CLEVELAND - The National Association of Athletic Development Directors (NAADD) has announced the recipients of its 2019 Awards.

The 2019 NAADD Award winners are: NAADD Lifetime Achievement Award, Bob Bonn, retired director of athletics at Carthage College; Fundraiser of the Year, Howard Milton, senior associate director of athletics for development at the University of Illinois; and Rising Star Award, Dr. Matt Wilson, senior director of athletics development at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

"On behalf of NAADD, the Executive Committee and I want to congratulate this year's NAADD Award winners," said NAADD President Dirk Katstra, executive director of the Virginia Athletics Foundation and senior associate athletics director at the University of Virginia. "Bob, Howard, and Matt have contributed tremendously to our industry and their efforts have not gone unnoticed. NAADD is excited to recognize these individuals at this year's NAADD Convention in Orlando this June."

Lifetime Achievement Award
Bonn earned a bachelor's degree in physical education and health from the University of Connecticut in 1974 where he lettered in baseball and lacrosse. A member of the UConn baseball team that played in the 1972 College World Series, Bonn received a master's degree from Springfield College in 1975 and went on to receive a PhD in sport psychology and sociology from Boston University in 1983.

After serving in multiple coaching roles, Bonn's first position in administration came during his eight-year tenure at Pacific University, where he served as head men's basketball coach, athletics director and chair of the department of physical education.\In April 1992, he traveled to Carthage College to serve as the director of athletics and department chair for exercise and sport science within the division of education. Under Bonn's leadership, Carthage added nine sports (24 total varsity programs) and was instrumental in the Reds success including the raising of 115 conference championship banners. During his tenure, Carthage erected the Tarble Arena, N. E. Tarble Athletic and Recreation Center, Smeds Tennis Center, and Carthage Softball Field, and completed major renovations to Augie Schmidt and Art Keller fields.

Bonn served on the NCAA Region 4 Postgraduate Scholarship Committee and NCAA Division III Nominating Committee. During his NAADD Presidency, Bonn helped to develop and implement programming and education centered on athletics development at small schools, with an emphasis on endowment building. Without Bonn's guidance and vision, the landscape of small school athletics development would undoubtedly look different.

Fundraiser of the Year
Milton is in his third year as senior associate director of athletics, development at the University of Illinois, and 14th in the development department. He is charged with leading athletics development and serves as the chief advancement officer for the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA), with oversight and leadership of the Office of Athletics Development (OAD) team.

Milton's I FUND team has the second largest fundraising goal ($300 million) of the University wide 'With Illinois' capital campaign ($2.25 billion), which launched in October 2017. The UI OAD team has cracked the $200 million milestone, and achieved 67.8% of the overall campaign athletics fundraising goal. Milton and his fundraisers have experienced great success.

Under Milton's watch, the I FUND team secured gift commitments of over $47 million in 2018. The campaigns first was the $7 million Demirjian Park naming gift, a complete reimagining of facilities and fields for Illinois Soccer and Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field. The groundbreaking happened in September with scheduled completion in 2021.

Demirjian Park features two new soccer fields, one for competition and one for practice. The project's centerpiece is Demirjian Park Stadium, located between the new soccer fields and the renovated track. The stadium houses team facilities for women's soccer, men's track and field, and women's track and field. State-of-the-art amenities include locker rooms, video and meeting rooms, lounge and study spaces, sports medicine and nutrition facilities, and coaches' offices.

This success also includes the largest gift ever secured for Illinois Athletics, a $20 million commitment. In addition, they have secured a gift commitment of $1 million in support of the renovation and expansion of the Bielfeldt Athletics Administration Building, and launched a $30 million fundraising push as part of the larger 'With Illinois' campaign for the renovation and expansion of the Ubben Basketball Complex. Recently, Illinois received a gift commitment of $3 million towards the Susan and Clint Atkins Baseball Training Center, an $8 million project that would provide a state-of-the art indoor training facility for Illinois baseball. All of the fundraising has come during a rebuilding period for both Illinois football and men's basketball.

Rising Star Award
Dr. Wilson, a graduate from Georgia Southern, completed a successful baseball career and earned a bachelor's degree in science/health and fitness promotion. He also holds a master's in education/coaching education from Georgia Southern, and completed his doctoral degree in sports studies at the University of Georgia.

Wilson joined Embry-Riddle Athletics as the director of athletics development in August 2017. He is responsible for soliciting major gifts, increasing endowed/term scholarship funding, cultivating and maintaining donor relationships, and leading annual gift campaigns.  Wilson has helped to increase endowed/term scholarship support by nearly 70% generating just over $375,000 in new scholarship dollars. He also led ERAU Athletics' 1st Varsity Club Day of Giving, a 24-hour campaign targeting ERAU student-athlete alums to make a recurring or one-time gift to their respective programs. This 24-hour campaign brought in 231 former student-athletes making gifts in excess of $70,000. Overall, Wilson has helped to bring in over $700,000 during his time with ERAU Athletics.

Before arriving at Embry-Riddle, he was an associate professor and program director of sports business from 2008-17 at Stetson University, and previously spent eight years on the faculty at Georgia Southern. His work has been published in numerous peer-reviewed academic journals, been presented at several international conferences and has been featured in Time Magazine, USA Today, Inside Higher Education, Seattle Times, Toronto Star, and ESPN Radio.

In 2006, Wilson started a consulting business, providing leadership, communication and culture development training. He has presented at international conferences and has spoken to numerous national associations including: National Rugby Players Association (Australia), Women's Basketball Coaching Association (WBCA), the United States Tennis Association (USTA), the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), and the Professional Association of Athlete Development Specialists (PAADS).

The award winners will be honored Wednesday, June 12, at the Learfield Directors' Cup Luncheon, held in conjunction with the 54th Annual NACDA & Affiliates Convention at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Florida. Hotel and Convention registration for #NAADD19 opens on Wednesday, February 13 at 12 noon EST.

About NAADD: NAADD is the first organization of its kind to provide educational and networking opportunities, enhancement of acceptable operating standards and ethics, and establishment of the overall prestige and understanding of the profession of athletics development and fund raising. For more information about NAADD, please visit www.naadd.com. NAADD is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 54th year. For more information on NACDA and the 17 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.