the University of Kansas from 1962-64. He was rewarded for his stellar college career by being the number one pick of the Chicago Bears in the 1965 NFL Draft. Sayers would go on to put up never-before-seen numbers in the NFL, including a rookie-record 22 touchdowns, which was just one of seven records he either tied or broke in his career. Unfortunately, Sayers playing career was cut short due to injury, but he immediately turned the page and began another successful career, this time in athletics administration.

Upon retiring from the NFL, Sayers returned to his alma mater to receive his bachelor's degree in physical education and his master's in educational administration, while also handling duties as the assistant athletics director. On July 15, 1976, Sayers became the first African-American athletics directors in Division I by accepting the AD position at Southern Illinois. Sayers main asset in his five years as SIU athletics director was his ability to fundraise--a skill he attained while assistant AD at Kansas. Upon his departure of SIU, Sayers increased athletics fundraising at the institution two times the level it was when he arrived on the Carbondale campus.

In 1984, after building a successful career in athletics administration, Sayers became an entrepreneur and moved back to Chicago to launch a computer business. Today, Sayers has built that business into a world-class provider of technology products and services, and a premier minority-owned business enterprise (MBE). Sayers is currently working on opening the Gale Sayers Center, an after-school program for 8-12 year-old children, which will provide intense computer and public speaking learning programs.

About the John McLendon Memorial Minority Postgraduate Scholarship Program: The John McLendon Memorial Minority Postgraduate Scholarship Awards are presented to senior-level minority students who intend to pursue a graduate degree in athletics administration. If you have any questions regarding this program, please visit mclendonminorityfoundation.com.

About NACDA: NACDA, now in its 44th year, is the professional and educational association for more than 6,500 college athletics administrators at more than 1,600 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. More than 2,300 athletics administrators annually attend the NACDA Convention. Additionally, NACDA administers 11 professional associations that come under the umbrella of the athletics director. For more information, visit www.nacda.com.