CLEVELAND – The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced that NACDA Past President and Hall of Famer Gene DeFilippo has been selected as the recipient of the 58th James J. Corbett Memorial Award, the highest honor one can achieve in collegiate athletics administration. DeFilippo spent 15 years as director of athletics at Boston College (BC), guiding the department from 1997-2012. He will be honored in conjunction with the 59^th Annual NACDA & Affiliates Convention at Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Nev., at the beginning of the Association-Wide Featured Session on Monday, June 10, starting at 4 p.m.
 
"Gene DeFilippo has had a profound impact on intercollegiate athletics and has skillfully navigated many seasons of change in this industry throughout his career," said NACDA Chief Executive Officer Pat Manak. "Gene receiving the Corbett Award recognizes his efforts during his time in the AD chair while he continues to make an impact on the next generation of athletics leaders."
 
The Corbett Award is presented annually to the collegiate administrator who "through the years has most typified Corbett's devotion to intercollegiate athletics and worked unceasingly for its betterment." Corbett, athletics director at Louisiana State University (LSU), was NACDA's first president in 1965. Additionally, DeFilippo will receive an honorary degree from the Sports Management Institute (SMI), an educational institute sponsored by NACDA and the universities of Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Southern California and Texas.
 
"I am extremely honored to receive the Corbett Award, and I am in awe of those individuals who have come before me as past recipients," said DeFilippo. "I want to thank NACDA and my colleagues for presenting me with this award. This recognition is not about me as an individual, it is truly a family award. My immediate family – my wife, Anne, and my children –all made sacrifices during my career in college athletics. I also had the support of my athletics family, consisting of all the amazing coaches, administrators, and student-athletes I had the good fortune to work with through the years at multiple institutions. The success we achieved was done together as a team."
 
DeFilippo was hired as director of athletics at Boston College in 1997. During his 15 years as athletics director, he led BC athletics to a period of unprecedented growth and success. DeFilippo's stated goal of keeping the student-athlete at the heart of the program produced undeniable results. He also led the department through one of the most significant periods in its history as it transitioned to full membership in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
 
Under DeFilippo's leadership, Boston College student-athletes' achievements in the classroom were an immense source of pride for the university and its supporters. Year in and year out, BC student-athletes achieved some of the highest Graduation Success Rate (GSR) scores, consistently ranking in the top-10 in the country.
 
Outside of their academic and athletics success, BC student-athletes were perhaps best known for their devotion to the community, spending numerous hours helping those less fortunate. In 2010, the BC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) was awarded the National SAAC Award of Excellence in recognition of the community service efforts of its student-athletes.
 
DeFilippo undertook an impressive overhaul of BC's athletics facilities that included new football practice facilities and new soccer, field hockey, and lacrosse stadiums on the BC campus. Additionally during DeFilippo's tenure, BC underwent a total renovation of its basketball and hockey facility, Conte Forum, which included a new sound system, floor and videoboards. An air-inflated bubble to cover the Alumni Stadium turf, providing an indoor practice facility for all sports during the winter months, was also added.
 
In the summer of 2012, a new AstroTurf surface and brick work were added to Alumni Stadium, and the Conte Form weight room and equipment room were totally renovated. DeFilippo was instrumental in raising money to build the privately funded $27 million, 72,000-square-foot Yawkey Athletics Center, which houses the football program, the Office of Learning Resources for Student-Athletes, and a large function area for general university use. After football moved into the Yawkey Center, BC undertook a multi-million-dollar renovation of Conte Forum to provide additional locker room and office space for many of BC's 31 varsity sports.
 
DeFilippo renamed the athletics department's fundraising arm (formerly Blue Chips) in honor of longtime BC Athletics Director, Bill Flynn. Under DeFilippo's leadership, contributions to the Flynn Fund grew from approximately $2.5 million in his first year to more than $20 million in 2011-12. At that time, the total represented the most successful cash year ever for varsity athletics when taking into account past years' totals that included significant capital payments for the Yawkey Center.
 
DeFilippo, along with his wife Anne, cemented their commitment to Boston College by announcing their pledge of $100,000 to endow a scholarship. The scholarship is awarded annually to a female student-athlete who demonstrates outstanding academic achievement and financial need.
 
In athletics competition, DeFilippo oversaw one of the most successful decades in Boston College athletics history. In 2012, the men's ice hockey team won its third NCAA Championship in five seasons, its fourth since 2001 and fifth overall. The women's hockey team returned to the Frozen Four in 2012, and the sailing team won 11 national team or individual titles in five years. In football, BC produced an unprecedented 12-straight winning teams (1990-2010), capturing 103 victories during that streak. DeFilippo also oversaw record-breaking success in men's and women's basketball and men's and women's soccer.
 
DeFilippo served as NACDA President in 2004-05. In 2010, he received the New England Prep School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) Martin Williams Souders Award, presented annually to a graduate of a New England independent school who made a distinguishable record in sports and who since made a distinguishable record in life though his/her ideals, leadership and accomplishments. In recognition of his years of leadership and achievement in intercollegiate athletics, he was selected for enshrinement in the Boston College Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 2011, and the NACDA Hall of Fame in 2014.
 
As athletics director, DeFilippo held multiple conference and national leadership positions, including: Member of the Board of Trustees and Honors Court, National Football Foundation; Chair of the ACC Directors of Athletics; Chair of the ACC Television Committee; Member of the ACC Expansion Committee; Chair of the BIG EAST Directors of Athletics; President of the Division 1A Athletic Directors Association (now LEAD1); and Member of the NCAA Management Council.
 
A 1973 graduate of Springfield College where he earned three varsity letters as a quarterback, DeFilippo served as graduate assistant football coach at the University of Tennessee (UT) and then assistant football coach at both Youngstown State University (YSU) and Vanderbilt University before transitioning to athletics administration. He served as director of athletics at the University of South Carolina-Spartanburg (1984-87), associate director of athletics at the University of Kentucky (1987-93), and then director of athletics at Villanova University (1993-97) before being named AD at BC.
 
Since his retirement as athletics director in 2012, DeFilippo has remained active in the industry on both the local and national levels. From 2014-21, he served as managing director of Turnkey ZRG, assisting a host of institutions with the hiring of their director of athletics, head football coaches and other senior-level administrators. He currently works as an advisor for Playfly Sports, a sports media, marketing and technology business, as well as the American Cancer Society.
 
DeFilippo and his wife are the parents of three children, Christine Eldred (married to Matt Eldred), John DeFilippo, and Mary Rooney (married to Joe Rooney), and have six grandchildren, Katherine Eldred, Joseph Eldred, Grace Rooney, Hannah Rooney, Liam Rooney and Reece DeFilippo.

Hotel and Convention registration for #NACDA24 is now live. Visit nacda.com/convention for more information.

About NACDA: Now in its 59th 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 18 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 www.nacda.com.