The Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association (DI-AAA ADA) is proud to announce Bruce Rasmussen, director of athletics at Creighton University, as the 2019 Gary Cunningham Lifetime Achievement Award honoree.

"Knowing Gary Cunningham and the quality of previous recipients, in addition to knowing many incredibly passionate, dedicated and talented current and former athletics directors worthy of this award, I am tremendously humbled and honored to be selected by my peers," stated Rasmussen. "I have been fortunate and blessed to be directly involved in the progress and growth of Creighton University and Creighton University athletics over the years. I am so proud to have been a part of that experience. This award is recognition of the leadership of Creighton University and the tremendous staff I have been blessed to have," he concluded.

Rasmussen will be formally presented with the Gary Cunningham Lifetime Achievement Award at the DI-AAA ADA Educational Meeting, on Tuesday, June 11 in conjunction with the 2019 NACDA Convention. The 2019 NACDA and Affiliates Convention Week will be held June 6-13, at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Florida.

"We are excited to bestow our Association's most prestigious honor to Bruce," stated Gary Cunningham Lifetime Achievement Award Committee Chair and Director of Athletics at Florida Gulf Coast University, Ken Kavanagh. "Like our previous honorees, he personifies what the award represents and fits in extremely well with the tremendous group of prior recipients. A valued contributor to the DI-AAA ADA's development since its inception, Bruce has served collegiate athletics with distinction for decades. In turn, he has positively impacted countless Creighton student-athletes and staffers that he works alongside daily, as well as the many others for whom he has been a terrific mentor and valued colleague."

BRUCE RASMUSSEN
In his 25 years at the helm of Creighton University athletics, Rasmussen has guided the Bluejays to success on and off the field with impressive facilities and record-breaking fundraising efforts and spearheaded the effort to transition the Bluejays into the revered BIG EAST Conference in 2013. Under Rasmussen's leadership, Creighton has captured 37 regular-season and 40 conference tournament titles, leading to 83 postseason appearances. Creighton remains the only school in the history of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) to record 16-consecutive men's basketball tournament berths,while the Bluejays men's soccer program has qualified for the NCAA Tournament 24 times in the past 26 years. Creighton was also recognized with the MVC All-Academic Award in seven of its last nine seasons in the MVC.

Creighton's reputation as one of the nation's top academic institutions is reflected in the success Bluejay student-athletes have had in the classroom during Rasmussen's tenure as athletics director. Ten of Creighton's 14 varsity athletics programs have garnered national awards for their academic achievements. Bluejay student-athletes have also owned a gpa of 3.30 or above for 25-straight semesters.

Rasmussen has served on multiple committees during his quarter of a century service to collegiate athletics, including the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Selection Committee (2013-18), the College World Series (CWS) of Omaha, Inc. Executive Committee and the CWS Oversight Committee. He was one of six individuals on the CWS Oversight Committee that helped decide the location for the new downtown TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, which will help keep the CWS in Omaha, Nebraska for another 25 years. A three-time NACDA Athletics Director of the Year (ADOY) honoree, Rasmussen was inducted into the Omaha Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.

Rasmussen also had a 12-year stint as the winningest coach in Creighton women's basketball history, retiring with a career mark of 196-147 (.571). As the 1992 Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, Rasmussen led the 1991-92 women's team to a program-record 28 wins (28-4), the WAC regular-season and tournament title and a first-round NCAA Tournament victory. Upon retiring from coaching at the conclusion of that season, Rasmussen served as Creighton's associate athletics director prior to leading the department.

Members of the Gary Cunningham Lifetime Achievement Award Committee include Division I-AAA athletics directors: Ken Kavanagh (Chair), Florida Gulf Coast University; Scott Corley, Belmont University; Bob Driscoll, Providence College; Shaney Fink, Seattle University; Bill Maher, Canisius College; Ed McLaughlin, VCU; Roderick Perry, IUPUI; Kim Record, UNC Greensboro; Mike Roth, Gonzaga University; and Steve Watson, Loyola University Chicago.

About the Division I-AAA ADA: Now in its 18th year, the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association's mission is to enhance initiatives common to its Division I-AAA membership (the Division I institutions that do not sponsor football), in particular, aspects related to their flagship basketball programs. For more information on the Division I-AAA ADA, please visit www.div1aaa-ada.com. The Division I-AAA ADA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 54^th year. For more information on NACDA and the 17 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.