CLEVELAND - The National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators (NADIIIAA) is proud to announce Al Bean, director of athletics at the University of Southern Maine (USM) and Steve Ulrich, former executive director of the Centennial Conference as the recipients of the 2021 Richard A. Rasmussen Lifetime Achievement Award.

This award, which is named after NADIIIAA's Executive Director, is presented to someone who has had a significant impact on Division III throughout the course of his/her career.

When Al Bean first stepped foot on what was then known as the University of Maine Portland-Gorham campus in the fall of 1973 as a freshman, no one, Bean included, would have thought that it would be the first steps in a nearly five-decade odyssey with the institution as a student-athlete, assistant coach, sports information director, assistant athletics director and athletics director.

Below are a few highlights from Bean's career …

• Third person since 1955 to serve as AD at Southern Maine (served in interim role for two years)
  • Started full-time at the university as the SID
• Former high school teacher and freelance sportswriter
• Facilities upgrades to new construction to: field house, ice arena, soccer field, baseball/softball stadiums and Hannaford Field
• Formed the following during his tenure …
  • USM Athletic Association – athletics fundraising arm
  • USM Husky Golf Classic
  • William B. Wise Scholar-Athlete Awards Program
  • USM Senior Honors Night
  • Husky Hall of Fame (inducted in 1989)
• Served as Little East Conference Commissioner – 1995-2000

Overall, Bean has been heavily involved in various national committees and organizations through his career including, but not limited to the NCAA, Little East, ECAC, NADIIIAA and NACDA.
Bean and his wife, Robin, have three grown children: Spenser, Eva and Jackson.

At the end of the 2018-19 academic year, Steve Ulrich announced his retirement, ending a 36-year collegiate athletics career, which began in athletics communications and concluded as a conference commissioner.
In January 1993, Ulrich was named the first commissioner of the Centennial Conference and served in that capacity until April 2019. During his tenure, the conference was at the forefront in Division III athletics for a multitude of items, becoming the first DIII conference with the following …

• Twitter account
• Website
• Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
• Conference-wide streaming portal – CentennialConference.TV

Ulrich was also the founding member of the Middle Atlantic Region Commissioners Association (MARCA) and was instrumental in the creation of the Snell-Shillingford Coaching Symposium, which encourages female undergraduates to enter the field of coaching and athletics.

Nationally, Ulrich was involved in a variety of committees at the NCAA throughout his 36 years, including chair of the men's basketball committee in 2014. He also led the passage of landmark legislation governing the length of the nontraditional segment of the playing and practice seasons in Division III.

Ulrich is a past president of the DIII Commissioners Association (DIIICA) and has received lifetime achievement awards from the DIIICA and the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), as well as earning a spot in the Franklin & Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame.

Ulrich currently is the publisher of the D3Playbook newsletter that reaches over 1,700 subscribers. He also founded the College Lacrosse USA website (1995-2000) as well as DIII Basketball Online - now known as D3hoops.com.

A 1982 graduate of Franklin & Marshall College, he and his wife, Marcy, have two children, Ryan and Caroline.

About NADIIIAA: NADIIIAA is comprised of athletics administrators from over 350 institutions and conferences competing at the NCAA Division III level. The Association encourages the continued development of athletics programs focused on the student-athlete and based on sound educational principles and the Division III philosophy. NADIIIAA is administered by NACDA, which is in its 57^th year. For more information on NACDA, the 17 professional associations and/or three foundations it manages, please visit www.nacda.com.