July 1, 2011

CLEVELAND - A new era begins today for the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) as Bob Vecchione, former Deputy Executive Director for the Association, begins his tenure as the Executive Director.

In January, it was announced that Vecchione would lead the Association when Mike Cleary, who had led the Association since its inception in 1965, stepped down on June 30. Vecchione is in his 19th year with NACDA.

"Our associations have flourished since Bob started at NACDA 19 years ago and I'm happy that our officers and executive committee named him as my successor," stated Cleary. "I have the utmost confidence that Bob will lead the Association to bigger and better things in the years to come and he will continue to be, as I was, surrounded by an outstanding group of athletics administrators who oversee our organization."

Prior to taking over his new role, Vecchione was responsible for orchestrating the growth and management of the Association, both internally and externally. During his tenure, NACDA has initiated a multitude of programs that provide value-added benefits to the ever increasing membership and has continually upgraded NACDA's technological capabilities to better serve its constituencies.

"Bob was the ideal person to take over the reigns as Executive Director of our Association. His extensive experience as a senior member of the National office and his thorough understanding of the dynamics of NACDA and the Affiliate organizations made him the perfect fit," said NACDA President and UCLA Director Athletics Dan Guerrero. "We look forward to him serving as the leader of our Association and continuing the legacy established by Mike Cleary."

Programs such as the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup, NCAA Football, the Under Armour Athletics Director of the Year Award, the NACDA Daily Review, the Disney Institute, the stadium and arena security management workshops and the Wounded Warrior Project are examples of those value added membership benefits created under his tutelage.

In an effort to expand upon NACDA's mission and educational philosophy, 12 professional associations have been created and managed since 1992, each representing a specific business unit reporting directly to the director of athletics. The intercollegiate associations representing intercollegiate marketing, licensing, development, compliance, business managers, facility/event managers and latest addition, CoSIDA, have flourished under NACDA's management.

The Annual NACDA Convention has virtually tripled in revenue and stature since 1992 and has grown to become the premier meeting place for athletics administrators. The Convention attracts more than 2,500 administrators and over 300 corporate exhibitors. Additionally, Vecchione has created an multi-tiered sponsorship program that has grown to represent in excess of 25 corporations, providing more than $2 million in monies, goods and services. Most recently, Fox Sports signed a multi-year agreement to become the title sponsor of the NACDA Convention.

Vecchione serves as chair of the NCAA Football Youth Initiatives Committee, is a member of the NCAA Football Marketing Subcommittee and is on the advisory Board of the College Sports Video Summit.

Prior to joining NACDA, Vecchione served for two years as an assistant athletics director/media relations for the men's department at the University of Minnesota, where he was also the executive director of the 1992 Twin Cities Final Four Organizing Committee. He also had an 11-year career at National Car Rental and, during that time span, became one of the original NCAA corporate partners.

Vecchione was awarded a baseball scholarship to Missouri Western State University and recently was recognized by the University as its Silver Anniversary Award Recipient. Vecchione and his wife, Mary, have a daughter, Amy and son, Bobby.

About NACDA: NACDA, now in its 47th 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. For more information on NACDA and the 12 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.