CLEVELAND – The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced the 28 winners of the Cushman & Wakefield AD of the Year Award (ADOY) today. The award spans seven divisions (NCAA FBS, FCS, Division I-AAA, II, III, NAIA/Other Four-Year Institutions and Junior College/Community Colleges). Winners will be recognized in conjunction with the 57^th Annual NACDA & Affiliates Convention at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, prior to the Featured Session on Tuesday, June 28 at 4 p.m.

The ADOY Award highlights the efforts of athletics directors at all levels for their commitment and positive contributions to student-athletes, campuses and their surrounding communities.
 
"As the intercollegiate athletics enterprise continues to evolve and institutions and their departments journey bravely into uncharted waters, we have a new wave of leaders who have answered the call," said Bob Vecchione, NACDA Chief Executive Officer. "This year, 22 of our 28 Athletics Director of the Year honorees are being recognized with the award for the first time in their careers. Additionally, in the year that we celebrate the 50^th Anniversary of Title IX, we are proud that all four ADOY winners at the Division III level are women. Thank you to our new title sponsor Cushman & Wakefield, for helping the NACDA family applaud the efforts of these athletics directors across the country. We are looking forward to gathering together in person once again to celebrate their achievements during Convention this summer."
 
Cushman & Wakefield is in its first year of sponsoring the award. The ADOY Award program is in its 24^th year and has recognized a total of 535 deserving athletics directors to date.
 
Winners of the 2021-22 Cushman & Wakefield AD of the Year Awards are: 

Winner	Institution	Acceptance Video
	Football Bowl Subdivision
Mike Bohn	University of Southern California	Hear from Mike
Boo Corrigan	NC State University	Hear from Boo
John Currie	Wake Forest University	Hear from John
Hunter Yurachek	University of Arkansas	Hear from Hunter
	Football Championship Subdivision
Brady Barke	Southeast Missouri State University	Hear from Brady
Mike Marlow	Northern Arizona University	Hear from Mike
Ashley Robinson	Jackson State University
Edward Scott	Morgan State University
	Division I-AAA
Jimmy Bass	University of North Carolina Wilmington	Hear from Jimmy
Shaney Fink	Seattle University	Hear from Shaney
Mike Matoso	Saint Mary's College of California	Hear from Mike
Roderick Perry	IUPUI	Hear from Roderick
	Division II
Joseph Clinton	Dominican College (NY)	Hear from Joe
Clyde Doughty	Bowie State University	Hear from Clyde

Andrew Gavin	University of Wisconsin Parkside	Hear from Andrew
Bren Stevens	University of Charleston (WV)	Hear from Bren
	Division III
Stevie Baker-Watson	DePauw University	Hear from Stevie
Amanda DeMartino	The College of New Jersey	Hear from Amanda
Marybeth Lamb	Bridgewater State University	Hear from Marybeth
Lori Runksmeier	Eastern Connecticut State University	Hear from Lori
	NAIA
Chad Briscoe	Grace College
Bill Popp	Reinhardt University
DJ Pulley	William Carey University
Kevin Steele	Ottawa University (AZ)	Hear from Kevin
	Junior/Community College
Dan Blair	Northern Essex Community College	Hear from Dan
Ryan Knox	Heartland Community College	Hear from Ryan
Collin Pregliasco	Cosumnes River College	Hear from Collin
Mike Saddler	Colby Community College

 
All NACDA-member directors of athletics in the United States, Canada and Mexico who met the criteria were eligible for the award. Among the criteria were service as an AD for a minimum of five academic years; demonstration of commitment to higher education and student-athletes; continuous teamwork, loyalty and excellence; and the ability to inspire individuals or groups to high levels of accomplishments. Additionally, each AD's institution must have passed a compliance check through its appropriate governing body (i.e., NCAA, NAIA, etc.), in which the institution could not have been on probation or cited for a lack of institutional control during the tenure of the current athletics director.
 
Nominators were NACDA-member directors of athletics, institutional presidents and conference commissioners, as well as other respected intercollegiate athletics administrators. Special Divisional Selection Committees composed of current and former directors of athletics, current and former commissioners and other key athletics administrators voted on nominees for the award. A complete listing of Selection Committee members can be found on NACDA's website at www.nacda.com.
 
About NACDA: Now in its 57th year, NACDA is the professional and educational Association for more than 22,000 college athletics administrators at more than 2,200 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. NACDA manages 17 professional associations and four foundations. In addition to virtual programming, NACDA hosts five major professional development events in-person annually. The NACDA & Affiliates Convention is the largest gathering of collegiate athletics administrators in the country. For more information, visit http://www.nacda.com/.